Fossil tracks of Arthropleura, a giant millipede-like organism (see #13, below) from the Joggins Formation of the Late Carboniferous (323.2 - 298.9 Ma). The floodplain mudstone, minor sandstone, coal, lacustrine limestone and shale, 0-1450 m (Westphalian A-B spores and bivalves) tell us that this part of Nova Scotia was tropical and swampy when the rocks were formed. Photo taken at Joggins, Nova Scotia, Aug 2015.

Fossil tracks of Arthropleura, a giant millipede-like organism (see #13, below) from the Joggins Formation of the Late Carboniferous (323.2 - 298.9 Ma). The floodplain mudstone, minor sandstone, coal, lacustrine limestone and shale, 0-1450 m (Westphalian A-B spores and bivalves) tell us that this part of Nova Scotia was tropical and swampy when the rocks were formed. Photo taken at Joggins, Nova Scotia, Aug 2015.

Tree of Plant Life showing relationships of the orders of plants: Figure 9, p. 11 from: Plants of the world: an illustrated encyclopedia of vascular plants/Maarten J.M., Michael F. Fay, and Mark W. Chase. The University of Chicago Press, 2017.

Plant Fossils Here

Fossil Display Plant Reconstruction at Smith College

60 Feet-Mural Panels Here

http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm

Climate History

The History of Ice on Earth

(Zen et al., 1983) The 1:250,000 scale Bedrock Geologic Map of Massachusetts, published by the USGS in 1983, shows the distribution of the different rock units, faults, and other features that make up the bedrock of Massachusetts. It was compiled from published 1:24,000-scale maps., unpublished data, and field reconnaissance by the authors.

Cutting the rocks to build a road in Saint John, New Brunswick, exposed where 545 million year old dark volcanic rock from the Caledonian Terrane (Avalonia) of the Precambrian meets lighter-colored Cambrian rock that is only 544 million years old, from the Brookville Terrane (part of Ganderia).

Early Paleozoic Era

CLIMATE HISTORY

Cambrian

Scientists find 'oldest human ancestor'

Left, a black-and-white closeup of a European cuttlefish’s papillae. Right, a cuttlefish using color, pattern and texture to resemble better the rocks and algae around it.CreditLeft: Paloma T. Gonzalez-Bellido; Right: Roger Hanlon

The Cuttlefish, a Master of Camouflage, Reveals a New Trick

BBC Ordovician

Ordovician Ice Age -BBC video

Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction-BBC Nature

Middle Ordovician Globes

Late Ordovician Globes

Middle Paleozoic Era

CLIMATE HISTORY

Silurian

BBC Silurian

Early Silurian Globes

Creeping Crinoid!

Devonian

Moving downward from the shoulder, the arms of Neil Shubin, fish paleontologist, are built like this: one bone, two bones, lots of bones, digits. The same is true for a bird's wing, a leopard's forward leg and the front fins of Tiktaalik, the ancient fish Shubin discovered in arctic Canada that was one of the first to walk on land.

The Siberian Traps and the end-Permian Extinction Lindy Elkins.docx
3.End-Permian Mass Extinctions Erwin et al 2002.pdf

More than 130 tracks revealed in slabs of sandstone. Researchers believe these prints were left by small groups of two-legged, carnivorous dinosaurs, up to 15’ tall.

The first dinosaur prints to be scientifically described are still here to be seen, preserved in sandstone since this valley was a sub-tropical mix of wetlands and shallow lakes, 190 million years ago. The larger Eubrontes prints were likely made by ancestors of the great Tyrannosaurus rex, standing up to 15’ tall and 20’ long. You can see hundreds of fossils not only from the four distinct two-legged dinosaurs, but also stromatolites, fish, plants and other ancient beings. Finally, look for the 20+ dinosaurs trackways, which formed the basis for the novel theory that dinosaurs travelled in packs or groups.

Please respect the ancient and fragile footprints and fossils so future generations may enjoy seeing them.

Newfound Footprints Stir Debate Over Our Ancestors

The southern part of the hominin trackway at L8, one of the trenches newly excavated at the Tanzanian archaeological site of Laetoli.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RAFFAELLO PELLIZZON

http://www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Pliocene/Pliocene.htm

WBGH Channel

Pliocene Maps

A shift in the Caribbean tectonic plate joined North and South America, providing a land bridge… http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/fhc/plio2.htm

Research at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)

Quaternary Period (Pleistocene and Holocene/Anthropocene)

Pleistocene Epoch

Pleistocene BBC

Last Extinction by NOVA

From largest to smallest: Woolly mammoth (extinct), African elephant, and American Mastodon (extinct)

Mexican Megafauna of the Pleistocene image by Sergio de la Rosa

Why Save Species?

Scientists hope "Frozen Zoo" genetic bank

FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 8:20 AM|At the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, scientists are collecting samples from thousands of creatures, including rhinos, teetering on the edge of extinction. John Blackstone reports on what could be the last hope for a nearly doomed species.

will help stop extinction

Human Evolution

http://anthropology.si.edu/humanorigins/faq/gt/cenozoic/cenozoic.htm

Journey of Modern Humans across the globe. Use the interactive animation for an excellent explanation of how climate episodes during the Pleistocene and Holocene affected the journey of modern humans from East Africa to places around the world.

Only 10,000 humans survived the supervolcano eruption 70,000 years ago!

Fossil jaw sheds light on turning point in human evolution

Jaw Fossil In Ethiopia Likely Oldest Ever Found In Human Line