Background Knowledge:
Background Knowledge:
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Fossils act like time capsules, telling us when rocks were formed and how life evolved over millions of years.
By studying the fossils found in different layers of rock, paleontologists learn about how ancient plants and animals lived and changed, as well as when big die-off events (mass extinctions) happened.
Scientists are studying fossils in Utah’s Great Basin to understand how changes in Earth's environment and atmosphere during the Devonian period may have contributed to a global extinction event.
CORALS
Organisms that have radial symmetry and stinging cells are called CNIDARIANS (e.g. corals, jellyfish and sea anemones). Cnidarian fossils are mainly coral. Some coral are solitary, others form colonies. Coral were abundant during the Devonian.
Horn coral (side view)
Horn coral (top view)
Tabulate coral
BRYOZOA
Tiny, colonial animals that have U-shaped rows of tentacles and are still around today. Bryozoa fossils look similar to coral fossils. Some bryozoa are encrusting and grow on other organisms, some branch out like trees and others look like spirals or lace. During the Devonian, lace-like bryozoa were the most common.
Branching bryozoa
Lace-like bryozoa
BRACHIOPODS
Brachiopods have two different-sized shells and use tentacles to feed. They are similar to clams and other bivalves common today, but bivalves have two equal-sized shells and use gills to feed.
Notice the different-sized shells
Spirifer
Rafinesquina
ARTHROPODS
Arthropods have articulated bodies and include animals like insects and crustaceans. During the Devonian, the most common arthropods were trilobites.
Trilobite
CRINOIDS
Crinoids are a type of echinoderm (animals with spiny skin and round symmetry) that are still around today. They are also called "sea lilies" and crinoid stems are common Devonian fossils
Crinoid stems
MOLLUSKS
Mollusk fossils from the Devonian Period include bivalves (like clams and oysters), some marine snails and cephalopods (the group of mollusks that octopus belong to) with hard outer shells. Ammonites had spiral-shaped outer shells and nautiloids like belemnites had straight outer shells.
Ammonite
Belemnites
BLASTOIDS
Blastoids were ancient, flower-like marine animals that lived in oceans during the Devonian period. They are echinoderms (spiny skin organisms), related to crinoids, sea urchins and sea stars.
Work the Case:
Work the Case:
Help the investigators analyze the fossil evidence from one of the sites by identifying the 15 specimens collected.
WANT TO EXAMINE THE FOSSIL SPECIMENS IN 3D VIEW?
Click on the links to the right
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Enter your data and check your answers by completing the Fossil Evidence Google Form.
Make a note of the total number of each fossil in the sample, this will come in handy next!
After you have identified the fossils and checked your answers via the Google Form, look at the four pie charts below. They represent the amount of each fossil found in the sample.
Based on your analysis, which chart represents most accurately the fossil composition of the sample you studied?
Chart 1
Chart 1
Chart 2
Chart 2
Chart 3
Chart 3
Chart 4
Chart 4
...If you've made it this far collecting all the passkeys, wow, good job! Keep up the effort, you're well on your way to becoming a certified CSI Devonian Investigator...
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