Common Missouri Fossils

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Common Missouri Fossils
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Trilobites

• Trilobites are extinct sea creatures that were
  one of the first forms of life on earth. They
  ruled the world before the time of the dinosaurs.

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What do you think Trilobites are related to?
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Trilobites Today

• Their closest living relative today is the
  horseshoe crab.
• They are also related to the lobster and crab.

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Fern Fossils

• The fern fossil records extend back 400 million
  years ago.
• Ferns live in a wide range of habitats, ranging
  from the tropics to cold temperate regions.

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Are ferns the same today as they were 400 million
years ago?
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Modern Ferns
Yes. Did you know that ferns have leaves,
called fronds, which usually consist of leaflets.
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Crinoids

• Crinoids resemble flowers, with their cluster of
  waving arms on a long stem. They are sometimes
  called sea lilies.
• Crinoids are not plants. They are animals that
  have lived in the world's oceans more than 490
  million years ago.

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What are modern Crinoids?
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Crinoid relatives

• Modern day relatives are starfish, sea urchins,
  sea cucumbers, and feather stars.

A Passion Flower feather star
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Ancient Gastropods

• Gastropods are the most diverse and abundant type
  of mollusks, with nearly 35,000 living and 15,000
  fossil species identified so far.
• Gastropods include snails, slugs, conchs, whelks,
  and limpets.

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What are modern gastropods?
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Modern Gastropods

• Present day relatives are both marine and land
  snails and slugs.

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Fossil Bivalves

• Bivalves are among the oldest fossils from more
  than 500 million years ago.

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Do you have any idea what modern Bivalves are?
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Modern Bivalve

• Bivalves are mollusks.
• They have two shells that are right and left
  handed which are asymmetrical.

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Fossilized Fish

• Fish are the most abundant of all living
  vertebrates and make up more than half of the
  approximately 48,500 species with us today! 
• Fish are rare as fossils because the fragile
  nature of a fish body makes it a poor candidate
  for fossilization (except shark's teeth).

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How do you think fish have changed over time?
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Modern Day Fish
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Mastodons

• Mastodons were leaf eaters with multi-cusped
  teeth.
• Mastodons became extinct approximately 11,000
  years ago.
• Mammoths were larger and had teeth adapted
  primarily for grazing (eating grasses).

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Was the Mastodon the same as the Mammoth?
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Modern Day Mastodons

• Mammoths were larger and had teeth adapted
  primarily for grazing (eating grass).
• Closest modern day relative is the elephant.

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Now - Compare the Old to the New
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Compare the Old to the New