Living Fossils

Jürgen Solis Ruiz2º Bachillerato A-DLaude El Altillo School

Outline

What are living fossils?

Examples

Summary

Questions

Animals Plants

What are living fossils?

• Informal term.• Living species similar to fossils.• Survivors.• A wide taxon in the past.• Only one alive.• Bacteria, plants, animals and fungi.

Examples

Plants

Plants

• Cycads

• Metasequoias

• Araucarias

Cycads

• Early Permian (299-251).• Trunk, crown and cone.• No fruit.• Evergreen.• Extinction.• Decorative.

Cycads

Cycads

Metasequoias

Metasequoias

• Late Cretaceous (70)• Dawn redwood.• Deciduous.• Cones.• Smallest.• Extinction.

Metasequoias

Metasequoias

Araucarias

Araucarias

Araucarias

• Jurassic (250-200).• Monkey-puzzle tree.• Evergreen.• No flowers.• Vulnerable• Uses

Araucarias

Animals

Animals

• Monito del monte• Hoatzin• Horseshoe crab• Coelacanth• Nautilus• Velvet worm

Monito del monte

• Oligocene (23).• Mammal.• Central Chile.• Insects, invertebrates, fruit.• Nests made with bamboo.• Hibernates.• Reproduces in spring.

Monito del monte

Monito del monte

Hoatzin

Hoatzin

• No date. First feather birds.• Bird.• Amazon and Orinoco.• Leaves and fruits.• Stinkbird.• Claws.• Guyana.

Hoatzin

Horseshoe crab

Horseshoe crab

• Ordovician(488-433)• Arthropod.• Asia and America.• Omnivorous.• Tail to flip.• Shores for mating.

Horseshoe crab

Coelacanth

Coelacanth

• Devonian (416-360).• Fish.• Indian Ocean.• Shallow water fish.• Caves at 100-500 metres.• Ovoviviparous.

Coelacanth

Nautilus

Nautilus

• Triassic (225).• Cephalopod.• Indo-Pacific.• Fish, shrimps and crustaceans.• 300 metres.• Withdraw.

Nautilus

VIDEO

Velvet worm

Velvet worm

• Eocene (40).• Panarthropod (Ecdysozoa).• Central America.• Invertebrates.• Sense of perception.• Secrete sticky substance.

Velvet worm

VIDEO

Summary

Summary

• Informal term.• Survivors.• Not very evolved.• All kind of living beings.• Many in danger of extinction.

• Living fossils refer to:a) Plants.b) All kind of living beings.c) Sea creatures.

• Metasequoias were discovered ina) Chinab) Indiac) Thailand

Questions

Questions

• Monitos del monte live:a) In nests made of bamboo.b) On top of trees.c) Inside rock holes

• Hoatzins are the national animal of:a) Surinam.b) Guyana.c) Brazil.

Thank you

very much

foryour

attention!