|
Meyer Desert Formation Biota
The Meyer Desert Formation biota is a fossilized biota (flora and fauna) found in the Dominion Range in the Transantarctic Mountains in Antarctica, alongside the Beardmore Glacier. Since about 15 million years ago (Ma), Antarctica has been mostly covered with ice. Fossil ''Nothofagus'' leaves in the Meyer Desert Formation of the Sirius Group show that intermittent warm periods allowed ''Nothofagus'' shrubs to cling to the Dominion Range as late as 3–4 Ma (mid-late Pliocene). After that the Pleistocene glaciation covered the whole continent with ice and destroyed all major plant life on it. Species reported by Ashworth and Cantrill from about 3 million years ago include: Animals: *''Pisidium'' species (very small or minute freshwater clams, Sphaeriidae) *A lymnaeid gastropod (air-breathing freshwater snails) * 2 species of curculionid beetles (weevils) * A cyclorrhaphid fly ( Diptera) * A tooth of an unknown species of freshwater fish Plants: *''Nothofagus beardmorensis' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossilized
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the ''fossil record''. Paleontology is the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years old to 4.1 billion years old. Early edition, published online before print. The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the absolute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
