Dinosaur

The Permian Mass Extinction Introduction There are five major extinctions in history: the Late Devonian, the Ordovician-Silurian, the Permian-Triassic, the Triassic-Jurassic, and the Cretaceous-Tertiary. Known as the Big Five, these extinctions exceeded all others in size and destruction, each killing more than 60% of species from that period. Each one acted as a bottleneck, allowing the survival of only a fraction of the organisms that had been thriving before, from which evolution and life…

Varanus komodoensis more commonly known as the Komodo Dragon is a testament to animal adaptation. Based on fossil records, the Varanidae family of lizards appeared around 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period. Then, about 3.8 million years ago, the direct ancestor of the Komodo Dragon first evolved on or near Australia. (Hocknull et al. 2009) It was previously thought that the Komodo Dragon evolved in Indonesia. In 1912, Pieter Antonie Ouwens, a Dutch scientist, was the first…

When first entering the Human Origins exhibit, the first thing that caught my eye was the skeleton structures of the Chimpanzee, the Neanderthal and the Modern Human. On the back of these statues there was a section titled “Meet Your Relatives”. This was interesting because it allowed everyone in the museum to compare themselves biologically to Chimpanzee’s and Neanderthals. One of the interesting facts I learned, structures of the chimpanzee and the neanderthal are similar when it comes to how…

I wake up and find myself on an unknown island. My galaide’ has broken into pieces. I can’t remember what happened last night. I look around to see a massive volcano in front of me. Seconds later, a robot comes flying out of it and scans the environment. Out of nature, I hide in the bushes. It doesn’t take too long before the robot detects my heavy breathing. I guess I wasn’t meant to be a ninja. It catches me with it’s mechanical claw and takes me away heading inside the volcano. To my…

INTRODUCTION The Permian-Triassic extinction is seen as one of the largest mass extinction in the history of life. According to the McGraw-Hill Dictionary (2003) it can be defined as a mass extinction event marking the division between the Permian Period and the Triassic Period as well as the border between the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic eras. It is estimated to have triggered the extinction of 90% or more of all ocean species, approximately 70% of land vertebrates, and significant extinctions of…

1. Explain why Earth and other planets were not solid when they formed during the beginning of the Precambrian, approximately 4,600 million years ago (MYA) The Precambrian period was also known as the Hadean and the reason why it was not solid yet was that the planets of the solar system were just starting to form and they were not even solid rocks yet they were just starting to form from dust particles. 2. What was this particular time period called? This particular period was called the…

1. The two genera of Eocene fossil primates I choose are Eosimias and Darwinius. Eosimias was first described in 1999 and discovered in 1994 by Christopher Beard. Darwinius was discovered and described in 1983 at the Messel pit. 2. Eosimias lived during the middle Eocene age in Southern China (Fleagle 397). The fossil itself was collected Jiangsu Providence, China. Darwinius also lived during the middle Eocene in Europe, particulary Germany. Darwinius masillae was discorvered southeast of…

The mystery of how exactly diamonds form has baffled and stood out to many scientists for a long time. It is believed that diamonds form around 90 to 150 miles below Earth’s surface with the help of extraordinary heat and pressure. This takes place in the mantle. The mantle is in between the Earth’s crust and outer core. However, exactly how they form is the mystery. Some scientists believe that diamonds form from some type of liquid/fluid. What is this liquid? Well, when diamonds are…

The Eocene era is the second epoch in the Tertiary Period and lasted around 55.8 to 33.9 million years ago. In that era, the shape and location of the continents affected the general weather trends marked the Eocene epoch and affected the evolution of mammals, primates, and humans. There were some changes in the isotope content of the large marine carbon pool; they forcedly shifted into the smaller carbon pools in the atmosphere and on land. The carbon isotope compositions of marine carbonate…

The first chapter in the sixth extinction is geared towards focusing on the rapid extinction of frogs, a species that has survived over 400 million years. Elizabeth Kolbert, the author believes that we are entering a sixth extinction and that it is crucial to pay close attention to it because any slight change can drastically influence an entire ecosystem and its inhabitants. The epicenter of the extinction seemed to begin in a small town in Central Panama called El Valle de Anton. The…