Fossil Timeline. Cenozoic Era MODERN MAMMALS MONKEYS AND APES EARLY MAMMALS. UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs and Fossils Block A: Fossils and Rocks Session 2

Transcription

1 Hamilton Trust. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be reproduced for any other purpose. MODERN MAMMALS MONKEYS AND APES EARLY MAMMALS Fossil Timeline Cenozoic Era UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs and Fossils Block A: Fossils and Rocks Session 2

2 UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs and Fossils Block A: Fossils and Rocks Session 2 Cenozoic Era Research Team You are going to research the top layer of the fossil cake. Your layer sits on top of the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic layers. This is the current layer that is still being deposited in oceans, deserts and swamps all around the earth today. The Cenozoic is the first major layer where we find modern mammal fossils like cats, dogs, monkeys and humans. Research this layer and add information onto the timeline. You may want to print or draw images of fossils from this layer and stick them on the timeline. Why not incorporate flaps (question and answers) to make your layer interactive? Small print: Can you include this information? The Cenozoic era spans from 65.5 million years ago to the present. It is divided into three periods: the Palaeogene (65.5 to million years ago), Neogene (23.03 to 2.6 million years ago) and the Quaternary (2.6 million years ago to present). The Palaeogene is subdivided into three eras: the Palaeocene (65.5 to 55.8 million years ago), the Eocene (55.8 to 33.9 million years ago), and the Oligocene (33.9 to million years ago). The Neogene is subdivided into two epochs: the Miocene (23.03 to million years ago) and Pliocene (5.332 to million years ago). Hamilton Trust. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be reproduced for any other purpose.

3 Hamilton Trust. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be reproduced for any other purpose. DINOSAURS Mesozoic Era UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs and Fossils Block A: Fossils and Rocks Session 2

4 UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs and Fossils Block A: Fossils and Rocks Session 2 Mesozoic Era Research Team You are going to research the second layer of the fossil cake. Your layer is sandwiched between the Cenozoic and Palaeozoic layers. This layer is often called the age of the dinosaurs. The Mesozoic has dinosaurs like crazy. Of course, dinosaurs are reptiles and that s why you won t find any until after the Palaeozoic which contains the first reptiles. The Mesozoic also has the first flowering plants, birds, and mammals, though few if any birds or mammals that we know of today. Research this layer and add information onto the timeline. You may want to print or draw images of fossils from this layer and stick them on the timeline. Why not incorporate flaps (questions and answers) to make your layer interactive? (23.03 to 2.6 million years ago) and the Quaternary (2.6 million years ago to Small print: present). The Paleogene is subdivided into three eras: the Paleocene (65.5 to Can you include this information? 55.8 million years ago), the Eocene (55.8 to 33.9 million years ago), and the The Mesozoic Era is divided into three time periods: the Triassic ( Oligocene (33.9 to million years ago). The Neogene is subdivided into two million years ago), the Jurassic ( million years ago), and the epochs: the Miocene (23.03 to million years ago) and Pliocene (5.332 to Cretaceous ( million years ago) million years ago). Hamilton Trust. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be reproduced for any other purpose.

5 Hamilton Trust. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be reproduced for any other purpose. REPTILES AMPHIBIANS JAWED FISH JAWLESS FISH INVERTEBRATES Palaeozoic Era UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs and Fossils Block A: Fossils and Rocks Session 2

6 UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs and Fossils Block A: Fossils and Rocks Session 2 Palaeozoic Era Research Team You are going to research the bottom layer of the fossil cake. Your layer has the Cenozoic and Palaeozoic layers sitting on top of it. In the Palaeozoic, you find fish, amphibian, and reptile fossils (in that order), but never dinosaurs, birds, modern mammals, or even flowering plants. Think of that: despite the billions of plant fossils in the Palaeozoic layer, nobody has ever found one fossil of a flower, including any kind of deciduous tree or even a single blade of grass. Why not? The obvious explanation is flowers had not evolved yet. Research this layer and add information onto the timeline. You may want to print or draw images of fossils from this layer and stick them on the timeline. Why not incorporate flaps (question and answers) to make your layer interactive? Small print: Can you include this information? At the beginning of the Palaeozoic era, almost all multi-celled animals suddenly appeared. At the other end of the Palaeozoic, the largest mass extinction in history wiped out approximately 90% of all marine animal species. The causes of both these events are still not fully understood and the subject of much research and controversy. Roughly halfway through the Palaeozoic era, animals, fungi, and plants colonised the land and insects took to the air. The Palaeozoic occurred approximately 300 million years ago. Hamilton Trust. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be reproduced for any other purpose.