BIOL 103 – 2008 Dr. Gendron
Extra Credit Assignment
The Lost World of Sea Creatures and Meat Eaters:
Fossil Traces of Earth’s Past
For up to 5 points extra credit (added to your lecture grade) visit the exhibit at the University
Museum in Sutton Hall (first floor) and answer the questions below. I must receive your
answers by December 4. Each person is required to do the assignment individually and to
answer the questions in his/her own words.
The exhibit is organized by geological age, with the oldest specimens first. Pick up the Self-
Guided Tour pamphlet when you sign in to guide you.
1. As you move through the exhibit you will note that some geological eras ended with mass
extinctions. Describe what caused each one.
End of Ordovician
Late Devonian
Terminal Permian
Late Cretaceous
Which of these was the most devastating in terms of percentage of species wiped out?
Room A
2. Among the earliest known fossils are the “stromatolites.” What sort of organism produced
these?
How old are they?
Explain why it is likely that life appeared even earlier than this.
What is a eukaryote (should know this from class) and what change in the atmosphere made
it possible for them to evolve?
