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Full-Text Articles in Paleobiology
A Morphological And Geochemical Investigation Of Grypania Spiralis: Implications For Early Earth Evolution, Miles Anthony Henderson
A Morphological And Geochemical Investigation Of Grypania Spiralis: Implications For Early Earth Evolution, Miles Anthony Henderson
Masters Theses
Macroscopic “carbonaceous” fossils such as Grypania, Katnia, Chuaria, and Tawuia play a critical role in our understanding of biological evolution in the Precambrian and their environmental implications. Unfortunately, understanding of these fossils remains limited by their relative simplicity of form, mode of preservation, and broad taphonomic variability. As a result, debate continues as to even the fundamental taxonomic affinity of the organisms. Megascopic coiled forms (i.e. Grypania and Katnia), for instance, have been interpreted as trace fossils, multicellular algae, prokaryotic filaments, macroscopic bacteria, cyanobacteria, or a transitional form from macroscopic to megascopic bacterial life. Similarly, Chuaria …
Geochemical Analysis Of Cenozoic Fossil Conifers At High Latitudes: Implications For Molecular Preservation And Environmental Change, Caitlyn Witkowski
Geochemical Analysis Of Cenozoic Fossil Conifers At High Latitudes: Implications For Molecular Preservation And Environmental Change, Caitlyn Witkowski
Honors Projects in Science and Technology
Fossil materials record ancient life and their adapted environment. Arctic plant fossils are critical for our understanding of the Earth’s paleoenvironment when high latitudes were under ice-free conditions. All Arctic plant fossils in this research are conifers, plants conducive for morphological and molecular study because of their incredible genetic stability. Miocene (15 million year old) and Pliocene (5 million year old) conifer leaves were collected from Banks Island, Canada (Williams et al., 2008). Samples were analyzed and compared with Paleocene (60 million year old) and Eocene (45 million year old) samples from Axel Heiberg Island, Canada and with modern equivalent …