How do fossils give clues about living things?

How do fossils give clues about living things?

Some animals and plant are only known to us as fossils. By studying the fossil record we can tell how long life has existed on Earth, and how different plants and animals are related to each other. Often we can work out how and where they lived, and use this information to find out about ancient environments.

How did the Brachiosaurus live?

Like all sauropods, Brachiosaurus was a herbivore. Fossil evidence suggests that these dinosaurs inhabited tropical riverbank environments, feeding on conifers, ginkgoes, ferns, horsetails and cycads. Brachiosaurus lived approximately 150 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic Period.

What can we tell from dinosaur fossils?

By studying the fossil record we can tell how long life has existed on Earth, and how different plants and animals are related to each other. Often we can work out how and where they lived, and use this information to find out about ancient environments. Fossils can tell us a lot about the past.

Where are the Brachiosaurus fossils?

Fossil finds altithorax) fossil was found in Grand River Valley in western Colorado in 1900. The paleontologist who discovered this partial skeleton, Elmer Riggs, named this new find Brachiosaurus in 1903.

What information do paleontologist fossils?

Paleontologists use fossil remains to understand different aspects of extinct and living organisms. Individual fossils may contain information about an organism’s life and environment. Much like the rings of a tree, for example, each ring on the surface of an oyster shell denotes one year of its life.

Where does Brachiosaurus live?

Brachiosaurus was a herbivore. It lived in the Jurassic/Cretaceous period and inhabited North America. Its fossils have been found in places such as Utah, Colorado and Lindi (Tanzania). The brachiosaurus is a tall sauropod with a comparatively short tail and upright posture.

What habitat does the Brachiosaurus live in?

Brachiosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs of the Jurassic era; it lived on prairies filled with ferns, bennettites, horsetails and it moved through vast conifer forests, groves of cycads, Seed ferns, and Ginkgos. Some of its contemporary genera included Stegosaurus, Dryosaurus, Apatosaurus, and Diplodocus.

How do fossils provide evidence for evolution?

Fossils are important evidence for evolution because they show that life on earth was once different from life found on earth today. Paleontologists can determine the age of fossils using methods like radiometric dating and categorize them to determine the evolutionary relationships between organisms.

What fossils have been found of a Brachiosaurus?

The researchers unearthed the most complete Brachiosaurus upper arm bone yet in the famous US fossil-hunting ground called the Morrison Formation, in Utah. The right humerus was also found alongside other bones including several rib fragments, as well as fossil plants.

Where was the footprint of a Brachiosaurus found?

Scientists have were found in Colorado, and a footprint was found in Wyoming. As discussed in the previous section, Brachiosaurs had specialized teeth with broad tops. This allowed them to feed tough vegetation that might not have been edible to other species.

How do fossils help us understand the past?

Along with other geological evidence from rocks and structures, fossils even give us clues about past climates, the motions of plates, and other major geological events. Since the present is the key to the past, what we know about a type of organism that lives today can be applied to past environments. History of Life on Earth

What kind of diet did the Brachiosaurus have?

Diet of the Brachiosaurus. As discussed in the previous section, Brachiosaurs had specialized teeth with broad tops. This allowed them to feed tough vegetation that might not have been edible to other species. They were also able to browse very high in the trees, as evident by their immensely long necks.

Why was the Brachiosaurus never domesticated by humans?

Brachiosaurus have never interacted with any humans. They went extinct millions of years before humans evolved. Humans never domesticated Brachiosaurus in any way. Even if they were alive today, Brachiosaurs would not have made good pets. They are simply too massive.