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From the Education Desk
Greetings to
all.
I hope this is a fun filled summer for you and your family and that it has
included a visit for both old and new friends of RMDRC to our museum to see
our exciting exhibits and to participate in our different activities.
I thought that this month I would write a
“What Is”
column to give you a few
facts on some questions that have been asked of our Visitor Experience
Guides.
What is a Trilobite?
The term
trilobite refers to an extinct class of arthropods. These animals first
appeared at the beginning of the Cambrian Period approximately 570 million
years ago. They flourished throughout the early Paleozoic Era and became
extinct in the late Permian period about 240 million years ago. These
invertebrates were primarily bottom dwellers. Fossilized remains of
trilobites have been found on every continent.
What is an Ammonite?
The word
ammonite is derived from the name of the Greek God “Ammon”,
who appeared with ram horns on his head. They are distant ancestors of the
current chambered nautilus. The animal that lived in these shells looked
something like a squid or an octopus, with tentacles for grasping food and
moving across the ocean floor.
What is an Orthoceras?
These are similar to the Ammonite, but with straight shells.
The word Orthoceras means “straight horn”, and
refers to its shape. They are about 400 million years old and are the
ancestral cousin of the modern squid or octopus.
What is a Crinoid?
The term Crinoid refers to a
living class of echinoderms. These animals are commonly known as “sea
lilies” (resemble flowers with stems) and “feather stars” (free moving stem
less variety). They first appeared in the fossil record as marine sediments
deposited approximately 530 million years ago during the Cambrian Period.
What
is a Shark?
Sharks first appeared about 370 million years ago. They
belong to a group of fish that have a skeleton made of cartilage
instead of bone. Most of the time the
only fossilized remains of ancient sharks are their teeth. Teeth
grew in constantly to replace older teeth that wore out.
In a short
paragraph it is hard to give you a lot of information but hopefully this
answered some of your questions. Please feel free to e-mail me at:
geri@rmdrc.com
with
any other questions you might have, or even better come in and we will talk
in person.
I wish you great summer days…….
Regards,
Geri
LeBold
Education
Director
geri@rmdrc.com
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