Links: GoQuestion 1Correct2.00 points out of2.00FlagquestionMy home ► MEA 101 (003) Fall, 2014 ► Module 5 ► Learning Journal 16  Fossils and Geologic TimeQUIZ NAVIGATIONFinish reviewStarted onThursday, October 30, 2014, 5:54 PMStateFinishedCompleted onThursday, October 30, 2014, 6:03 PMTime taken8 mins 9 secsMarks4.75/6.00Grade 3.17 out of 4.00 (79%)Read the abbreviated news article below and answer the questions that follow.Scientists Call Fish Fossil the 'Missing Link', By John Wilford, New York Times, April 5,2006Scientists have discovered fossils of a 375 millionyearold fish, a largescaly creature not seen before, that they say is a longsought "missing link"in the evolution of some fishes from water to a life walking on four limbs onland. Several wellpreserved skeletons of the fossil fish were uncovered insediments of former stream beds in the Canadian Arctic, 600 miles from theNorth Pole, it is being reported on Thursday in the journal Nature. Theskeletons have the fins and scales and other attributes of a giant fish, fourto nine feet long.But on closer examination, scientists found telling anatomical traits of atransitional creature, a fish that is still a fish but exhibiting changes thatanticipate the emergence of land animals — a predecessor thus ofamphibians, reptiles and dinosaurs, mammals and eventually humans. Thescientists described evidence in the forward fins of limbs in the making.There are the beginnings of digits, protowrists, elbows and shoulders. Thefish also had a flat skull resembling a crocodile's, a neck, ribs and otherparts that were similar to fourlegged land animals known as tetrapods.The discovering scientists called the fossils the most compelling examplesyet of an animal that was at the cusp of the fishtetrapod transition. The fishhas been named Tiktaalik roseae, at the suggestion of elders of Canada'sYou are logged in as Jonathan Kluger (Log out)MEA 101 (003) Fall, 2014 Geology I: Physical123Nunavut Territory. Tiktaalik (pronounced ticTAHlick) means "large shallowwater fish." In two reports in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, thescience team led by Neil H. Shubin of the University of Chicago wrote, "Theorigin of limbs probably involved the elaboration and proliferation of featuresalready present in the fins of fish such as Tiktaalik." Dr. Shubin, anevolutionary biologist, let himself go in an interview. "It's a really amazingremarkable intermediate fossil — it's like, holy cow," he enthused. In theirjournal report, the scientists concluded that Tiktaalik is an intermediatebetween the fish Panderichthys, which lived 385 million years ago, andearly tetrapods. The known early tetrapods are Acanthostega andIchthyostega, about 365 million years ago.Dr. Shubin and Dr. Daeschler began their search on Ellsmere Island in1999. They were attracted by a map in a geology textbook showing theregion had an abundance of Devonian rocks exposed and relatively easy toexplore. At that time, the land was part of a supercontinent straddling theequator and had a warm climate. It was not until July 2004, Dr. Shubin said,that "we hit the jackpot." They found several of the fishes in a quarry, theirskeletons largely intact and in three dimensions. The large skull had thesharp teeth of a predator. It was attached to a neck, which allowed the fishthe unfishlike ability to swivel its head. "Fish feeding in water readily orientthe mouth toward food by maneuvering the entire body," said Dr. Jenkins,who assisted in the interpretation of the fossils. "The head is rigidly attackedto the trunk by bones linking the skull and shoulder girdle, and thus fishhave no neck." If the animal spent any time out of water, he said, it neededa true neck that allowed the head to move independently on the body.Embedded in the pectoral fins were bones that compare to the upper arm,forearm and primitive parts of the hand of landliving animals. The scientistssaid the joints of the fins appeared to be capable of functioning formovement on land, a case of a fish improvising with its evolved anatomy. Inall likelihood, they said, Tiktaalik flexed its protolimbs primarily on the floorof streams and may have pulled itself up on the shore for brief stretches.What was the question being investigated by the scientists? Was the fossil discovered the missing link?Why did the scientists choose to investigate rocks on Ellsmere Island?What was the principal conclusion of their research?Near the equator when earth had a supercontinent, and would be the perfect location to find fossils.Tiktaalik was the missing link between fish and land dwelling animals.Question 2Partially correct1.00 points out of2.00FlagquestionSample answers:What was the question being investigated by the scientists?Is there any evidence to connect fish living in water to land-dwellingcreatures? What were the transitional creatures like?Why did the scientists choose to investigate rocks on Ellsmere Island?The scientists chose to investigate rocks on Ellsmere Island because the island had a lot ofexposed Devonian rock that was relatively easy to explore.What was the principal conclusion of their research?The principal conclusion of the scientists' research was that the fossils ofthe 375-million-year-old fish, called Tiktaalik, represent a transition fromfish to early tetrapods.The graph below illustrates how the temperature changed with time for part of the rock cycle.Which of the following processes is best represented by the graph?Sedimentary rock is converted to magmaThe graph below illustrates how the temperature changed with time for part of the rockcycle. Which of the following is best represented by the graph?Question 3Complete1.75 points out of2.00FlagquestionYou are logged in as Jonathan Kluger (Log out)magma forms a plutonic igneous rock that is then uplifted to the surfaceIn 3 complete sentences or more, respond to the question below. Please include anyconcepts or examples that will provide a context for your reasoning. There are multiple “right”answers. Your response will be graded on the quality of your explanation.How relevant do you think the information in the previous module is to the lives of individualsand communities around the world?I believe this module provided useful information for people, but not the most essential for dayto day life. Knowing halflifes and how to date things is a good thing to know and understand.But, it is not essential to know for day to day