These exercises are aimed at helping students identify the fossils that they will find in middle Tennessee.
In Nashville you find representatives of many of the major
types of modern invertebrate animals.
Sponges (Phylum Porifora) the sponge Hindia |
Corals and Jellyfish (Phylum Cnidaria) the coral Tetradium |
Mollusks - bivalves, snails, cephalopods (Phylum Mollusca) the snail Lophospira |
Arthropods - insects, spiders, crabs, shrimp (Phylum Arthropoda) Trilobite |
Echinoderms - Starfish, Crinoids (Phylum Echinodermata) various crinoids |
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However, our most widespread fossils are from two phyla
which are not commonly found today.
Brachiopods (Phylum Brachiopoda) Platystrophia |
Bryozoans (Phylum Bryozoa) Heterotrypa |
Follow the links to find out more about these invertebrate phyla.
We don't find fossils of the invertebrates which have
no hard parts: jellyfish, the worm phyla, or any mollusks or bryozoans
without hard parts, such as we find today.
So far, I have three specific exercises