PBS EONS Extinction that Never Happened Lazarus Taxa

What term do paleontologists use to describe organisms that reappear in the fossil record after being thought extinct?

• Zombie taxa

• Resurrection taxa

• Lazarus taxa

• Phoenix taxa

During which period did the Animal kingdom start to flourish, as evidenced by the Burgess Shale?

• Devonian Period

• Ordovician Period

• Cambrian Period

• Silurian Period

Which creature from the Burgess Shale was initially thought to walk on long spikes, but was later found to be viewed upside down?

• Marrella

• Ottoia

• Hallucigenia

• Anomalocaris

What significant discovery in Morocco challenged the idea of a Cambrian extinction?

• New dinosaur species

• Ancient human fossils

• Lazarus taxa from the Cambrian

• Meteorite impact evidence

Which fish, thought to be extinct for 66 million years, was found alive off the coast of South Africa in the 1930s?

• Megalodon

• Dunkleosteus

• Metasequoia

• Coelacanth

Which tree, known only from fossils, was found alive in China in the 1940s?

• Sequoia

• Metasequoia

• Bristlecone pine

• Ginkgo

What is a key reason why some organisms might not appear in the fossil record?

• They lived in environments not conducive to fossilization

• They were too small to fossilize

• They were too large to fossilize

• They were not discovered by humans

What is the main reason the fossil record is considered incomplete?

• Fossils are too rare

• Fossils are too expensive to study

• Not all organisms lived in fossil-friendly environments

• Fossils are too fragile

What does the discovery of Lazarus taxa tell us about the fossil record?

• It only contains large animals

• It has many gaps and missing information

• It is only found in certain regions

• It is complete and accurate

What analogy is used to describe the incomplete nature of the fossil record?

• A movie with missing scenes

• A puzzle with missing pieces

• A painting with missing colors

• A book with missing chapters