SAGE MUSEUM · DINOSAURS & DEEP TIME
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ROOM 02
Oceans Before Dinosaurs
The Rise of Complex Animal Life
20 SPECIMENS ·
6 INTERPRETIVE THREADS
The Rise of Complex Animal Life.
Interpretive threads: The Rise of Animals · Diversity Bursts Forth · Marine Variety Triples · Trilobites: Intricate Beauty · Life Moves Ashore · Life Gets Complicated
INTERPRETIVE THREADS
SPECIMENS & EVIDENCE
ROOM 02
Algae — Marpolia spissa
Middle Cambrian · Approximately 505 million years old in the classic Burgess Shale context.
filamentous fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Early echinoderm — Ctenocystis utahensis
Middle Cambrian · Lower Middle Cambrian.
body fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Early arthropod — Waptia fieldensis
Middle Cambrian · Approximately 505 million years ago.
body fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Early mollusk — Wiwaxia corrugata
Middle Cambrian · Approximately 505 million years ago.
body fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Orthocone cephalopod — Endoceras sp.
Ordovician · Ordovician; exact numeric age of the Smithsonian display shell is not assigned here.
shell
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Trilobite — Isotelus gigas
Late Ordovician · Late Ordovician; Smithsonian material includes Cincinnatian and Trentonian occurrences.
exoskeleton fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Jawless fish — Dartmuthia gemmifera
Late Silurian · Upper Silurian, Ludlow.
skull / head shield
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Tree-sized fungus — Prototaxites sp.
Devonian · Devonian.
body fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Early vascular plant — Cooksonia pertoni
Silurian · Silurian.
plant fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Lobe-finned fish — Eusthenopteron foordi
Late Devonian · Late Devonian.
skull
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Placoderm fish — Bothriolepis canadensis
Late Devonian · Late Devonian.
armored fish fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Lobe-finned bony fish — Gogonasus andrewsae
Late Devonian · Approximately 375 million years ago.
skull cast
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Trilobite — Dicranurus hamatus
Early Devonian · Early Devonian.
exoskeleton fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Rugose coral / Petoskey stone — Hexagonaria sp.
Devonian · Devonian; the exact numeric age and species of this Smithsonian Hexagonaria sp. specimen are not assigned here.
colonial coral fossil
comparative_exact_taxon_visual
ROOM 02
Early reef-building sponge — Archaeocyathus sp.
Cambrian · Early Cambrian for Smithsonian Archaeocyathus material; the exact age of this individual display specimen is not assigned beyond its Cambrian context here.
body fossil
Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.
ROOM 02
Trilobite — Ceraurus pleurexanthemus
Ordovician · Ordovician; exact age of this individual display fossil is not assigned here.
exoskeleton fossil
Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.
ROOM 02
Eurypterid arthropod — Eurypterus remipes
Silurian · More than 415 million years old.
body fossil
Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.
ROOM 02
Early tetrapod — Acanthostega gunnari
Late Devonian — Famennian · Late Devonian.
skeleton cast
Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.
ROOM 02
Early seed plant — Elkinsia sp.
Late Devonian · Late Devonian; the inventory identifies this only as Elkinsia sp., so no species-level numeric age is assigned.
plant fossil
Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.
ROOM 02
Ammonoid cephalopod — Agoniatites expansus
Middle Devonian · Middle Devonian; documented material occurs in the Onondaga interval.
shell fossil
Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.