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Graptolites

| Scientific Classification |
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Graptolites are an extinct group of marine animals
that lived in the seas from the Cambrian period until
the end Carboniferous period. The were extremely
successful and lived in
colonies - there were both benthic (permanently attached
to the sea-floor by a "root") and
pelagic (floating freely, or attached to seaweed) varieties.
Graptolite
are very common, particularly those which were deposited in mud rocks
and shales, as a result are often used as "index fossils"
- that is to say that rocks can be dated. Additionally,
The particular type of graptolite fossil
present in a rock can sometimes used by scientists to estimate the temperature or depth
of a region at the time of the Graptolite's lifetime.
Although Graptolite fossils
tend to be quite common, they are not always easy to see.
Even if seen, many casual observers mistake them for
fossil plants,
and even Carl Linnaeus (the Swedish botanist who was the principle founder
of modern taxonomy) regarded them as
"pictures resembling fossils rather than true fossils"
Finally, the presence of two distinct types of Grapolites in the rocks
of Europe
and North America, just like the two distinct types of
Trilobites
found in the very same rocks, has been regarded as evidence of an ancient ocean
(known as the "Iapetus Ocean") that once lay between the two continents.
The Iapetus Ocean is thought to have closed-up again when all the continents joined
together in the super-continent of Pangaea - and when a new ocean (the Atlantic Ocean), separating
Europe and North America,
did eventually appear, it did so along
a somewhat different line of separation.


Graptolites were marine colonial animals that lived from the Cambrian period to the Carboniferous periods

Related Information & Resources
See Also

Graptolite Books Here are some books from Amazon.com:
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Kessinger Publishing, LLC Paperback (100 pages)
 | List Price: $18.95* Lowest New Price: $11.55* Lowest Used Price: $13.40* Usually ships in 24 hours* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description: This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. |
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By Joachim Barrande
Nabu Press Paperback (110 pages)
 | List Price: $19.75* Lowest New Price: $12.66* Usually ships in 24 hours* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description: This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++
Graptolites De Bohême
Joachim Barrande
L'auteur, 1850
Graptolites; Paleontology |
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Boydell Press Hardcover (328 pages)
 | List Price: $95.00* Lowest Used Price: $135.00* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description: Graptolites lived in the earth's oceans from 540 million years ago to 320 million years ago, when they became extinct. For most of that time they dominated the upper layers of the ocean in tropical regions as the earth's first large zooplankton. They varied from a few millimetres in length to more than a metre; they lived by the countless billion, and their skeletons are preserved today in vast numbers in varied strata in every continent except Antarctica. Because of their diversity, they are a powerful correlative tool: units of time of much less than a million years are identifiable, and within individual rock sequences evolutionary changes can be studied, which makes them of prime importance to economic geologists. Graptolites are, however, still the subject of lively debate — little is established about their lives, and although skeletons abound, the soft parts of only one graptolite have been found — in deposits 500 million years old in Tasmania. As well as providing a full summary of the current state of knowledge relating to graptolites, the team of specialists who contribute to this book also address the biological questions raised by these fossils, and provide pointers for further research. Contents: Part I. The Organism: Definition and appearance; Preservation; Construction; Distribution; Biology; Evolution; Relationship to other organisms; Sex life. Part II. The Fossil: Collection and preparation; Identification; Correlative uses. Appendices: Glossary of technical terms; Where to find them in Britain and other countries; Classification and evolution; Further reading.BARRIE RICKARDS is Reader in Palaeobiology, University of Cambridge, and curator of the Sedgwick Museum of Geology. DOUGLAS PALMER is a freelance geologist and writer. |
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NRC Research Press Paperback (141 pages)
 | Lowest New Price: $111.66* Lowest Used Price: $111.67* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here |
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By Alfred C. Lenz
Geological Assn of Canada Paperback (61 pages)
| List Price: $29.00* Lowest New Price: $29.00* Usually ships in 24 hours* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here |
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By C. P. Hughes
Blackwell Science Inc Hardcover (288 pages)
| List Price: $75.00* Lowest Used Price: $4.97* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here |
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By Lee F Braithwaite
Geological Society of America Unknown Binding (106 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $38.19* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here |
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By Alfred C Lenz
Paleontological Research Institution Paperback (52 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $43.40* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here |
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By Alfred C. Lenz
University of Toronto Press Hardcover (154 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $63.58* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here |
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By Isles Strachan
Palaeontographical Society Paperback (130 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $26.25* *(As of 22:03 Pacific 16 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here |
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