Episode 10: Carboniferous Arthropods
Palaeocast
English - January 15, 2013 11:30 - 1 hour - 84.4 MB - ★★★★★ - 154 ratingsNatural Sciences Science Education Courses evolution geology palaeontology paleontology science dinosaurs education fossils paleo Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
The first animals came onto land sometime before 425 Ma. These early colonizers were members of a group called the arthropods - probably early relatives of the millipedes first. However, early land animals - especially those from the Palaeozoic era (542 - 252 Ma) - are relatively rarely preserved as fossils. The Carboniferous period (350-299 Ma) is an exception to this rule. During the Late Carboniferous, there is a window in which land animals are found preserved within the iron carbonate mineral siderite. This kind of preservation allows palaeontologists to use 3D reconstruction techniques - such as high resolution CT scanning - to investigate this unique insight into early land-based ecosystems. We talk to Dr. Russell Garwood - an 1851 research fellow at the University of Manchester - about the Carboniferous, the land animals which were around at the time, and the techniques he uses to study these.