Fossils B/C

[Jim_R]

Discussion for Fossils B/C
Fossils Wiki
2010 Thread
Petrified Wood Museum
UC Berkeley Index of Life

[quizbowl]

just waiting for the list now. im hoping for some new additions.

[lllazar]

I am so psyched for Fossils this year....

[paleonaps]

I so hope that I can do fossils this year.

[soobsession]

Lists should be out late August right? And there usually arent many changes...

[paleonaps]

Yeah, probably not. I hope there is some more emphasis on vertebrates- the "interesting fossils".

[amerikestrel]

Eh, I hope it doesn't change too much. I liked last year's list.

[paleonaps]

The only change I think they should make is to remove Deinonychus or Velociraptor. They are so closely related, they were both once considered to be the same genus. It's pointless having both of them.

Not very different. One was bigger than the other, and lived millions of years earlier. There are other differences, but these are the most prominent.

[lllazar]

The only change I think they should make is to remove Deinonychus or Velociraptor. They are so closely related, they were both once considered to be the same genus. It's pointless having both of them.

Not very different. One was bigger than the other, and lived millions of years earlier. There are other differences, but these are the most prominent.

The really annoying thing is that on every fossils test ive ever done - they always have an ID question involving the claw of one of these. I don't know about you but i cannot differentiate between the claws of these 2 genera.

[paleonaps]

Size is the best way. In life, the Velociraptor had a claw about 2.6 inches long on the outer edge. The Deinonychus had a 4.7 inch long claw in life. They are smaller now because they lack a protective sheath of keratin, but one is noticeably smaller than the other.

[quizbowl]

my dislikes were that they always gave questions with both exogyra and gryphaea. i find it pretty simple to distinguish them apart, but at times it just gets so annoying.

[paleonaps]

Yeah, it's annoying. I did fossils at invitationals last year because I love it so much, and they had a question on those. I couldn't tell them apart. (I was out of practice.)

[quizbowl]

being brutally honest, i would much rather have this event be like ornithology; i do not think one necessarily needs 100 pages of notes. i dont think that fossils should have a binder, maybe 5 pages, like remote sensing. really, the biggest part about fossils is identification; you dont (or rather, shouldnt) need a binder for that.

[paleonaps]

I think the binder is good, and we don't need it gone. Maybe 5 pages would work, but I think that the way it is is best.

[quizbowl]

in my opinion, fossils is rather an identification event. the information you need really need could probably fit on 5 pages, and this time a field guide would be put to better use. or even make your own field guide.