Planet Earth Name_____________________

In the early 1900’s, geologists found a spectacular array of Cambrian fossils in the high Canadian Rockies, in a formation known as the Burgess Shale. Although the fossils were clearly unlike animal life today, the chief investigator began to classify them into appropriate phyla. Recall that each phylum is made up of organisms with a distinctive body plan that is different from the body plan of other animals.

You will examine sketches of the Burgess Shale fossils. These sketches are the products of detailed analysis and constructions, many of which took years of work.

Objective: Based on these sketches you will assign each critter to the animal phylum you think is most appropriate. State your rationale.

1. Set up a chart with several columns headed: Number and name of organism; Phylum; Rationale
2. Other than looking at one sketch, what other data do you need in order to be more certain of the phyla for the various animals?
3. Choose an organism or two which particularly interests you. What can you surmise about the niches they once occupied in the Burgess Shale community long ago?

a "Niche" describes how it "made its living" - what it ate, its habitat, etc. For example, the niche of a crayfish (crawdad) is living in a creek, burrowing under rocks and into the mud, eating small fish which it catches with its powerful pinchers.