Araucaria

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/araucaria

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Araucaria
2. What is the diet?Autotrophic (plants that produce their own food via photosynthesis)
3. What are Araucaria trees and why are they called living fossils?Araucaria trees are evergreen conifers that lived with dinosaurs and are still alive today. They are called living fossils because they have existed for millions of years, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods to now.
4. Where can you find Araucaria trees today?Today most Araucaria trees grow in the Southern Hemisphere. They are common in places like New Caledonia, eastern Australia, New Guinea, and parts of South America such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Mesozoic Era: The geological era from about 252 to 66 million years ago, known as the age of dinosaurs.
Endemism: The ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island or region.
Gondwana: An ancient supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, comprising most of the landmasses in today's Southern Hemisphere.
Anthropogenic: Originating in human activity.