Marrella

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/marrella

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?Marrella splendens
2. What is the geographic location?Middle Cambrian marine deposits in British Columbia, Canada, and China
3. Where can we find Marrella fossils?Marrella fossils are found mainly in the Burgess Shale in Canada and also in some places in China. These spots were once shallow seas that preserved the animals very well.
4. Why are so many Marrella fossils found in the Burgess Shale?The Burgess Shale had quiet waters and quick burial, which kept the soft parts of Marrella from rotting. Because of this, tens of thousands of Marrella fossils were preserved there.

Lagerstätte: A sedimentary deposit containing exceptional fossil preservation, often including soft tissues.
Benthic: Relating to or occurring at the bottom of a body of water.
Phylogenetic: Relating to the evolutionary development and diversification of a species or group of organisms.
Homologous: Having a similar structure due to shared ancestry, but not necessarily the same function.