4. โ Florida is a plateau of limestone over bedrock that is
abundant with deposits of rock phosphate.
โ The original formation of Florida occurred during the
Ordovician over 500 million years ago. It was created by
volcanic activity and marine sedimentation.
โ During the Mesozoic (250 mya), some of Floridaโs
current foundation was broken off from the African
plate and moved along with the North American plate
as Pangea separated. It is part of todayโs North
American continental shelf.
โ Florida has been underwater for most of its history. The
peninsula above sea level began to emerge during the
Eocene (50 mya).
(Barr, 2009)
(Geology of Florida, n.d.)
Geologic Background + History
academic.emporia.edu
7. Evolution of Arecaceae (palms)
โ The palm family has flourished in the
tropics of the Americas, Asia and
Europe. They have the ability to aerate
waterlogged soils.
โ Palms appeared in the fossil record
during the Cretaceous (80 mya). Found
were leaves of Sabal magothiensis and
stems of Palmoxylon cliffwoodensis.
โ By the early Eocene (56 mya), palms
were abundant and widespread.
โ Angiosperms evolved out of underwater
environments to reproduce via airborne
spore dispersal.
(Moore, 2014)
Ancestor: Nypa fruticans (below)
- 94 million year old Nypa pollen fossil
found (Wikipedia, n.d.)
wikipedia.org
wikipedia.org
9. Evolution of Cactaceae (cacti)
โ Most cacti are found in the Americas.
The modern specie is thought to have
come about during the late Miocene (5-
10 mya).
โ They evolved to be drought tolerant
and to very efficiently store water.
This was probably an adaptation to arid
climates.
โ No fossils of cacti have been found.
However, the oldest angiosperm-like
pollen grain fossils date back to the
Triassic (245 mya).
(Cactus, n.d.)
โ The earliest diverging group Pereskia
Leuenbergia existed about 30 mya
and couldโve looked something like
the Pereskia grandifolia (below).
wikipedia.org
11. Evolution of Nymphalidae (four-footed butterflies)
โ Some males donโt use all 6 legs to walk
like most in the order Lepidoptera,
instead they use 4 while the other 2
are curled up.
โ Insects evolved as a diet for the first
land vertebrates 400 mya that started
as piscivores.
โ Nymphalidae are within the group
Rhopalocera, which have evolved most
recently.
โ The oldest known fossil of the
Rhopalocera is from 56 mya.
(Nymphalidae, n.d.)
Ancestor: Archaeolepis mane (below)
- The oldest known fossil of all
Lepidoptera is from the Jurassic (190
mya).
wikipedia.org
13. 1.) Limestone
Composition/formation:
Limestone is made of calcium carbonate by the mineral
calcite. It is formed by the accumulation of coral, shells
and other marine debris in an oceanic environment. It
can also form through evaporation in cave settings via
stalagmites/tites.
Properties/characteristics:
โ Sedimentary
โ Grey/yellow
โ Clastic
โ Rough but soft (easily breakable)
โ Gives off gas bubbles when reacted with HCL
โ The photo bottom right is Tufa limestone that is
precipitated out of the calcium rich water
(Suwannee River, Florida).
northwestfloridaoutdooradventure.com
(Limestone, n.d.)
14. 2.) Sandstone
academic.emporia.edu
Composition/formation:
Sandstone is made of quartz and feldspar. It is formed
by the accumulation of grain sized particles. Because
sand beds donโt preserve specimens very well, there
usually no good fossils contained in sandstone.
Properties/characteristics:
โ Sedimentary
โ Tan/black/white
โ Clastic
โ Sandy/grainy texture
โ Hard
(Alden, n.d.)
16. 4.) Aragonite
wikipedia.org
premiumaquatics.com
Composition/formation:
Aragonite is formed through precipitation from
underwater environments. It is made of calcium
carbonate.
Properties/characteristics:
โ Sedimentary
โ White/grey/pink/orange
โ Brittle
โ Sand inclusions
โ The iridescent color of pearls is due to
aragonite. Mother of pearl is a layer of
aragonite that is excreted from mollusks and
other invertebrates.
(Aragonite, n.d.)
17. 5.) Agatized coral
spiritrockshop.com
Composition/formation:
This is a fossil found in ancient ocean beds.
It is formed when silica rich water replaces
calcium carbonate with chalcedony. Over 25
million years old, this type of fossil is from
the Oligocene/Miocene.
Properties/characteristics:
โ Metamorphic
โ White/grey/brown
โ Hard
โ Bands of color
(Agatized Coral Fossils, n.d.)
18. Agatized Coral Fossils. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2015, from
http://www.fossil-treasures-of-florida.com/agatized-coral.html
Alden, A. (n.d.). The Basics of Sandstone. Retrieved June 21, 2015, from
http://geology.about.com/od/more_sedrocks/a/aboutsandstone.htm
Aragonite. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2015, from http://www.britannica.com/science/aragonite
Barr, J. (2009, April 1). Retrieved June 21, 2015, from
http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/student/barr1/report.htm
Cactus. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus
Geology of Florida. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Florida
Limestone. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2015, from http://geology.com/rocks/limestone.shtml
Moore, H. (2014, August 13). Palm. Retrieved June 21, 2015, from http://www.britannica.com/plant/palm-tree
Nymphalidae. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphalidae
Perlite. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2015, from http://www.britannica.com/science/perlite
References
