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Quiz about The Burgess Shale
Quiz about The Burgess Shale

The Burgess Shale Trivia Quiz


The Burgess Shale: the Cambrian explosion of life. But I'm mostly concerned about the weird and wacky critters that haunted that continental shelf 540 million years ago.

A multiple-choice quiz by pu2-ke-qi-ri. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
pu2-ke-qi-ri
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
180,254
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
902
Last 3 plays: Guest 209 (1/10), Linda_Arizona (7/10), bernie73 (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. In what country is the Burgess Shale formation located? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. An organism in three parts: its body was originally thought to be a sponge, its mouthparts a jellyfish, and its grasping appendages a shrimp, from which this animal gets its name. Now that it's in one piece, nobody knows quite what group this animal should belong to. But one thing was certain: if you lived in the Cambrian seas, you did not want to see this fella coming! Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. This critter's distinguishing features were paddle-like limbs, five eyes, and a long, nozzle-like appendage with a grasping thing on the end. Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Hundreds of these little arthropods have been found. They look somewhat like trilobites, but aren't. Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Of course, this is the most well-known group of organisms from the Burgess Shale. However, here their soft parts as well as their calcium carbonate-impregnated exoskeletons have been found. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. This priapulid worm is named after the capital city of Canada. Specimens have been preserved so that their gut and muscle fibers can be seen. Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This worm-like creature has been hailed as the earliest chordate. Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Let's not forget this spiky, leggy worm. At first, paleontologists couldn't figure out which way was up, the spike side or the legs side, hence the name. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. This creature looks (to me) approximately like a very small Hostess snowball with spines coming out the top. Stephen Jay Gould and Conway Morris have argued about what phylum this creature belongs to. Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. What is especially special about the Burgess Shale? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 12 2024 : Guest 209: 1/10
Sep 17 2024 : Linda_Arizona: 7/10
Sep 12 2024 : bernie73: 5/10
Sep 05 2024 : raffucci: 5/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In what country is the Burgess Shale formation located?

Answer: Canada

It's found in Yoho National Park, on the border between British Columbia and Alberta.
2. An organism in three parts: its body was originally thought to be a sponge, its mouthparts a jellyfish, and its grasping appendages a shrimp, from which this animal gets its name. Now that it's in one piece, nobody knows quite what group this animal should belong to. But one thing was certain: if you lived in the Cambrian seas, you did not want to see this fella coming!

Answer: Anomalocaris

While most of the creatures in the Burgess Shale were tiny, just a few centimeters long, Anomalocaris could grow up to a meter in length. Trilobites have been found with Anomalocaris bite marks on them. Ouch!
3. This critter's distinguishing features were paddle-like limbs, five eyes, and a long, nozzle-like appendage with a grasping thing on the end.

Answer: Opabinia

Opabinia-- It's not quite an arthropod, but what is it? How did it live? Given that Opabinia is so different from anything alive today, unanswered questions abound!
4. Hundreds of these little arthropods have been found. They look somewhat like trilobites, but aren't.

Answer: Marrella

Many Marrella fossils have been found with dark blobs, like their insides decayed and spilled out before their fossilization.
5. Of course, this is the most well-known group of organisms from the Burgess Shale. However, here their soft parts as well as their calcium carbonate-impregnated exoskeletons have been found.

Answer: Trilobites

The Burgess Shale revealed that each trilobite "leg" consists of a walking appendage as well as a gill.
6. This priapulid worm is named after the capital city of Canada. Specimens have been preserved so that their gut and muscle fibers can be seen.

Answer: Ottoia

Specimens of this worm have also been found in the process of digesting animals they've eaten!
7. This worm-like creature has been hailed as the earliest chordate.

Answer: Pikaia

The rod-like structure in the back is a notochord, and rib-like structures are muscle segments.
8. Let's not forget this spiky, leggy worm. At first, paleontologists couldn't figure out which way was up, the spike side or the legs side, hence the name.

Answer: Hallucigenia

Current consensus seems to be that the legs are the part that would touch the seabed.
9. This creature looks (to me) approximately like a very small Hostess snowball with spines coming out the top. Stephen Jay Gould and Conway Morris have argued about what phylum this creature belongs to.

Answer: Wiwaxia

Even after the great debate, nobody is sure what this critter is!
10. What is especially special about the Burgess Shale?

Answer: It preserves soft-bodied organisms

It is highly unusual to find soft-bodied organisms preserved; usually the soft parts decay and leave nothing to be fossilized.
Source: Author pu2-ke-qi-ri

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
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