Coon Creek Formation - Ancient Life

Ancient Life

Many rivers fed into the sea bringing leaves and driftwood from the land. These served as the base of the food chain. Bacteria and other microscopic scavengers ate the decaying wood. Plankton ate the bacteria. Clams filtered the small plankton. Snails ate the clams and were eaten in turn by crabs and fish. Mosasaurs and cephalopods ate the fish and crabs. Some organisms were swimmers or floaters, but most lived on or in the sandy mud of the sea bottom. This layer of sandy clay, bones, and shells became the Coon Creek Formation.

Read more about this topic:  Coon Creek Formation

Famous quotes containing the words ancient and/or life:

    “There is an ancient saying, which is a true one—”To fight against two opponents is a difficult thing.””
    —Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)

    “One of the sad realities of being a parent is that the same stuff you know is exciting, educational, and enriching in your child’s life is often messy, smelly and exhausting to deal with.”
    —Joyce Maynard (20th century)