Introduction
Peace River Valley offers numerous opportunities for historians and archeologists as various remains and fossils could be found in the area. Studying these fossils may contribute to the understanding of land formation processes. Such data may represent significant historical value as it provides knowledge about both the biosphere and the surrounding environment (Ripple & Van Valkenburgh, 2010). Through fossil analysis, it may be possible to determine periods of time and related environmental conditions. The existence of diverse animal species remains may indicate major landscape transformation from the ocean floor to the land surface.
Methods
In order to achieve research goals, various databases and literature related to fossils were analyzed. Data regarding horse molar, gar scale, snaggletooth shark, remains, and turtle shell pieces was used to identify which types of these fossils were found in the area. Subject-related literature was used to systemize information about these fossils. Such data was used to determine the age of the remains and assume a possible period of species existence.
Results
Horse remains, and particularly horse teeth, represent one of the most common fossils in Peace River Valley. According to some studies, horse molar in the area may represent ice age mammals (Bokor et al., 2016). Most of these species went extinct. In most cases, horse teeth found in the valley date back to the Pleistocene. Fossils related to Snaggletooth sharks are also commonly found in the area. These sharks are primarily identified through teeth as they have unique structures (Jambura et al., 2018). Snaggletooth sharks lived from the late Oligocene into the early Pleistocene. Turtle shells may represent two distinct groups of animals as they could belong to sea turtles or land turtles. Turtle shell remains may be linked with a long period of time. Researchers have found that some of these fossils may date back to the late Miocene (Bourque & Schubert, 2015). Gars are mostly known from individual scales and skull remains. Therefore, their classification and identification are controversial. However, most of these scales date back to the Cretaceous.
Discussion
According to collected data, these animals were not present at the same time. Gars are the most ancient in the list as their existence dates back to 145-66 million years ago. In some cases, the existence of these animals may have overlapped. Sea turtles and snaggletooth sharks may have existed at the same period of time. As some horse teeth date back to the Pleistocene, their time may have overlapped with snaggletooth sharks too. These fossils may indicate that the Peace River valley was first inhabited by sea animals such as gar fish and snaggletooth sharks. The area was inappropriate for land animals as it may have been at the bottom of the sea. Snaggletooth sharks are predators with distinct tooth structures related to trophic adaptation. Ancient horses were herbivores and may have played a significant role in food chains involving mammal carnivores. Conclusively, fossil remains may contain significant knowledge regarding ancient ecosystem transformation, which may have both practical and theoretical value.
References
Bokor, J., Broo, J., & Mahoney, J. (2016). Using fossil teeth to study the evolution of horses in response to a changing climate.The American Biology Teacher, 78(2), 166–169. Web.
Bourque, J. R., & Schubert, B. W. (2015). Fossil musk turtles (Kinosternidae,Sternotherus) from the late Miocene–early Pliocene (Hemphillian) of Tennessee and Florida. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 35(1). Web.
Jambura, P. L., Pfaff, C., Underwood, C. J., Ward, D. J., & Kriwet, J. (2018). Tooth mineralization and histology patterns in extinct and extant snaggletooth sharks, Hemipristis (Carcharhiniformes, Hemigaleidae)—Evolutionary significance or ecological adaptation?PLOS ONE, 13(8). Web.
Plint, A. G., Krawetz, J. R., Buckley, R. A., Vannelli, K. M., & Walaszczyk, I. (2018). Tectonic, eustatic and climatic controls on marginal‐marine sedimentation across a flexural depocentre: Paddy Member of Peace River Formation (Late Albian), Western Canada Foreland Basin. The Depositional Record, 4(1), 4-58.
Ripple, W. J., & Van Valkenburgh, B. (2010). Linking top-down forces to the pleistocene megafaunal extinctions.BioScience, 60(7), 516–526. Web.