Tree of Life in Fossil Record

Also see:
Formal Listing of Phyla
Paleobiology over Geological Time
The Three Domains of Life

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A Tree of Life for Fossil Record: The table below prevents a pseudo-formal classification scheme for classifying fossils following the old Linnaeus system. It is a hybrid that includes some of the old Linnaeus classification system, and some new phylogeny-based organization; for example, it also includes the three domains of life, Eukaryotes, Eubacteria (the Prokaryotes) and the Archaeans. While it is not a complete tree of life, it will suffice for organizing fossils into their ancestry and decendency.

Click the links in the table below to climb different trunks, limbs and branches of the tree of life. Alternatively, begin with the phyla in the Tree of Life.   Special Fossil Categories not Fitting within Tree of Life below Stromatolites - The oldest fossil are sedimentary structures of microbial biologic origin or involvement Ichnofossils - or trace fossils: imprints that are the result of activity of living organisms Fossil Amber - Polimerized fossil plant resin that may have inclusions spanning all three domains of life Domains (note: 1st 7/8ths of geological history dominated by stromatolites across all 3 domains of life)   Eubacteria ("True bacteria", mitochondria, and chloroplasts)   Archaea (Methanogens, Halophiles, Sulfolobus, and relatives)   Eukaryotes (Protists, Plants, Fungi, Animals, Algae, etc.)   Kingdom Plantae (plant fossils)   Division Bryophyta (mosses)   Division Lycophyta (scale trees, club moss)   Division Pteridopsida (ferns)   Division Spermatophytes (seed plants)   Fossil Resin (Amber)   Kingdom Animalia (Eumetazoa)   Various Worms Worm Fossils Phyla: Cephaloryncha Nematoda Onychophora Echiura   Phylum Annelida   Phylum Lobopodia   Phylum Vetulicolia   Phylum Porifera (sponges)   Phylum Hyolitha   Phylum Cnidaria   Class Anthozoa (corals, anemones)   Class Cubozoa (box jellyfish)   Class Scyphozoa (jellyfish)   Phylum Arthropoda (Ecdysozoa - molting animals)   Class Trilobita (Trilobites)   Subphylum Crustacea (crabs, lobster, shrimp)   Subphylum Hexapoda - Class Insecta (insects)   Subphylum Myriapoda (millipedes, centipedes)   Subphylum Chelicerata   Class Arachnida (e.g., spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions, pseudoscorpions)   Class Merostomata (horseshoe crabs, Eurypterids)   Class Pycnogonida (sea spiders)   Lophophorates   Phylum Brachiopoda   Phylum Bryozoa   Phylum Mollusca   Class Bivalvia (clams, oysters, mussels scallops)   Class Cephalopoda (ammonites, nautiluses, squid, octopus)     Subclass Ammonoidea (Ammonites)     Subclass Nautiloidea (Nautiloids)     Subclass Ammonoidea   Class Gastropoda (snails, slugs)   Deuterostomia   Phylum Echinodermata   Ateroidea (starfish)   Crinoidea (crinoids)   Echinoidea (sea urchins, sand dollars)   Edioasteroidea (like starfish)   Eocrinoidea (dawn crinoids)   Ophiuroidea (brittle stars)   Phylum Hemichordata   Phylum Chordata Infraphylum Terapoda   Urochordata *   Fish Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes like sharks and rays)   Fish Class Actinopterygii (bony ray finned fish)   Fish Class Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fishes, consisting of lungfish and coelacanths)   Fish Class Placodermi (Armoured Fish)   Amphibians   Reptiles   Dinosauria   Dinosaurs   Birds   Mammals   Kingdom Protista (single-celled animals)*   Kingdom Chromista (single-celled plant and plant-like)   Kingdom Fungi * = not important in fossil record