Several fish species became extinct millions of years ago. The graphs
provided below show the distribution of fossils of these fishes as they
occur in several undisturbed layers of sedimentary rock observable in a
cliff face. Respond to ALL 4 PARTS below: Explain why the distribution of
the fossils in figure 1 support the hypothesis that the extinction of these
species was a result of a sudden environmental change. Describe an
environmental change that could have produced this kind of fossil
distribution. Explain why the distribution of the fossils in figure 2 supports
the hypothesis that the extinction of these species was a result of a
gradual environmental change. Describe an environmental change that
could produce this kind of fossil distribution.