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Fossils are preserved remains or impressions of ancient plants and animals found in rock, soil, or amber, formed through a rare process that requires quick burial in sediments. Fossilization occurs when the organism is buried, reducing decay and allowing minerals to replace organic material, resulting in molds and casts. Many fossils are located in sedimentary rock layers that were once underwater, and significant fossil evidence is found in areas that have since emerged from the ocean due to tectonic movements.

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4 views

Studyladder+-+How+Fossils+Formed

Fossils are preserved remains or impressions of ancient plants and animals found in rock, soil, or amber, formed through a rare process that requires quick burial in sediments. Fossilization occurs when the organism is buried, reducing decay and allowing minerals to replace organic material, resulting in molds and casts. Many fossils are located in sedimentary rock layers that were once underwater, and significant fossil evidence is found in areas that have since emerged from the ocean due to tectonic movements.

Uploaded by

boyugo56
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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How Fossils

Formed
What are fossils?
Fossils are the remains or impressions of
plants and animals that have been
preserved in rock, soil or amber. Traces
of ancient life such as footprints are also
considered fossils.

The oldest fossils on Earth formed


billions of years ago. The youngest
fossils formed from organisms that lived
10 000 years ago.
The remains of most plants and animals are
usually either scavenged and eaten by animals
or they are decomposed by microorganisms.
Fossilization is a rare occurrence.

A fossil can only form if an organism is quickly


buried in sediments. Being buried reduces the
oxygen supply which slows the decay of the
organism. The sediments surrounding the
organism become compacted and eventually
turn into rock with the organism inside. Hard
plant stems and body parts such as bones,
teeth and shells can become fossilized when
they absorb minerals from the sediments
around them.

Sometimes the organism completely dissolves


away, leaving an imprint or a hole in the rock.
This is called a mold. It can sometimes fill with
sediment making a cast of the organism.
Many fossils are found in sedimentary rock
layers that were once under the oceans.

Organisms that died were quickly


submerged and settled into the muddy
sediments on the ocean floor.

The Earth’s surface has changed


dramatically over millions of years due to
the movement of its tectonic plates. Many
places that were once covered by oceans
are now exposed on the continents. These
are the places where fossil evidence is most
abundant.

The fossil in this picture is an extinct sea


creature called an ammonite that lived
between 400 - 65 million years ago. It had
similarities to the squid and the nautilus
that live in our oceans today.
Some creatures trapped in tree sap became fossilized when the sap hardened, forming amber.
Dinosaur tracks can also become fossilized. When
herds of dinosaurs walked across the muddy shores
of a waterhole they left footprints.

During a period of drought the mud dried up and the


footprints remained. The sediments became hard
leaving a mold of the dinosaur’s footprints. Over time
these may have been filled with sediments which
compacted and became casts of the prints.

How do you think the footprints on this quarry wall


in Bolivia (see the picture below) were formed?

Dinosaur Tracks on the Wall of Cal Orko, Sucre, Bolivia Morrison Fossil Area, Colorado, USA.

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