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Fossils

This document discusses index fossils, which are fossils used to determine the relative age of geological formations and to correlate rock layers across different locations. Index fossils must be distinctive, abundant, and have a short time range, making them useful for dating rocks. The document explains that index fossils form through permineralization when minerals fill in the spaces left by plant and animal hard parts or tissues. Examples of common index fossils mentioned include ammonites, brachiopods, graptolites, nanofossils, and trilobites. The document notes that not all fossils make good index fossils and discusses criteria fossils must meet to be reliably used for dating purposes.

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Jorge Rabadán Heras
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51 views

Fossils

This document discusses index fossils, which are fossils used to determine the relative age of geological formations and to correlate rock layers across different locations. Index fossils must be distinctive, abundant, and have a short time range, making them useful for dating rocks. The document explains that index fossils form through permineralization when minerals fill in the spaces left by plant and animal hard parts or tissues. Examples of common index fossils mentioned include ammonites, brachiopods, graptolites, nanofossils, and trilobites. The document notes that not all fossils make good index fossils and discusses criteria fossils must meet to be reliably used for dating purposes.

Uploaded by

Jorge Rabadán Heras
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Index

fossils
By Alba R, Asier
anda Jorge R
What is an index fossil?
An Index fossil is any animal or plant preserved in the rock record of the Earth that is
characteristic of a particular span of geologic time or environment. A useful index fossil must be
distinctive or easily recognizable, abundant, and have a wide geographic distribution and a short
range through time.
How are index fossils produced?

Permineralizations are not


Index fossils form in the same way other fossils "limited" to hard body parts
form. The most common method is (such as bones or shells), but
can also be found preserving
permineralization. When the body of a plant or
soft body parts. This could be
animal is covered in a layer of sediment,
very important to researchers
minerals fill in the spaces left by the hard parts of who wish to look at what life
their bodies or, in the case of plants, the leaves was like in the past in relation
and stems. to what it is now in the
present.
Process of Permineralization:
What needs to have an Index fossil?

● They must be distinctive or


easily recognizable
● They must be abundant
● They must have a wide
geographic distribution and a
short range through time
● They are the basis for defining
boundaries in the geologic time
scale and the correlation of
strata.
● They must be distinctive
What are they used for?

● Index fossils are used for relative dating


● Because they were so abundant and widespread during a short period of geological
time, their presence helps date rocks from that period.So this means they are very
useful in dating rocks.
● They are useful to determined the age of rocks.If the same index fossil is found in
different areas, the strata in each area were likely deposited at the same time. Thus, the
principle of faunal succession makes it possible to determine the relative age of unknown
fossils and correlate fossil sites across large discontinuous areas.
● They are used for the determination of the age of fossil assemblages and also help to
establish relationships between rock units.
What are they used for?
● Index fossils help scientists to find the relative age of a rock layer and match it up with other rock
layers.
● Index fossils themselves are the remains of particular organisms that have only ever been found in one
geological layer, so can be used to provide an approximate age for the strata.
Why not all of them are right?

You only have samples of a fossil from a single location, it’s likely
just one population of that organism.

If you find this organism across a larger landmass however, it allows


you to narrow down the strata you can generally find this fossil in.
This is what makes ammonites such a good index fossil: they can be
found reliably across the world in Mesozoic strata.

Tyrannosaurus would not make a good index fossil. They are only
found in Western North America, so if you found a Tyrannosaurus
anywhere else we either need to rethink the range of Tyrannosaurus
or identify it as a morphologically similar organism.
The right ones
Examples of index fossils

● Ammonites
● Brachiopods
● Graptolites
● Nanofossil
● Trilobites
Ammonite fossil
Brachiopod fossil
Graptolite fossil
Nanofossils
Trilobites fossil

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