Fossils

Generally fossils are formed when plants or animals die (or are trapped) and covered with a layer of mud.

This not only protects the dead animal carcass (or plant) from scavengers that may have been lurking nearby, but also retards decomposition. This applies not only to animals, but also fish, moluscs and some insects (where the shells are preserved).

As the layers of sediment (or mud) are layered on top of the dead body the flesh decomposes (in the case of plants the soft tissue).

Over time dissolved minerals in the soil surrounding and above the now skeleton penetrate the bones of the animal and replace the calcium of the bones, this leaves a mineral imprint of the bone, which is now a considered a fossil.

In the case of plants, the imprint of the leaf is left in the surrounding stone.

This process happens over millions of years.

Peat once dried becomes very easy to burn while mudstone once dries turns to a hard stone and is not flammable even with plant fragments in it.

Also peat tends to have layers to its formation while mudstone is very random in its formation.

It is said that Antarctica was once a warm continent, Therefore it once held warm weather animals, But the climate started to change and it became cold, Therefore the fossils of warm blooded animals can be found in Antarctica.

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The world's climate was warmer and Antarctica was part of a much larger continent lying further North.

Petrifaction involves the replacement of organic material with minerals, resulting in a detailed preservation of the original organism's structure. On the other hand, fossil casts are formed when the original organism decays, leaving an impression or mold in the surrounding rock. This process often results in less detailed fossils with limited information compared to petrified fossils.

Fossils help us learn about the past, like if a fish fossil was in your backyard, then your backyard was covered with water. They also help us with the fossils where the setting was then, and what animals lived there.

Small water plants have a higher likelihood of being preserved in deep rock layers because their delicate structures are easily buried and protected from decay. Other plants may have had a different composition that made them less likely to fossilize or their habitats may not have favored preservation in deep rock layers.

The Fossil Record supports the idea that God created each kind of plant and animal individually. The Fossil Record does not offer any evidence for evolution, because it reveals that God created insects, plants, humans and other living organisms.

Yes, studying the age of fossils can help determine how organisms have evolved over time. By comparing older and newer fossils, scientists can track changes in features and characteristics of different species to understand how they have adapted and diversified through time. This can provide insights into the evolutionary processes that have shaped life on Earth.

People who find dinosaur bones are typically paleontologists. They study fossils and excavate sites to learn about prehistoric life, including dinosaurs. Their work helps us understand the Earth's history and the evolution of life on our planet.

A stone fossil is formed when minerals replace the organic material in a plant or animal over time. As the remains decay, minerals from the surrounding environment seep into the empty spaces and eventually harden, creating a replica of the original organism in stone.

Relative age is determined by the position of rock layers in relation to one another, using principles like superposition and cross-cutting relationships. Absolute age is determined by radiometric dating of the rocks themselves, providing a more precise numerical age of when the rocks formed. By combining these methods, scientists can establish a timeline of events in a series of rock layers.

The Precambrian time period is segmented into very few parts because it covers an immense span of time, approximately 4 billion years. The lack of detailed fossil records and the complexity of geological processes during this time make it difficult to create more subdivisions. Additionally, the period saw major events such as the formation of Earth's crust and the evolution of life, which are hard to categorize into smaller segments.

amber, petrified fossils, trace fossils, carbon films, molds, and cast.

Yes, scientists use major changes in life forms in the fossil record to help identify and define different periods of time in the geologic time scale. These changes in life forms, known as biostratigraphy, provide important clues for correlating and dating rock layers and understanding the evolution of life on Earth over time.

Yes, gastropods can be used as index fossils because they have a wide range of species that have evolved over time. By studying the presence of specific gastropod species in the fossil record, scientists can determine the age of the rock layer in which they are found, helping to date other fossils and rocks in that area.

It is determined because in layers of rocks the fossils are found so the layers of rocks give information to the scientist about the age of a fossil so like that the relative age of a fossil is determined.

Properties such as parallelism, ratio of distances, and the measure of angles are preserved under dilation. This means that parallel lines remain parallel after dilation, the ratio of lengths between corresponding points remains constant, and angles maintain their measures before and after dilation.

Yes, sedimentary rocks hold important clues to Earth's history because they form from the accumulation and cementation of sediments that record past environments and processes. Fossils, sedimentary structures, and mineral compositions in these rocks provide valuable information about past climates, ecosystems, and geological events. By studying sedimentary rocks, scientists can reconstruct the Earth's history and understand its evolution over time.

A scientist could use radiometric dating methods, such as carbon dating or potassium-argon dating, to determine the absolute age of a fossil found in a sedimentary rock. These methods rely on the decay of radioactive isotopes within the rock surrounding the fossil to calculate its age.

they are only been found in a narrow geographic range

ooooh i don't think there is even a devonian so that would be a no. sry i cant help

john Boyd thatcher state park just outside Albany is one of the best places in the world to find devonian fossils.

You rarely find fossils in igneous rock for one reason. Igneous rocks are formed from the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. Most living material is destroyed by the heat leaving no recognizable fossil.

Yes, index fossils are the remains of species that lived for short periods of time geologically. They are useful for dating and correlating the age of rock layers.

The Equus genus first appeared in the fossil record around 4 million years ago during the Pliocene epoch.

There are a number of reasons for the relatively few mammal fossils compared to others such as invertebrates.

Mammals have been around for about 220 million years, much less than others.

Most mammals are land animals whereas the best place to be preserved as a fossil is in sediment in seas or lakes.

Mammals tend to be small in earlier times, which means their bone are small and fragile.