FOSSILS

Fossils are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as

footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms.
The totality of fossils and their placement in fossiliferous (fossil-containing)
rock formations and sedimentary layers (strata) is known as the fossil record.
The study of fossils across geological time, how they were formed, and the
evolutionary relationships between taxa (phylogeny) are some of the most
important functions of the science of paleontology.
While most fossils are several thousands to several billions of years old, there is
no minimum age for a fossil.
Fossils vary in size from microscopic, such as single cells, to gigantic, such as
dinosaurs.
A fossil normally preserves only a portion of the deceased organism, usually
that portion that was partially mineralized during life, such as the bones and
teeth of vertebrates, or the chitinous exoskeletons of invertebrates.
Preservation of soft tissues is exquisitely rare in the fossil record.
Fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was
alive, such as the footprint or feces of a reptile.
These types of fossil are called trace fossils (or ichnofossils) as opposed to body
fossils.
Finally, past life leaves some markers that cannot be seen but can be detected in
the form of chemical signals; these are known as chemical fossils or biomarkers
Fossils (from Classical Latin fossilis, literally "obtained by digging") are the
preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the
remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their
placement in fossiliferous (fossil-containing) rock formations and sedimentary
layers (strata) is known as the fossil record.
The study of fossils across geological time, how they were formed, and the
evolutionary relationships between taxa (phylogeny) are some of the most
important functions of the science of paleontology. Such a preserved specimen
is called a "fossil" if it is older than some minimum age, most often the arbitrary
date of 10,000 years. Hence, fossils range in age from the youngest at the start
of the Holocene Epoch to the oldest from the Archaean Eon, up to
3.48 billion years old. The observation that certain fossils were associated with
certain rock strata led early geologists to recognize a geological timescale in the
19th century. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early
20th century allowed geologists to determine the numerical or "absolute" age of
the various strata and thereby the included fossils.
Like extant organisms, fossils vary in size from microscopic, even single
bacterial cells one micrometer in diameter, to gigantic, such as dinosaurs and
trees many meters long and weighing many tons. A fossil normally preserves
only a portion of the deceased organism, usually that portion that was partially
mineralized during life, such as the bones and teeth of vertebrates, or the
chitinous or calcareous exoskeletons of invertebrates. Fossils may also consist
of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as animal
tracks or feces (coprolites). These types of fossil are called trace fossils (or
ichnofossils), as opposed to body fossils. Finally, past life leaves some markers
that cannot be seen but can be detected in the form of biochemical signals; these
are known as chemofossils or biomarkers.
The process of fossilization varies according to tissue type and external
conditions.
Permineralization
Permineralization is a process of fossilization that occurs when an organism is
buried. The empty spaces within an organism (spaces filled with liquid or gas
during life) become filled with mineral-rich groundwater. Minerals precipitate
from the groundwater, occupying the empty spaces. This process can occur in
very small spaces, such as within the cell wall of a plant cell. Small scale
permineralization can produce very detailed fossils. For permineralization to
occur, the organism must become covered by sediment soon after death or soon
after the initial decay process. The degree to which the remains are decayed
when covered determines the later details of the fossil. Some fossils consist only
of skeletal remains or teeth; other fossils contain traces of skin, feathers or even
soft tissues. This is a form of diagenesis.
Casts and molds
In some cases the original remains of the organism completely dissolve or are
otherwise destroyed. The remaining organism-shaped hole in the rock is called
an external mold. If this hole is later filled with other minerals, it is a cast. An
endocast or internal mold is formed when sediments or minerals fill the internal
cavity of an organism, such as the inside of a bivalve or snail or the hollow of a
skull.
Authigenic mineralisation
This is a special form of cast and mold formation. If the chemistry is right, the
organism (or fragment of organism) can act as a nucleus for the precipitation of
minerals such as siderite, resulting in a nodule forming around it. If this happens
rapidly before significant decay to the organic tissue, very fine three-
dimensional morphological detail can be preserved. Nodules from the
Carboniferous Mazon Creek fossil beds of Illinois, USA, are among the best
documented examples of such mineralisation.
Replacement and recrystallization
Replacement occurs when the shell, bone or other tissue is replaced with
another mineral. In some cases mineral replacement of the original shell occurs
so gradually and at such fine scales that microstructural features are preserved
despite the total loss of original material. A shell is said to be recrystallized
when the original skeletal compounds are still present but in a different crystal
form, as from aragonite to calcite.
Adpression (compression-impression)
Compression fossils, such as those of fossil ferns, are the result of chemical
reduction of the complex organic molecules composing the organism's tissues.
In this case the fossil consists of original material, albeit in a geochemically
altered state. This chemical change is an expression of diagenesis. Often what
remains is a carbonaceous film known as a phytoleim, in which case the fossil is
known as a compression. Often, however, the phytoleim is lost and all that
remains is an impression of the organism in the rockan impression fossil. In
many cases, however, compressions and impressions occur together. For
instance, when the rock is broken open, the phytoleim will often be attached to
one part (compression), whereas the counterpart will just be an impression. For
this reason, one term covers the two modes of preservation: adpression.
Carbon films
Carbonaceous films are thin coatings which consist predominantly of the
chemical element carbon. The soft tissues of organisms are made largely of
organic carbon compounds and during diagenesis under reducing conditions
only a thin film of carbon residue is left which forms a silhouette of the original
organism.
Bioimmuration
Bioimmuration occurs when a skeletal organism overgrows or otherwise
subsumes another organism, preserving the latter, or an impression of it, within
the skeleton. Usually it is a sessile skeletal organism, such as a bryozoan or an
oyster, which grows along a substrate, covering other sessile sclerobionts.
Sometimes the bioimmured organism is soft-bodied and is then preserved in
negative relief as a kind of external mold. There are also cases where an
organism settles on top of a living skeletal organism and grows upwards,
preserving the settler in its skeleton. Bioimmuration is known in the fossil
record from the Ordovician
[10]
to the Recent.
Types
Index


Examples of index fossils
Index fossils (also known as guide fossils, indicator fossils or zone fossils) are
fossils used to define and identify geologic periods (or faunal stages). They
work on the premise that, although different sediments may look different
depending on the conditions under which they were deposited, they may include
the remains of the same species of fossil. The shorter the species' time range, the
more precisely different sediments can be correlated, and so rapidly evolving
species' fossils are particularly valuable. The best index fossils are common,
easy-to-identify at species level and have a broad distributionotherwise the
likelihood of finding and recognizing one in the two sediments is poor

Trace


Cambrian trace fossils including Rusophycus, made by a trilobite


A coprolite of a carnivorous dinosaur found in southwestern Saskatchewan.
Trace fossils consist mainly of tracks and burrows, but also include coprolites
(fossil feces) and marks left by feeding. Trace fossils are particularly significant
because they represent a data source that is not limited to animals with easily
fossilized hard parts, and they reflect animal behaviours. Many traces date from
significantly earlier than the body fossils of animals that are thought to have
been capable of making them.
]
Whilst exact assignment of trace fossils to their
makers is generally impossible, traces may for example provide the earliest
physical evidence of the appearance of moderately complex animals
(comparable to earthworms).
Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give
evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than morphology.
They were first described by William Buckland in 1829. Prior to this they were
known as "fossil fir cones" and "bezoar stones." They serve a valuable purpose
in paleontology because they provide direct evidence of the predation and diet
of extinct organisms.
[36]
Coprolites may range in size from a few millimetres to
over 60 centimetres.

Transitional
A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits
common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group.
[37]
This is
especially important where the descendant group is sharply differentiated by
gross anatomy and mode of living from the ancestral group. Because of the
incompleteness of the fossil record, there is usually no way to know exactly
how close a transitional fossil is to the point of divergence. These fossils serve
as a reminder that taxonomic divisions are human constructs that have been
imposed in hindsight on a continuum of variation.
Microfossils


Microfossils about 1 mm
Main article: Micropaleontology
Microfossil is a descriptive term applied to fossilized plants and animals whose
size is just at or below the level at which the fossil can be analyzed by the naked
eye. A commonly applied cutoff point between "micro" and "macro" fossils is
1 mm. Microfossils may either be complete (or near-complete) organisms in
themselves (such as the marine plankters foraminifera and coccolithophores) or
component parts (such as small teeth or spores) of larger animals or plants.
Microfossils are of critical importance as a reservoir of paleoclimate
information, and are also commonly used by biostratigraphers to assist in the
correlation of rock units.

Resin


Leptofoenus pittfieldae trapped in Dominican amber, from 20 to 16 million
years ago
Fossil resin (colloquially called amber) is a natural polymer found in many
types of strata throughout the world, even the Arctic. The oldest fossil resin
dates to the Triassic, though most dates to the Cenozoic. The excretion of the
resin by certain plants is thought to be an evolutionary adaptation for protection
from insects and to seal wounds. Fossil resin often contains other fossils called
inclusions that were captured by the sticky resin. These include bacteria, fungi,
other plants, and animals. Animal inclusions are usually small invertebrates,
predominantly arthropods such as insects and spiders, and only extremely rarely
a vertebrate such as a small lizard. Preservation of inclusions can be exquisite,
including small fragments of DNA.
Derived


Eroded Jurassic plesiosaur vertebral centrum found in the Lower Cretaceous
Faringdon Sponge Gravels in Faringdon, England. An example of a remani
fossil.
A derived, reworked or remani fossil is a fossil found in rock made
significantly later than when the fossilized animal or plant died:
[38]
it happens
when a hard fossil is freed from a soft rock formation by erosion and
redeposited in a currently forming sedimentary deposit.

Wood


Petrified wood. The internal structure of the tree and bark are maintained in
the permineralization process.
Fossil wood is wood that is preserved in the fossil record. Wood is usually the
part of a plant that is best preserved (and most easily found). Fossil wood may
or may not be petrified. The fossil wood may be the only part of the plant that
has been preserved:
[39]
therefore such wood may get a special kind of botanical
name. This will usually include "xylon" and a term indicating its presumed
affinity, such as Araucarioxylon (wood of Araucaria or some related genus),
Palmoxylon (wood of an indeterminate palm), or Castanoxylon (wood of an
indeterminate chinkapin).
[40]

Subfossil


A subfossil dodo skeleton
The term subfossil can be used to refer to remains, such as bones, nests, or
defecations, whose fossilization process is not complete, either because the
length of time since the animal involved was living is too short (less than
10,000 years) or because the conditions in which the remains were buried were
not optimal for fossilization. Subfossils are often found in caves or other
shelters where they can be preserved for thousands of years.
[41]
The main
importance of subfossil vs. fossil remains is that the former contain organic
material, which can be used for radiocarbon dating or extraction and sequencing
of DNA, protein, or other biomolecules. Additionally, isotope ratios can provide
much information about the ecological conditions under which extinct animals
lived. Subfossils are useful for studying the evolutionary history of an
environment and can be important to studies in paleoclimatology.
Subfossils are often found in depositionary environments, such as lake
sediments, oceanic sediments, and soils. Once deposited, physical and chemical
weathering can alter the state of preservation.
Chemical fossils
Chemical fossils are chemicals found in rocks and fossil fuels (petroleum, coal,
and natural gas) that provide an organic signature for ancient life. Molecular
fossils and isotope ratios represent two types of chemical fossils.
[42]

Pseudofossils


An example of a pseudofossil: Manganese dendrites on a limestone bedding
plane from Solnhofen, Germany; scale in mm
Pseudofossils are visual patterns in rocks that are produced by geologic
processes rather than biologic processes. They can easily be mistaken for real
fossils. Some pseudofossils, such as dendrites, are formed by naturally
occurring fissures in the rock that get filled up by percolating minerals. Other
types of pseudofossils are kidney ore (round shapes in iron ore) and moss
agates, which look like moss or plant leaves. Concretions, spherical or ovoid-
shaped nodules found in some sedimentary strata, were once thought to be
dinosaur eggs, and are often mistaken for fossils as well.

Importance of Fossils

Fossils are among the most valuable sources of information about the Earth's
history. They tell us about the organisms that lived on Earth from the time of the
oldest fossils, about 3.8 billion years ago, to the present. By studying fossils we
can learn not only about the creatures and plants of the distant past, but how
they grew, what they ate, how they interacted, and many aspects of their
behavior.
Fossils reveal many fascinating facts about the past, but they do a lot more. Do
you own anything made out of plastic? Plastic comes from oil, which also
provides gasoline, gas heat, and many other necessities of modern life. Fossils
are one of the most useful aids to finding oil, because oil tends to accumulate in
the pores of particular rock layers. Rocks of different ages contain different
fossils. Study of microscopic fossils brought up in chips of rock during drilling
of wells has led to many major oil and gas discoveries. Also, the oil itself is
derived from fossil remains of ancient organisms.
Study of fossils has led to important new understanding about how life evolved
on earth and about diseases, both ancient and modern. Fossils also help us
understand past climates, including ice ages and periods that were warmer than
our present climate. Knowledge from the study of fossils is helping
geoscientists understand global warming and its effects. By studying the
catastrophic extinction of the dinosaurs and many other life forms at the end of
the Cretaceous Period, geoscientists have gained insight into the evolutionary
implications of impacts by extraterrestrial objects. Investigating the physical
and chemical characteristics of fossil organisms that lived during times of
drastic climatic change helps us understand the implications of the changes we
are making in our own environment.
Information about Earth history, practical help in finding energy resources, and
information that helps us anticipate the effects of possible environmental
changes are not the only benefits derived from fossils. Fossils are beautiful.
Many thousands of people collect, buy, sell, and trade fossils all over the world.
Some jewelry and furniture are made from fossils, and many stone buildings are
made from stone that is composed largely of fossils. Many people collect fossils
simply because they are beautiful, but others do so because fossils tell
fascinating stories. Neither Barney the Dinosaur nor Jurassic Park would exist if
there were no fossils.

Identification of Age of Fossil:
There are several different methods scientists use to determine age of fossils.
Sometimes, it is possible to determine age directly from the fossil. Many times
however, fossils are to old to have their age directly measured. Instead, age can
be determined from radioactive elements occuring within rock found in
association with the fossils.
Radiometric (or radioactive) dating
This method is based upon radioactive decay. The spontaneous release of
energy and/or particles from the nucleus of an unstable atom (referred to as the
parent ) into a stable atom (referred to as the daughter ) is radioactive decay.
This rate of decays occurs at a specific and constant rate. The age of a rock can
be determined by measuring the amount of the daughter product and adding that
to the amount of the remaining parent material.
There are four standards necessary for elements to be useful in radometric
dating.
1. The numbers of parent atoms and daughter atoms must be measurable.
2. The parent element must decay rapidly enough to produce measurable
amounts of the daughter element, but measurable amounts of the parent
element must also be present in the sample.
3. Little or no daughter element must have been present in the sample
when it was formed.
4. The sample used must have been chemically isolated from outside
chemical changes.
These systems meet the standards listed above. Half-life refers to the length of
time required for 50% of the parent material to decay into the daughter product.
Uranium 235 to Lead 207 (half-life = 710,000,000 years)
Uranium 238 to Lead 206 (half-life = 4,500,000,000 years)
Thorium 232 to Lead 208 (half-life = 14,000,000,000 years)
Rubidium 87 to Strontium 87 (half-life = 47,000,000,000 years) - this is
the most common system used for dating rocks older than 100 million
years.
Potassium 40 to Argon 40 (half-life = 1,300,000,000 years) - this method
is very often used to date rock less than 60 million years old.
Carbon 14 to Nitrogen 14 (half-life = 5,570 years)--- There are 3 forms
(isotopes) of carbon occuring in nature: Carbon 12 (accounts for 99%),
Carbon 13 (accounts for 1%), and Carbon 14 (accounts for less than 1%).
While alive, plants and animals incorporate these isotopes of carbon into
their tissues at the ratio found in the atmosphere. Upon death, the Carbon
14 in their tissues begins to decay. By measuring the remaining amount
of Carbon 14, the age of the fossil can be determined. This method can be
used to date material ranging in age from a few hundred years to about
50,000 years. The use of Carbon 14 permits the determination of age
directly a fossil. For fossils greater than 50,000 years old, the age of the
fossil is found indirectly by determing the age of the rock associated with
the fossil. Carbon 14 dating has a dating range of several hundred years
before present to 50,000 years before present.


Fission-track dating
Fission-track dating is based on the presence of Uranium 238 and Uranium 235
in the sample to be tested. These two uranium isotopes always occur in the same
ratio in nature. Uranium 238 will undergone spontaneous decay or fission. Each
time this happens, a tiny damage track is created in the surrounding material.
Etching with acid enlarges the tracks allowing them to be seen under a
microscope and counted. However, Uranium 235 does not undergo spontaneous
fission. Uranium 235 can be induced to undergo fission by irradiating the
sample with high energy neutrons in a nuclear reactor. By counting the number
of induced tracks and knowing the neutron dose, the uranium content can be
determined. From the ratio of natural fission tracks to induced fission tracks and
knowing the half-life of Uranium 238 (half-life = 4,500,000,000 years), the
sample's age can be determined.
Paleomagnetism
At the time of their formation, iron-bearing rocks and sediments may acquire a
natural remnant magnetism . This primary magnetism aligns parallel to the
existing magnetic field of the Earth. In a sense, a rock becomes a compass
capturing its orientation to the Earth's magnetic field in its structure.
The orientation of the magnetic field of the Earth at any point on Earth is
specified by two measurements: declination (direction) and inclination
(plunge). The inclination varies from horizontal at the equator to vertical at the
poles. Today, the magnetic field is directed downward in the northern
hemisphere and upward in the southern hemisphere. Earth's magnetic field
periodically reverses its polarity. During the time of reversed polarity, a
compass needle would point south. These reversals make excellent markers in
the geologic record because they global in extend. The age of these reversals
can be determined by radiometric dating. The age of a fossil can be determined
by correlating the position of the strata of rock where it was found and where a
reversal occurs.
Amino-acid dating
Amino-acid dating is based upon the principle that amino acids which make up
proteins change when an organism dies. The proteins produced by an orgamism
when it is alive almost entirely consists of amino acids in a "left-handed"
configuration. After death, amino acids begin to invert to their "right-handed"
configuration. This process is called racemization . In fossils, an equilibrium
ratio is eventually reached. The time needed to reach this equilibrium depends
mainly upon temperature and secondarily on the species of the organism. Once
the absolute date for a region is determined using radiometric dating and the
temperature history of a region is established, amino-acid dating can be used to
determine the age of a fossil. In the example of marine mollusks, the ratio for
the amino acid isoleucine increases from nearly zero in modern shells to an
equilibrium value of 1.30 +/- 0.05. At 10 degrees centigrade, it takes about 2
million years to reach equilibrium. At minus 10 degrees centigrade, it takes 20
million years to reach equilibrium.

Facts on Fossils Extremes In The fossil World

Invertebrates
The Largest Ammonites
Titanites are often 2 feet (53 centimeters) in diameter. They are found in
southern England and come from the Jurassic Period.
Pachydiscus seppenradensis sometimes reach a diameter of 6 feet (2
meters). They are found in Germany from the Cretaceous Period.
Parapuzosia bradyi can be 4 feet (137 centimeters) in diameter. They are
found in North American, from the Cretaceous Period.

The Largest Nautiloids
The largest nautiloid on record is called Endoceras. It is from the Ordovician
Period and has been measured up to 13 feet (3 meters) long.

The Biggest Trilobites
Isotelus rex is the largest known species of trilobite. It was found in northern
Manitoba. This humongous arthropod measures about 28 inches (72
centimeters) long. Isotelus rex is now on display at the Manitoba Museum in
Winnipeg.
Earths Oldest Fossils
The evidence of microscopic life forms has been detected as old as 3,700 to
3,800 million years ago. This evidence was found in Isua greenstone in
Greenland. There have been claims of evidence dating back as far as 3,850
million years ago but these are not universally accepted. Scientists continue to
refine dating methods to get reliable data on the earliest life on earth.
Facts on Fossils - Vertebrates
The Oldest Fish Fossils
The oldest fish fossils on record were found at Chengjiang, in Yunnan Province,
China. Two species have been found dating from about 530 million years ago.
Haikouichthys ercaicunensis, and Myllokunmingia fengjiaoa, are recent
finds. If verified these finds will rewrite the fish chapter of evolution.
Largest Dinosaur
Sauroposeidon may have been the largest dinosaur ever to walk the face of the
earth. Scientists believe this gigantic dinosaur would have stood 60 feet tall (18
meters) and weighed 60 tonnes! Sauroposeidon means "earthquake god lizard.
This dinosaur may also hold the record for having the longest neck.

Biggest shark
Megalodon is estimated to have been 40 to 50 feet long and weigh 48 tons!
Facts on Fossils - Places
Oldest Fossil Beds

The oldest fossils of multicelled animals come from just two places on earth.
The Burgess Shale formation in Canada was long regarded as the oldest fossil
bed. The Burgess Shale was formed about 530 million years ago during the
Cambrian period. Many early Cambrian Period fossils have been found there.
The Chengjiang Deposits of China are thought to be even older than Canadas
Burgess Shale. The fossils are found near the town of Chengjiang, in the
Yunnan Province of China. This area appears to be about 15 million years older
than the Burgess Shale formation.