Paleontology Presentation

FOSSILS
What are fossils?
Where are fossils found?
How are fossils formed?
What are the types of fossils?
Do fossils tell us about our past?
 What are fossils?

• Fossils are preserved remains or traces of living

things.

• Latin meaning of fossil “to dig”

• Fossils tell us not only when and where organisms

once lived, but also how they lived.

• Paleontologists – scientists who studies fossils.

 Where are fossils found?
◊ Fossils are most often found in sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentary rock is the type of rock that is made
of hardened sediment (broken pieces of other
rock).
◊ The heat and pressure involved in forming igneous
and metamorphic rocks most often destroy fossil
material.
 How are fossils formed?
• Most fossils form when living thing die and are buried by
sediments. The sediments slowly harden into rock and
preserve the shapes of the organisms.

• Usually, the remains of dead plants and animals are

quickly destroyed. Scavengers eat the dead organisms, or
fungi and microorganisms cause them to decay

• Organisms have a better chance of being preserved if they

have hard parts; i.e. bones, shells, teeth, seeds, and woody
stems.
 What are the types of fossils?
• Fossils found in rock include: petrified fossils, molds and casts,
carbon films, and trace fossils. Other fossils form when the
remains of organisms are preserved in substances such as tar,
amber, or ice.
• Petrified fossils – minerals replace all or part of an
organism.
• Molds – a hollow area in the shape of or part of an
organism.
• Casts – a copy of the shape of the organism.
• Carbon films – an extremely thin coating of carbon on rock
(sediment squeezes almost the entire decaying organism
away).
• Trace fossils – provide evidence of the activities of living
organisms. Ex. Fossilized footprints.
• Preserved remains – the entire organism remains with little or
no change: preserved by tar, amber (sap or resin), or ice.
 Do fossils tell us about our past?
Change Over Time
• Fossil record – provides evidence about the history
of life on Earth. The fossil record also shows that
different groups of organisms have changed over
time.
• Older rocks – contain fossils of simpler
organisms.
• Younger rocks – contain fossils of more
complex organisms.
• Scientific theory – well –tested concept that
explains a wide range of observations.
• Evolution – is the gradual change in living things
over long periods of time.
• Extinct – when an organism no longer exists
anywhere on Earth.
 Do fossils tell us about our past?

Fossils and past Environments

•Fossils provide evidence of Earth’s past climate and
environment.

For example: coal has been found in Antarctica.

Coal forms from plants in warm, swampy regions;
therefore, that means that Antarctica was not always
cold as it is today.
 Formation of Kinds of Fossils
Petrified fossils
forms by replacement minerals in water
that make a copy of the organism. The
fossil formed when sediment covered the
organism.
 Molds & Casts
Molds:
Casts:
forms when the hard part
forms if water deposits
of the organism, such as a
minerals and sediments
shell, is buried in sediment.
into a mold. The
The organism decays
sediments harden into
leaving a hollow mold in
the shape of the mold
the shape of the object.
looking like the original
organism.
“What are fossils?” video clip
Molds & Casts
Would this be a cast fossil or a mold
fossil?
 Carbon films
forms when sediment buries an organism,
the weight of the sediment squeezes almost
the entire decaying organism away leaving
a carbon print of the organism.
 Trace fossils
forms when mud or sand that the animal
stepped into eventually was buried by
layers of sediments. Slowly the sediment
became solid rock preserving the footprints
for millions of years.
Trace Fossils
Preserved fossils

Forms when entire organisms or parts

of organisms are prevented from
decaying by being trapped in rock, ice,
tar, or amber. (Ex. Wooly mammoth
trapped in ice)
Preserved remains
Ice Man discovery
 1. A ___________ fossil forms when
minerals soak into the buried remains,
replacing the remains, and changing them
into stone
A. Trace
B. Cast
C. Mold
D. Carbon film
E. Preserved
F. Petrified
`
 2. A ___________ fossil forms when the
hard part of the organism, such as a shell, is
buried in sediment and an imprint or cavity
in the shape of the organism is left.
A. Trace
B. Cast
C. Mold
D. Carbon film
E. Preserved
F. Petrified
 3. A ___________ fossil forms when a
mold is filled with sand or mud that hardens
into the shape of the organism.

A. Trace
B. Cast
C. Mold
D. Carbon film
E. Preserved
F. Petrified
 4. A ___________ fossil forms when an
entire organism or parts of the organism is
prevented from decaying by being trapped
in rock, ice, tar, or amber.
A. Trace
B. Cast
C. Mold
D. Carbon film
E. Preserved
F. Petrified
5. A ___________ fossil forms when organisms
or parts, like leaves, stems, flowers, fish are
pressed between layers of soft mud or clay that
harden squeezing almost all the decaying
organism away leaving the carbon imprint in the
rock.

A. Trace
B. Cast
C. Mold
D. Carbon film
E. Preserved
F. Petrified
6. A ___________ fossil forms when the mud or
sand hardens to stone where a footprint, trail, or
burrow of an organism was left behind. (You can
make inferences about the activity of the
organism.)
A. Trace
B. Cast
C. Mold
D. Carbon film
E. Preserved
F. Petrified