How do fossils indicate different sedimentary environments, and show evidence of changing sea level?
Environmental limitations control the distribution of modern plants and animals. For example, it is relatively easy to distinguish between marine fossils (molluscs, corals, brachiopods, trilobites, barnacles, fish, animals with flippers) and non-marine fossils (plants, animals with walking legs, such as insects or mammals). In addition, tracks made by animals with walking legs (such as dinosaur tracks) indicate a non-marine environment. When marine fossils are found in areas that are now dry land, it is possible to conclude that the area was once covered by the sea. Detailed examination of the fossils and associated sedimentary rocks may show a detailed history of sealevel rises and falls over time. You can plot on a map the locations of non-marine (terrestrial) deposits using locations of land-dwelling organisms such as dinosaurs or mastodons, fossilized tracks of land animals, and fossils of land plants, to outline the basics of the paleogeography or ancient geography. Modern coral r
