What Are Fossils?
Fossils are the preserved remains of past life on earth. The word fossil derives from the Latin word fossus, which (literally) means “something dug up”. There is no specific age at which the remains of past life suddenly qualifies as a fossil, and in the definition, life all life forms encompassed by all three Domain of Life, the Archaea (Methanogens, Halophiles, Sulfolobus, and relatives), Eubacteria (“True bacteria”, mitochondria, and chloroplasts), and the Eukaryotes (Protists, Plants, Fungi, Animals, Algae, etc.). Many fossils are from extinct groups, whether that be a small group such as a species, or a much larger including taxon such as a family, superfamily, class or phylum. Trilobites (Class Trilobites within Phylum Arthropoda) are an example of a large extinct group However, extinction of the organism is not a prerequisite for a preserved organism to be a fossil, and in many cases whether a species, for example, is extinct may not even be determinable. Normally, fossils are c
The word comes from the Latin “to dig”. Originally, it just meant anything dug up. Today, it means any remains or traces of organisms. So, “fossil fuels” are indeed fossils. Coal is the remains of plants. Oil is too, but not as directly. We’ve all seen a T. Rex skeleton on TV. A lot of fossils do look like bones, although they often aren’t bone. After 10,000 years or so, buried bone has most likely mineralized and effectively become rock. Luckily for us, mineralization doesn’t destroy much detail. A few fossils have been found frozen, or pickled in swamps, or dessicated and wind-buried in deserts. Sadly, these are rare and usually recent. Others were buried in an oxygen-free environment, so that no rot occurred. Unfortunately, these environments are usually underwater, so we mostly have sea creatures. We were very fortunate that several Archaeopteryx (land birds) were washed into such a place. Most of the birds that have fossilized were seabirds. Trace fossils include things like footp
Fossils are the remains or traces of ancient life. Fossils can be mineralized bones, teeth, shells, wood, or actual unaltered material from an organism, like frozen mammoth flesh, bones and fur. Eggs, nests, footprints, leaf impressions, burrows, and feces are examples of trace fossils. One thing all fossils have in common, they are OLD, at least 10,000 years old.
