Fossils

Latin- “have been dug up” There are 3 things that make a fossil a fossil:

Organic- The remains or evidence of something once living.

At Least 10,000 years old Preserved

Ex: Stone, amber, casts

Remains or traces of life

Remains◦Bones, Shells

Traces:◦Burrows, footprints

Can a plant be a fossil????

Less than 2% of all living organisms fossilize

Need to be covered with sediments quickly

Tell us about our past Learn about organisms that are no longer living (extinct)

Provide information from a time when humans were not around

Helps with the study of evolution

Helps with the study of evolution Earliest bird in the fossil record Shows the link between dinosaurs and birds◦It is a bird but had many dinosaur like features: jaws with teeth, scales

Lived in the Late Jurassic Period ◦150-145 million years ago

Extinct fish 50 million years old Found in Wyoming

Marine animal Extinct Mollusc Found worldwide Range in size from a few centimeters to over 4 feet!

Trilobite Extinct marine

animal 250 million years

old Arthropod Compound eyes

made of calcite- they could fossilize!

Fern Fossilized

plant Fell into the

mud and the mud turned to stone.

Fern disintegrated, what is left is the impression