The Wide World of Fossils!!

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&q=fossils&start=80&sa=N

By Janelle Coy

By Janelle Coy

He looks really hungry!

He looks really hungry!

Not all fossils come from Not all fossils come from dinosaursdinosaurs

AA fossil is the remains or evidence of any creature or plant that once lived on the Earth.

bones teeth skin impressions hair the hardened shell of an

ancient invertebrate impression of an animal or

plant footprints burrows coprolite

Although the word fossil makes many people think of dinosaurs,

The word fossil comes from the Latin word “fossilis” which means “dug up”.

Types of FossilsTypes of Fossils

BonesBones B

Teeth

Hair

Trilobite

http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/what_is_a_fossil.html

More FossilsMore Fossils

Footprints

Burrows

And everybody’s favorite……

Skin impressions

Plant/animalimpressions

http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/what_is_a_fossil.html

Coprolite!!Coprolite!!

Better known as……. Better known as……. Poop.Poop.

Eeeewwwww!!!!http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/what_is_a_fossil.html

How are Fossils formed?How are Fossils formed?

There are six different There are six different ways fossils are formedways fossils are formed

FreezingFreezing DryingDrying AsphaltAsphalt AmberAmber CarbonizationCarbonization PremineralizationPremineralization

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/dinofossils/Excavating.shtml

The animal must be continually frozen from the time of death until discovery.

Some were found flash frozen, with flesh, skin, and

hair.

Some were even found with food still in the mouth and stomach! Eeewwwww!

Mummified bodies of animals including humans have been discovered in dryParts of the world. The soft tissues including skin and organs are Preserved for thousands of years if they are completely dry.

(An Edmontosauraus mummy)

Where’sMy mummy?

Where’sMy mummy?

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&q=mummy+fossils&start=0&sa=N

In Los Angeles there is a 23 acre park Called the La Brea Tar Pits. There are Over 100 pits filled with sticky asphalt. The tar pits were formed by oil seeping Through cracks in the earth. The oilEvaporated leaving a think sticky Asphalt. The pits are famous for theFossils that have been pulled from them.

The fossils are Between 10 and 40Thousand years old!

http:// www.don-lindsaarchive.org/creation/amber_work.jpg

A fly lands on a tree branch while looking for food and steps into sticky sap the tree has made. As the fly struggles to escape it becomes covered in the sap until it suffocates. The tree eventually dies and falls into the nearby swamp. The tree becomes a coal deposit after millions of yearsand the sap with the fly inside is hardened into amber.

Hey! That’s Uncle Buzz in there!

Hey! That’s Uncle Buzz in there!

Insects,Plant leaves, parts of fish, reptiles and marine invertebrates decompose leaving behind only the carbon. This carbon creates an impression in the rock outlining the fossil.This is a real bee carbon imprint.

www.msnucleus.org/.../6/images/rc6pl01.jpg

Does thisCarbon make me look flat?

Does thisCarbon make me look flat?

blog.oregonlive.com/terryrichard/2007/08/me

www.ilovedogs.com/media/colored_tabets.jpg

This is the most common form of fossil preservation. MineralsFill the spaces and crystallize. The shape of the plant or animalIs preserved as rock. Sometimes the original material is dissolvedAway leaving the form and structure but none of the organicMaterial remains.

Rocks and StrataRocks and Strata

Most rocks found in and on the Earth’s crust are sedimentary rocks.They form when silt and sand collect and harden. Over millions of yearsThe result is thick layers of rock. In areas like the Grand Canyon, you canSee the layers. These layers are known as strata.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/hrocks-layershtml

WOW!!! Did you know …To tell the age of most layered rocks, scientists WOW!!! Did you know …To tell the age of most layered rocks, scientists study the fossils the rocks contain. Fossils give evidence that helps study the fossils the rocks contain. Fossils give evidence that helps

determine what happened in history and when it happened.determine what happened in history and when it happened.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/successionhtml

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subject/dinosaurs/dinofossils/Fossiltypes.html.

Paleontology is a branch of biology that studiesThe forms of life that existed in formerGeologic periods, mainly by studying

Fossils and the rocks surrounding them

Most of the overlying rock is removed using large tools likePicks and shovels but part of the rock that is closest toThe fossil is removed with smaller tools like trowels,

Hammers, whisks, and dental tools. Fossils haveTo be treated very carefully to avoid

Breaking them.

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&q=fossils&start=80&sa=N

http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/what_is_a_fossil.html

http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/what_is_a_fossil.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/dinofossils/Excavating.shhttp://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&q=mummy+fossils&start=0&sa=N

http:// www.don-lindsaarchive.org/creation/amber_work.jpgwww.msnucleus.org/.../6/images/rc6pl01.jpg

www.ilovedogs.com/media/colored_tabets.jpg

blog.oregonlive.com/terryrichard/2007/08/me

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/hrocks-layershtml

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/successionhtmlhttp://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subject/dinosaurs/dinofossils/Fossiltypes.html.