Fossil
hideFossils (from Latin fossus, literally "having been dug up") are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous (fossil-containing) rock formations and sedimentary layers (strata) is known as the fossil record. The study of fossils across geological time, how they were formed, and the evolutionary relationships between taxa (phylogeny) are some of the most important functions of the science of paleontology. Such a preserved specimen is called a "fossil" if it is older than some minimum age, most often the arbitrary date of 10,000 years ago. Hence, fossils range in age from the youngest at the start of the Holocene Epoch to the oldest from the Archaean Eon several billion years old. The observations that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led early geologists to recognize a geological timescale in the 19th century. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed geologists to determine the numerical or "absolute" age of the various strata and thereby the included fossils.
Like extant organisms, fossils vary in size from microscopic, such as single bacterial cells only one micrometer in diameter, to gigantic, such as dinosaurs and trees many meters long and weighing many tons. A fossil normally preserves only a portion of the deceased organism, usually that portion that was partially mineralized during life, such as the bones and teeth of vertebrates, or the chitinous exoskeletons of invertebrates. Preservation of soft tissues is rare in the fossil record. Fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as the footprint or feces (coprolites) of a reptile. These types of fossil are called trace fossils (or ichnofossils), as opposed to body fossils. Finally, past life leaves some markers that cannot be seen but can be detected in the form of biochemical signals; these are known as chemofossils or biomarkers.
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News tagged with fossil record
Paleontologists brought to tears, laughter by Creation Museum
Jun 30, 2009 |
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For a group of paleontologists, a tour of the Creation Museum seemed like a great tongue-in-cheek way to cap off a serious conference.
Before 'Lucy,' there was 'Ardi': Oldest hominid skeleton provides new evidence for human evolution (w/ Video)
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 01, 2009 |
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In a special issue of Science, an international team of scientists has for the first time thoroughly described Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiop ...
New ancient fungus finding suggests world's forests were wiped out in global catastrophe
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists beleive extinct fungus species capitalised on a world-wide disaster and thrived on early Earth.
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Origin of birds confirmed by exceptional new dinosaur fossils
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Sep 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Chinese scientists today reveal the discovery of five remarkable new feathered dinosaur fossils which are significantly older than any previously reported. The new finds are indisputably older ...
Molecular Decay of Enamel-Specific Gene in Toothless Mammals Supports Theory of Evolution
Sep 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Biologists at the University of California, Riverside report new evidence for evolutionary change recorded in both the fossil record and the genomes (or genetic blueprints) of living organisms, ...
Fossilised pregnant fish was one of the first animals to have sex
Biology /
Feb 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A pregnant fossil fish at the Natural History Museum in London has shed light on the possible origin of sex, according to a study published in Nature today by an international team includ ...
Microfossils challenge prevailing views of the effects of 'Snowball Earth' glaciations on life
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 26, 2009 |
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New fossil findings discovered by scientists at UC Santa Barbara challenge prevailing views about the effects of "Snowball Earth" glaciations on life, according to an article in the June issue of the journal ...
Dinosaurs declined before mass extinction
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 30, 2009 |
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Dinosaurs were dying out much earlier than the mass extinction event 65 million years ago, Natural History Museum scientists report in the Proceedings of the Royal Society journal today.
Fossil magnetism helps prove mass extinction theory
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Were major extinction events real biological catastrophes or were they merely the result of gaps in the fossil record? Research by a team of geologists from the Universities of Bristol, Plymouth, ...
Why certain fishes went extinct 65 million years ago
Mar 26, 2009 |
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Large size and a fast bite spelled doom for bony fishes during the last mass extinction 65 million years ago, according to a new study to be published March 31, 2009, in the Proceedings of the National Ac ...
Ancient muscle tissue extracted from 18 million year old fossil
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have extracted organically preserved muscle tissue from an 18 million years old salamander fossil. The discovery by researchers from University College Dublin, the UK and Spain, ...
Unexpected amber find rewrites botanical history
Oct 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An unexpected discovery made by Macquarie University PhD student Sargent Bray about the origin and nature of chemical compounds contained in ancient amber has changed our understanding of ...
Rare publishing achievement for student provides new insights into the fossil record of whales
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 19, 2008 |
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It is extremely unusual for a student to have their work accepted for publication in a prestigious scientific journal. However, Felix Marx, a fourth year student in the Department of Earth Sciences at the ...
Forest birds evolved early, DNA shows
Biology /
Jul 10, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Evolution seems to have happened in fits and starts -- at least that's what the fossil record shows. From trilobites to pterodactyls, ammonites to Archaeopteryx, scientists find the same pattern: ...
Plesiosaur a victim of shark attack
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An 85 million-year-old plesiosaur fossil has been found with over 80 shark's teeth, suggesting the animal was the victim of sharks in a feeding frenzy. The find is perhaps the most spectacular example of ...
