![]() Amber can preserve the bodies of many delicate, soft-bodied organisms, such as ants, flies, and mosquitoes. This is called fossilized resin or amber. Sometimes, however, the sticky resin of a tree can become fossilized. Soft-bodied organisms, such as worms, are rarely fossilized. ![]() Fossilization usually occur in organisms with hard, bony body parts, such as skeletons, teeth, or shells. Over time, minerals in the sediment seep into the remains. Sediment can include the sandy seafloor, lava, and even sticky tar. Most organisms decompose fairly quickly after they die.įor an organism to be fossilized, the remains usually need to be covered by sediment soon after death. The word fossil comes from the Latin word fossus, meaning "having been dug up." Fossils are often found in rock formations deep in the earth.įossilization is the process of remains becoming fossils. Some of the oldest fossils are those of ancient algae that lived in the ocean more than three billion years ago. The fossilized teeth of wooly mammoths are some of our most "recent" fossils. ![]() Fossils can come from the Archaeaean Eon (which began almost four billion years ago) all the way up to the Holocene Epoch (which continues today). Preserved remains become fossils if they reach an age of about 10,000 years. Macrofossils can be petrified trees or dinosaur bones. Macrofossils can be several meters long and weigh several tons. Microfossils are only visible with a microscope. Bones, shells, feathers, and leaves can all become fossils.įossils can be very large or very small. Fossils are not the remains of the organism itself! They are rocks.Ī fossil can preserve an entire organism or just part of one. Fossils are the preserved remains, or traces of remains, of ancient organisms.
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