Fossilization Flashcards

1
Q

What are fossils?

A

Preserved remnants of organisms including TISSUE, BONES, TEETH, and SHELLS

IF IT PRESERVES IT CAN BECOME A FOSSIL IN TIME

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2
Q

How do you preserve a fossil?

A

IT NEEDS TO BE BURIED

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3
Q

What is considered a fossil?

A

Any fossil that is older than 10,000 years old

If it is younger, then it is considered recent and not yet a fossil

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4
Q

What parts of an animal are most likely going to be preserved? What might be lost?

A

Preserved : Tusks, Bones, Skulls

Not preserved: Fur, Flesh, and any soft internal anatomy

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5
Q

Why would hard parts be more likely to be preserved than soft parts?

A

Hard parts are made of minerals like bones and shells

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6
Q

What are the 3 common minerals in fossils that make preservation more likely?

A

CALCITE (3 Hardness)

QUARTZ (7 Hardness)

APATITE (5 Hardness)

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7
Q

What is mostly preserved with the mineral calcite?

A

Seashells

NEARLY ALL SEASHELLS FOUND IN THE OCEAN ARE MADE OF THE MINERAL CALCITE

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8
Q

What is mostly preserved with the mineral quartz?

A

Trees and wood

Petrified wood consists of primarily quartz that has replaced the original wood

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9
Q

What is apatite?

A

Mineral of bones and teeth, it is the calcium-based mineral that makes teeth and bone stronger

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10
Q

What are the 6 different ways in which a fossil may be preserved?

A

1) Unaltered Remains
2) Permineralization
3) Replacement
4) Cast
5) Carbonization
6) Trace Fossils

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11
Q

What are unaltered remains?

A

Fossils that have not changed much since the death of the organism

Can be due to being encased in amber or frozen in ice

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12
Q

What do the unaltered remains of shells look like?

A

Will be shiny and pearly as when the animal was alive

Still be considered unaltered even if the soft tissue has decayed

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13
Q

What is the process of permineralization?

A

When a fossil’s vacant space has been filled-in with minerals

NEW MINERALS COME IN BUT NOTHING IS REMOVED

EX. Fossilized bone or Petrified wood

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14
Q

What is important to note about the fossilization of calcite?

A

Any fossil made of the mineral calcite will dissolve in acidic rain water

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15
Q

What happens when a fossil dissolves?

A

It leaves behind a mold, which can be filled in one of two ways

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16
Q

What is the process of replacement?

A

If there is a mold of a fossil, new minerals will fill in this mold

IT PRESERVES THE FOSSIL’S FINE DETAIL

17
Q

What is the difference between replacement and permineralization?

A

Replacement will completely remove anything original and leave behind new minerals

Permineralization will fill in VACANT SPACE of the fossil, adding minerals AS WELL AS KEEPING the original contents of the fossil (NOTHING ORIGINAL IS REMOVED

18
Q

What is the process of cast?

A

Sediment like sand or mud fills in the mold of a fossil, the resulting fossil is called a cast

19
Q

What is the different between replacement and cast?

A

Replacement is filling in the mold with MINERALS

Cast is filling in the mold with SEDIMENT

20
Q

What is the process of Carbonization?

A

Fossil is preserved as a thin film of carbon on the surface of a rock

Carbon comes from the plant or animal

21
Q

Why is there black film for the fossils of carbonization?

A

Carbonization preserves carbon remains of soft-bodied animals and plants, this is what makes up the black film

22
Q

What are trace fossils?

What kind of things can be considered trace fossils?

A

Fossilized BEHAVIOR

Can consist of impressions, burrows, tubes, tunnels, fossilized poop, and track ways

23
Q

How are trace fossils unique compared to the other fossilization methods?

A

They do not preserved the animal itself and can sometimes be ambiguous in their origin

BUTTT their behavior may be known, but not the maker

24
Q

What are coporolites?

A

Deposits left behind by animals, ESSENTIALLY FOSSILIZED POOP

ALSO CONSIDERED TRACE FOSSILS