getting into the fossil record Flashcards
5 kinds of trace fossils
Burrows, trails, tracks, feces, and footprints
Find the walnut. How did it become a fossil?
The walnut becomes a fossil by mineralization. Mineralization is when minerals in water compact in the space of an organism and becomes rock.
What happened to the mammoth?
The mammoth got frozen really quickly. If organisms freeze quickly, then the whole body can be preserved before decomposition and weathering and erosion could destroy it.
Why are the mouse and the jellyfish being compared?
The mouse and the jellyfish are being compared in order to explain how hard parts, such as bones and teeth, are more readily preserved in the fossil record than soft tissue. A mouse is most likely to become a fossil because they have harder bodies with more bones, while the jellyfish don’t have bones.
Why is it difficult for an organism living in the rainforest to become a fossil?
In the rainforest there is a lot of rain which causes the dead organisms to decay faster, leaving no time for fossils to form. There are also many decomposers and scavengers in the rainforest which break down the tissues of the animal.
What are two reasons why many organisms never become part of the fossil record?
There are very different conditions that the animals die in and that can impact whether they become a fossil or not. There are a lot of ways that a fossil can be destroyed that only very few can resist it long enough to become a fossil.
What are the ways that geologic processes can destroy a fossil?
Fossils can be moved by steamed, glaciers, or scavengers. They can also be eroded by wind, water, and sun.
Why isn’t igneous rock a good place to look for fossils?
You might not find a fossil in an igneous rock because any organism caught in the lava flow would get destroyed because of the extremely high temperatures.
Find the map of Montana. What are two things to keep in mind when you are looking for a fossil like T. rex? What do the colors and letters represent?
You need to look for rock that is the right type of rock (sedimentary) and the right age (Mesozoic). The colors and letters represent the different ages and types of rocks.
Abiotic/Physical Factors:
Non-living factors such as erosion, wind and sun exposure.
Benthic
Living at the bottom of the ocean or on the ocean floor.
Biological/Biotic Factors:
Living factors such as decomposers, scavengers and predators.
Body Fossil:
Body parts of organisms that become fossils, such as bones, teeth, skin, leaves, tree trunks.
Cast
fossils formed when sediment leaks into a mold and hardens to form a copy of the original structure.
compression
Fossils formed when an organism is flattened (compressed), leaving a dark stain in the rock.
Coprolite
fossilized feces
Decomposer
An organism that breaks down the tissue and/or structures of dead organisms.
Erosion:
Weathering or wearing away of rock and earth (and any fossils they contain) caused by wind, sun, and/or water.
Fossil:
The natural remains or traces of past life. Something is considered to be a fossil if it is at least 10,000 years old.
Fossil Record
:ALL of the fossils that have existed throughout life’s history, whether they have been found or not.
Geologic maps
Maps that show the types and ages of rock in an area. These maps are used by paletologists to find areas that are likely to contain fossils they are interested in.
Groundwater:
Water found underground as a result of rainfall, ice and snow melt, submerged rivers, lakes, and springs. This water often carries minerals. These mineral can accumulate in the remains of buried organism and eventually caused fossilization
Ichnology
The study of trace fossils.
Igneous Rock
: Type of rock produced when molten magma (lava) cools and solidifies.
Impression:
Fossilized prints or marks made by a an irfiunusms body has been compressed (flattend). Impressions are different from compression because no thin organic material is left behind.
Inorganic:
Not containing carbon. Not from living things. Ex., minerals, water, oxygen etc.
Intertidal:
The coastal zone measuring from the lowest and highest tide mark. The inter tidal zone is subject to alternating periods of flooding and drying.
Macroscopic
: Objects or organisms that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye.
Metamorphic Rock:
Rock produced when any type of rock is changed by heat, pressure, and chemical activity in the Earth
Microscopic
: Objects or organisms that are to small to be seen with the naked eye.
Mineralization:
The process whereby living material is replaced with minerals.
Mold
Fossils form when the sediment surrounding a buried organism hardens. When the organism decays, its impression is left in the rock and can be seen if the rock is broken open.
Organic
containing carbon. Also referred to characteristic features of living things.
Paleontology:
The study of life in the past.
Paleontologists:
are scientists who use fossils to study life in the past. There are many questions the fossil record can help us answer.
Plate tectonics:
The concept that explains the movement of the Earth’s crustal plates, sea floor spreading, and a number of other geologic processes of the Earth’s surface.
Permineralized
: A type of fosilization that happens when minerals transported by water, fill in all open spaces of an orginism.
Replacement:
Fosilization processes that occur when an organism is completely decomposed and replaced by minerals.
Rock Cycle:
The process through which one type of rock (igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic) is converted into another.
: An organism that feeds on dead and dying organisms.
Scavenger
Sedimentary Rock:
Rock that is formed when layers of small particles (sediment) are compressed and cemented together.
Trace fossil:
Evidence left by organisms, such as burrows, imprints, coprolites, or footprints. Trace fossils are not preserved parts of the organism.
Uplift:
The process that causes part of the Earth’s crust to rise above surrounding areas. This can cause layers of rock to become exposed at the surface.
