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ShareFossils are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms.
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The totality of fossils 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. While most fossils are several thousands to several billions of years old, there is no minimum age for a fossil.
Fossils vary in size from microscopic, such as single cells, to gigantic, such as dinosaurs.
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 exquisitely 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 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 chemical signals; these are known as chemical fossils or biomarkers.
For more information about the topic Fossil, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Trace fossil — Trace fossils are those details preserved in rocks that are indirect evidence of life. While we are most familiar with relatively spectacular fossil ... > read more
Petrified wood — Petrified wood is a type of fossil: it exists of fossil wood where all the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, ... > read more
Evolution of the horse — The evolution in the structure of their teeth, odd-toed limbs, obvious mobility of the upper lip, and other aspects, joins the horse to the ... > read more
Feathered dinosaurs — The realization that dinosaurs are closely related to birds raised the obvious possibility that some dinosaurs had feathers. Fossils of Archaeopteryx ... > read more
Sedimentary rock — Sedimentary rock is one of the three main rock groups (along with igneous and metamorphic rocks) and is formed in four main ways: by the deposition ... > read more
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