FOSSILS:
Are the remains of creatures which existed long ago. Fossils range from thousands of years to many millions of years in age. The earliest fossils date from around 600 million years ago, however recent reports suggest bacteria may have existed up to 3 billion years earlier. To put this in context, the dinosaurs became extinct just 65 million years ago.
Not all former life was preserved as fossils; in fact the vast majority simply vanished without trace. The most likely materials to survive fossilisation are the hard parts such as shells and objects which in life were constructed from resistant materials, such as Coral. In order for softer materials to survive, the conditions must be extremely favourable.
Fossils come in a variety of sizes, from minute traces to large skeletons. Trace fossils are clues to former life, they result from the activities or presence of creatures and plants. Examples of these traces include footprints, burrows and root tunnels. At the larger end of the scale, fossils also include bones, the largest of which belong to the dinosaurs, which existed between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods.
fossils include:
- Shells
- Bones and teeth
- Fossilized footprints and burrows
- Leaves and seeds
- Tree trucks and branches
- Fossilized animal droppings
- The examples used are:
- An ammonite:
A shelled creature that lived in the seas around 150 million years ago. (To learn more about Ammonites you can cheek ammonite page).
- The Trilobite :
is hard-shelled, segmented creatures that existed over 300 million years ago in the Earth's ancient seas,
(To learn more about trilobites you can cheek trilobites page).
-Orthoceras:
Fossils are dated back to the Silurian Age 400 + million years ago and are the earliest recognizable animals
(To learn more about orthoceras you can cheek orthoceras page).http://www.geocities.com/moroccofossils
2007-01-04
06:35:44
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moroccofossils
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Earth Sciences & Geology