Fossils

 Latin- “have been dug up”  There are 3 things that make a fossil a fossil:  Organic- The remains or evidence of something once living.  At Least 10,000 years old  Preserved  Ex: Stone, amber, casts

 Remains or traces of life  Remains ◦ Bones, Shells  Traces: ◦ Burrows, footprints Can a plant be a fossil????

 Less than 2% of all living organisms fossilize  Need to be covered with sediments quickly

 Tell us about our past  Learn about organisms that are no longer living (extinct)  Provide information from a time when humans were not around  Helps with the study of evolution

 Earliest bird in the fossil record  Shows the link between dinosaurs and birds ◦ It is a bird but had many dinosaur like features: jaws with teeth, scales  Lived in the Late Jurassic Period ◦ million years ago

 Extinct fish  50 million years old  Found in Wyoming

 Marine animal  Extinct Mollusc  Found worldwide  Range in size from a few centimeters to over 4 feet!

 Extinct marine animal  250 million years old  Arthropod  Compound eyes made of calcite- they could fossilize!

 Fossilized plant  Fell into the mud and the mud turned to stone.  Fern disintegrated, what is left is the impression