Fossilization

A fossil is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past
geological age. Fossils may be actual remains of plants and animals. It found mostly in the rocks
and formations of rocks are oldest as the Earth. So, due to this the formations of fossils are also
very oldest. Sometimes it found in the deepest oceans. Examples include bones, shells,
exoskeletons, and stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair,
petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the fossil record.

Fossilization is the process of an animal or plant becoming preserved in a hard, petrified form.
Fossilization often results in the impression of an organism being left in a rock. When a leaf or
an animal skeleton becomes a fossil, that's fossilization.

Paleontology is the branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants. It includes the
study of fossils to classify organisms and study their interactions with each other and their
environments.
Two things are very important or necessary for the formation of fossils;
1. Rapid burial is very necessary for fossilization
2. Hard body parts (bones and skeleton) are also very necessary for the fossilization
because the hard parts are preserved for long time.
Age of fossils
We determine the age of fossils by uranium dating and carbon dating.

Uranium dating: Uranium–lead dating, abbreviated U–Pb dating is one of the oldest and
most refined of the radiometric dating schemes. It can be used to date rocks that formed and
crystallised from about 1 million years to over 4.5 billion years ago with routine precisions in
the 0.1–1 percent range.

It very long process which require long time. 7,400,000,000 gm uranium converts into 1 gm of
lead during 1 year.

We determine age of rock by following formula:

Weight of lead
Age of rock = × 7,400 million years
Weight of uranium
According to uranium dating earth is 300 million years old because the deepest belts of earth
which discover know. 200 million years ago first life’s span appears on earth.

Types of fossils
1. Petrified fossils
Petrified fossils result from permineralization, the replacement of once-living matter by
minerals. Solutions containing silicates, carbonates, iron or other minerals seep into the gaps
and spaces between the cells, first encasing the cells and eventually replacing the cells
themselves. Over time, minerals entirely replace the organic material, creating a petrified
fossil. Petrified fossils, also known as petrifactions, are fossils in which organic materials have
been replaced or turned into stone through a process called mineralization. This occurs over a
long period, often millions of years.

For example limestone, iron, pyrite, and quartz etc.

2. Dead or preserved bodies

The first types, body fossils, are the fossilized remains of an animal or plant, like bones, shells,
and leaves. These can be mould and cast fossils, like most of the fossilized dinosaur skeletons
and big bones we see, replacement fossils, like petrified wood, or whole-body fossils –
mammoths caught in the ice, or insects trapped in amber.

It mostly found in the ice because the remains of plants and animals are preserved in the ice
and they cannot decompose.

Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since
Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into
a variety of decorative objects. Amber is used in jewelry and has been used as a healing agent in
folk medicine.

Desiccation, also known as mummification, is a very unique and rare form of fossilization.
Desiccated/mummified fossils are next in quality to frozen fossils. Bones and tissues of
desiccated organisms of the desert are well preserved, although they often fall apart at the
slightest touch. E.g mammoths are fossils. By studying this we concluded that it was elephant
like animals.

The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North and Central European Plain.
This sea has remains of insects in the form of amber.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. Baltic Sea has
remains of insects in the form of amber.

3. Caprolith

A coprolite is fossilized feces. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils,
as they give evidence for the animal's behavior rather than morphology. They were first
described by William Buckland in 1829.

4. Cast and impressions

Sometimes when an animal dies and its body decays, it can leave an imprint in the sediment. If
this imprint fills in with minerals from sediment and groundwater, it can harden to form a fossil.
This fossil is called a cast fossil. The fossilized imprint is called a mold fossil.

5. Trails and footprint

Trace fossils include footprints, trails, burrows, feeding marks, and resting marks. Trace fossils
provide information about the organism that is not revealed by body fossils. Trace fossils are
formed when an organism makes a mark in mud or sand. The sediment dries and hardens.

Arthropods, vertebrates, mollusks, and worms are includes in this type.

6. Gastroliths

A gastrolith, also called a stomach stone or gizzard stone, is a rock held inside a gastrointestinal
tract. Gastroliths in some species are retained in the muscular gizzard and used to grind food in
animals lacking suitable grinding teeth. In other species the rocks are ingested and pass through
the digestive system and are frequently replaced.

7. Pseudofossils

Pseudofossils are inorganic objects, markings, or impressions that might be mistaken for fossils.
Pseudofossils may be misleading, as some types of mineral deposits can mimic lifeforms by
forming what appear to be highly detailed or organized structures. It resemble with organic
compound.

Uses or importance of fossils

1. Evolutionary evidences: Fossils provide direct evidence of past life forms, allowing
scientists to study the evolution of species over geological time. The fossil record is a
crucial component supporting the theory of evolution.
2. Stratigrahy and dating: Fossils help establish the relative ages of rock layers through
biostratigraphy. By examining the types of fossils found in different strata, geologists
can correlate rocks from different locations and create a chronological framework for
Earth's history.
3. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction: Fossils offer insights into ancient environments
and ecosystems. By studying the plant and animal life preserved in fossils, scientists can
reconstruct past climates, habitats, and ecological interactions.
4. Biostratigraphy and correlation: Fossils are used in biostratigraphy to identify and date
rock formations. Certain fossils have known time ranges, and their presence or absence
in a particular rock layer helps geologists correlate formations regionally and globally.
5. Human evolution: Fossils of hominins (ancestors of humans) provide crucial information
about the evolution of the human species. Studying these fossils helps trace the
development of various human traits and behaviors.
6. Medical insights: Fossilized remains can provide insights into the health and diseases of
ancient organisms. This information contributes to the understanding of disease
evolution and the adaptation of organisms to changing environments.
7. Resource exploration: Fossils, particularly those associated with specific rock
formations, can indicate the presence of valuable natural resources such as oil, coal, and
natural gas. Geologists use fossil evidence to guide exploration efforts.
8. Climate change research: Fossils help scientists understand how organisms responded
to past climatic changes. This information is valuable for predicting and mitigating the
impacts of contemporary climate change on biodiversity.
9. Education and public interest: Fossils capture the public's imagination and interest in
natural history. They are essential for educational purposes, helping people understand
the dynamic history of life on Earth and the interconnectedness of living organisms.
10. Conservation and biodiversity studies: Fossil evidence contributes to the understanding
of past biodiversity patterns, which can inform modern conservation efforts. Studying
long-term changes in biodiversity provides context for addressing current ecological
challenges.
11. Geologic time scale: we use fossils to construct the geological time scale or geologic
time record.
12. Succession: we use fossils to study succession or to study that how life moves from
simple to complex.
13. We use fossils to study how animals adopt new characters. And study to those
characters which enhanced, finished, replaced, and minimized.
14. We used fossils to establish pedigree.
Transitional fossils/ intermediate fossils
A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both
an ancestral group and its derived descendant group. This is especially important where the
descendant group is sharply differentiated by gross anatomy and mode of living from the
ancestral group. There are few examples of transitional fossils:

1. Archaeopteryx: Often considered a transitional fossil between dinosaurs and modern

birds, Archaeopteryx lived around 150 million years ago. It had both avian (bird-like) and
reptilian features, such as feathers and a long, bony tail.
2. Tiktaalik: This fossil, discovered in Arctic Canada, is considered a transitional form
between fish and tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates). Tiktaalik lived around 375 million
years ago and had features of both fish (like scales and gills) and tetrapods (limb-like
fins).
3. Ambulocetus: An example of a transitional form between land-dwelling mammals and
whales, Ambulocetus lived around 50 million years ago. It had features of both
terrestrial mammals and early whales, such as limb adaptations for both swimming and
walking.
4. Australopithecus afarensis: Fossils of this hominin species, including the famous "Lucy,"
provide important transitional evidence in the evolution of hominins (ancestors of
humans). Australopithecus afarensis lived approximately 3 to 4 million years ago and
had a mix of ape-like and human-like features.
5. Stegocephalia: This is the transitional form between fishes and amphibians.
6. Inostracevia: This is the transitional form between reptiles and mammals.
7. Manchurosuras: This is the transitional form between reptiles and mammals.
8. Archeornis: This is the transitional form between birds and reptiles.