ZoomDinosaurs.com DINOSAUR FOSSILS

First Dino Fossil Discoveries

What are Fossils?

How Fossils Form

Types of Fossils

Finding Fossils

Dating Fossils

Excavating Fossils

Bony Jigsaw Puzzles

Famous Fossil Hunters

Fossil Locations Worldwide
North American Fossils	South American Fossils	African Fossils	Asian Fossils	European Fossils	Australian Fossils	Antarctic Fossils

FINDING FOSSILS: SKILL, TENACITY, AND LUCK
Since fossils are buried during their formation, finding them can be difficult. Paleontologists do a lot of research to decide where to dig for dinosaurs . To choose an optimal location for a dig, they choose:

• sedimentary rock - shale, sandstone, or limestone (this is where most fossils were preserved),
• a sedimentary layer from the Mesozoic Era (when the dinosaurs lived). Exposed sedimentary rock is pretty easy to identify - it's in layers. To find an example of exposed sedimentary rock in your area, look at the cut-out area where highways go through hills. The layers should be easily visible. Other places to look are cliffs, rock outcroppings, canyons, badlands, etc.,
• a place that was not an ocean or lake during the Mesozoic, because the dinosaurs lived only on land.

Areas where fossil-bearing sedimentary rock erode quickly (because of rain, flooding, wind, etc.) are good for finding fossils. Rarely, fossils are observed just sticking out of the ground. More often, paleontologists must do enormous amounts of work to find, excavate , and prepare fossils.

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The Continents
Fossils have been found on every continent on Earth . Rock strata in many places are remarkably similar to each other. This lends credence to the continental drift theory of Alfred Wegener (1912) who theorized that 200 million years ago there was a single land mass on Earth which he called "Pangaea" (meaning "All Earth"). This land mass then slowly drifted apart on Earth's floating crust, forming separate continents. Wegener's theory explains why fossils of the same species are found on many different, unconnected continents.

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Children and Fossils
Children have found important dinosaur fossils, including T. rex skin found by a 12-year-old and an egg found by a 3-year-old.

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Fossil Hot Spots: Lagerstätten
Lagerstätten (meaning "fossil deposit places" in German) are geological deposits that are rich with varied, well-preserved fossils, representing a wide variety of life from a particular era. These spectacular fossil deposits represent an amazing "snapshot" in time. Some Lagerstätten include the La Brea Tar Pits (California, USA), Ediacara Hills (South Australia), Burgess Shale (B.C., Canada), Solnhofen (Germany), and Mazon Creek (Illinois, USA)

ZoomDinosaurs.com DINOSAUR FOSSILS

First Dino Fossil Discoveries

What are Fossils?

How Fossils Form

Types of Fossils

Finding Fossils

Dating Fossils

Excavating Fossils

Bony Jigsaw Puzzles

Famous Fossil Hunters

Fossil Locations Worldwide
North American Fossils	South American Fossils	African Fossils	Asian Fossils	European Fossils	Australian Fossils	Antarctic Fossils

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