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

WHAT ARE FOSSILS AND WHAT IS PALEONTOLOGY?
The only direct way we have of learning about dinosaurs is by studying fossils. Fossils are the remains of ancient animals and plants, the traces or impressions of living things from past geologic ages, or the traces of their activities. Fossils have been found on every continent on Earth, maybe even near where you live.

The word fossil comes from the Latin word fossilis, which means "dug up." Most fossils are excavated from sedimentary rock layers . Sedimentary rock is rock that has formed from sediment, like sand, mud, small pieces of rocks. Over long periods of time, these small pieces of debris are compressed (squeezed) as they are buried under more and more layers of sediment that piles up on top of it. Eventually, they are compressed into sedimentary rock. The layers that are farther down in the Earth are older than the top layers.

The fossil of a bone doesn't have any bone in it! A fossilized object has the same shape as the original object, but is chemically more like a rock.

Paleontology is the branch of biology that studies the forms of life that existed in former geologic periods, chiefly by studying fossils.

What Do Fossils Look Like?
Fossils have the same shape that the original item had, but their color, density, and texture vary widely. A fossil's color depends on what minerals formed it. Fossils are usually heavier than the original item since they are formed entirely of minerals (they're essentially stone that has replaced the original structure). Most fossils are made of ordinary rock material, but some are more exotic, including one fossilized dinosaur bone, a Kakuru tibia, which is an opal!

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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