Fossils: How Are They Made?

There are numerous counts of evidence showing the processes of evolution and how species ultimately evolved over millions of years. One of the most compelling hypotheses behind evolution was presented by Charles Darwin with his study of the Galapagos Islands. His study showing the various different birds and their different evolutions they went through to be able to survive the changes of weather and relocation. The birds he studied had to change in order to survive, or as he simply puts it: “Survival of the Fittest”. Evolution is the changing of past organisms to diversify and have the ability to fit better in their environment and survive. Diving into the dinosaur cladogram, studies have shown that ancient dinosaurs, over hundreds of millions of years ago, evolved into our modern day birds, and not lizards as many suppose. It became apparent that there would not be enough food for a 9 ton dinosaur to consume on a daily basis forever. So evolution occurred and dinosaurs evolved to become more efficient so they could survive more effectively in their

Fossils are the remains of either a plant or animal that lived in prehistoric times, the fossil is usually found preserved into rock. Fossils show us the steps of evolution that life has taken until today. When we trace fossil records back we can start to understand how species have progressed and what they appeared to look like. We can then compare (if the species still exists) what changes they have undertaken by using the fossils as a source. From that proof we can also compare the prehistoric biota with modern day biota and consider possible relatives. As well as being a window to the past, the remains of flora and fauna let us predict how Australian biota may evolve in future.

“The main lesson of biogeography is that only evolution can explain the diversity of life on continents and islands.” (Coyne 109).In convergent evolution 3 of the six components discussed in chapter 1 are working together. These 3 components are common ancestry, speciation, and natural selection. If evolution did exist, ancestors of species today that lived in the same place, when dug up, should be fossils that resemble organisms today.

Much proof of the evolution of organisms and change in the environment overall is shown through fossils. Some of the most unusual fossils found in Australia were disovered at Riversleigh. Animals such as the Lungfish show a strong development in animals as adaptations are cleary seen through, for example, the fact the the lungfish has developed, working lungs that it can us to breathe with on land unlike any other fish. The lungfish shows the tranformation of fish swimming only being ablt to live in water to fish adapting and being able to live on land whilst their body has become dry in the dry season. It shows the evolution from sealife to land life and shows inbetweens for the evolution of the creatures. There are also records of many ancestors of animals that walk the earth today. examples include primative koalas and wombats, a range of ancestral thylacines and platypus, aswe as rodents whch show the evolution of placental mammals. Many of these organisms evolved from what they were and adapted as the climate changed to suit more and became the animals we see today. many similar types of flora and fauna fossils as well as the formation of rocks are similar so due to the continental drift. the continental drift is the drifting apart of all continents from one full land mass into the locations they are currently in. all landmasses were original joined as one big land mass caled 'Pangaea', because all organisms existed on a single land mass aswell, similar fossils can be found, as can rock formations. some evidence of continental drift was that a man named Alfred Wegener went out and matched up the same rock ike a puzzle with different pieces from different parts of the world and they

The first chapter of the book discusses the way we can use fossil records to study the biological world. Fossils are one of the major lines of evidence we use to understand ourselves. Surprisingly, we are able to discover them with a high amount of precision and predictability. In particular, field paleontologists have it easier than it has ever been before due to the current information age. The physical hunt for important fossils, however, is much like it has always been. Three factors limiting the number of useful fossil sites include rock age, type (whether or not it can preserve fossils), and number of exposed rocks. So, it takes a bit of luck to reliably find fossils. Thankfully, rock

Layers of soil are laid down on dead animals or plants embalming them. The minerals replace the organic matter creating the fossil.

(B) - The recognizable remains of a plant or animal are known as fossils. Unlike artifacts, fossils are not made by man and instead come from living things. Those who study fossils are known as paleontologists. The word “fossil” comes from the Latin word “fossilis”, which means “found by digging”.

In the article The Fossil Record Supports Evolution, writer, David A. Thomas argues his position. He favors Evolution over Creationism. In the article David explains how there are gaps in fossilization. He tells how creationists expose those gaps and claim that because of those gaps evolution is not proven to be true. However Thomas explains that there are many difficult steps in the process of uncovering fossils, but those difficulties don’t disprove anything. He says that creationists say that because scientists don’t have the full fossil that they aren’t real. Thomas explains that just because they don’t have the full fossil doesn’t mean the fragment is useless. It means that there are in fact fossils in B.C times and there could be

A Fossil-Lagerstätten is an undisturbed fossil accumulation in which fossils are exceptionally preserved. There are two types of fossil lagerstätten: Concentration Lagerstätten (Konzentrat-Lagerstätten) and Conservation Lagerstätten (Konservat-Lagerstätten). Concentration Lagerstätten are deposits of an immense number of preserved fossils, whereas Conservation Lagerstätten are the preservation of fossils in terms of quality rather than quantity (Nudds and Selden, 2008). There might be few fossils in the rock strata, however, the preservation of these are exemplary. There are many outcropping areas on Earth in which fossils are preserved like this. One example of a group of strata that has retained fossils in this way is the Crato Formation.

The author and his colleagues chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks in their search for fossils because amphibians that look dissimilar to fish were discovered in 365 million year old rocks, while fish without amphibian characteristics were discovered in 385 million year old rocks. Thus, it is possible that the evolutionary intermediary, or the “missing link” between fish and amphibians, would be discovered in 375 million year old rocks, between the two time periods. The rocks examined were sedimentary in composition, as the gradual and relatively gentle formation of sedimentary rock under conditions of mild pressure and low heat are conducive to the fossilization of animal remains. Sedimentary rock is also often formed in rivers and seas, where animals are likely to live. This site provides a resource that describes means by which fossils are formed and how the fossil record may be interpreted, and shows some examples of fossils demonstrating evolution through geological periods: http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilrecord.htm. In 2004, Shubin and his colleagues were looking for fossils on Ellesmere Island, in northern Canada. This location was chosen because of its lack of human development, as well as of obstructing natural formations and life forms such as trees, which

The fossil record is evidence of evolution. Fossils are often fingerprints of evolution. They help scientists track how species evolved

Wondering how the world was made and how life got here on earth is a question on many people’s minds. People have researched and written book after book on the origin of life. Christians believe that even God thought it important to tell people how the world was created when He described it in the beginning of the book of Genesis.

Palaeontologists divide fossil Lagerstätten into two types; Konservant-Lagerstätten (Nudds & Seldon, 2008), or conservation deposits, are horizons that show exceptional preservation of organisms, this may also include soft part preservation in some cases (Clarkson, 1998). This type of preservation usually occurs due to the inhibition of decay of the soft tissue (Briggs, 2014). For marine fossils, this can occur because of either rapid burial of the biota (Clarkson, 1998) or deposition in areas of low oxygen concentration (Briggs, 2014).

The most common type of body fossils are teeth and bones because dinosaur teeth sheds off which can be transported in different environments. Bones namely tendons and a single isolated bone can be replaced which then can be preserved. Furthermore, harder parts of the body are able to be preserved because of its durability. It’s rare to find complete skeletons because they are transported to other places and other body fossils decompose or chemicals can deteriorate the fossils.

: Fossils are the remains or traces of ancient organisms which have been preserved. For example, a fossil can exist as skeletal remains or even as a footprint. Such organisms are subjected to a slow rate of decaying since they have been rapidly buried under conditions that facilitate this. It is common for fossils to occur as hard-bodied organisms as these are more resistant to environmental influences. Fossils are usually found embedded in rock. The layers of rock are of different age and makeup. Hence fossils found in one layer would vary in characteristics from those found in another layer. They can be observed and analyzed through visual as well as radiometric means so that the age and morphology can be determined. These features indicate