Fossils Page
A cast fossil is a fossil a fossil formed when an animal, plant, or other organism dies, its flesh decays and bones deteriorate due to chemical reactions; minerals gradually enter into the cavity, resulting in a cast, which is in the general form of the original organism.
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A mold fossil is a fossil formed when an animal, plant, or other organism dies and is covered by sediment, its flesh decays and bones deteriorate due to chemical reactions, and a cavity remains below the ground surface.
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A trace fossil leaves behind poop, or footprints.
A preserved remain is when entire organisms or parts are preserved from decaying by being trapped in rock, amber, tar, or ice.
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In index fossil is a fossil that lived for a short geologic time period. Index fossils are used for dating and correlating the strata in which it's found. An example is if I found a fossil and wanted to see how old it was I would dig around where I got the fossil and see how deep it was in the ground to see the age of it.
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A Petrified fossil form when minerals replace all or part of an organism. Water is full of dissolved minerals. It seeps through the layers of sediment to reach the dead organism. When the water evaporates, only the hardened minerals are left behind.
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