Questions tagged [fossils]
86
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Why don't animals rot when trapped in amber? [closed]
I just saw an image of a gecko stuck in amber 58 million years ago. Why don't animals rot when they are trapped in amber? I've seen dry insects whose chitin shells persist for a long time away from ...
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2
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ID on a potential flint fossil
I was out in Swinley Forest in Bracknell(United Kingdom) last weekend. The area is a large pine forest but the ground is full of flint and is very sandy.
I stumbled across a piece of flint and ...
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Why the $\delta \, ^{18}\text{O}$ in foraminifera shells decrease with temperature even if the oceanic $\delta \, ^{18}\text{O}$ stay constant?
I understand why foram shells contain more $^{18}\text{O}$ when there are ice sheets present, since $^{16}\text{O}$ evaporates more readily and gets trapped in the ice, increasing the relative ...
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What type of mammal does this fossil tooth belong to?
The fossil tooth was found western South Dakota in the early 1980s.
I can't be sure on the location. It might have been collected from Belle Reservoir, near Belle Fourche, Butte County, South Dakota, ...
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4
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Why are many fossils found in deserts?
Why are deserts famous for fossils? Is it a coincidence? Some examples:
Giant Catfish Fossil Found in Egyptian Desert
Chile's stunning fossil whale graveyard explained
Giant Dinosaur Fossil Found ...
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8
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1
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What are Ordovican trace fossils, and what do they look like?
There are some unusual structures in recent images from the Mars Curiosity Rover's MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) shown in the Space.com article Curiosity Rover Spots Weird Tube-Like Structures on Mars....
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Why does mineral oil occur below natural gas?
Why does mineral oil occur below natural gas? It was asked in our science book in the Geology section and I didn't get a clear explanation from the teacher.
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What is Oligo-Miocene radiation?
Some studies about Earth's fosilized plants/animals mention a "Oligo-Miocene radiation".
Examples:
Our study therefore strengthens previous suggestions that the absence
of very large penguins ...
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What type of fossil is this found at northern Ohio?
I need some help identifying this fossil.
I found the rock 30 years ago along the Cuyahoga River in northern Ohio.
Northern Ohio is glaciated so it is possible that the specimen was transported to ...
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Is this a fossil or a mark on the stone
Found this rock during a walk along the coast and I can't tell weather the white line is a fossil or just a mark on the rock. Any help in identifing weather this is a fossil or not would be ...
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Is this a fossil we found in a store? [closed]
We found this rock at a mineral and jewelry store. The gal wrote down what it was and we cannot find what we think she wrote on the internet anywhere. She wrote Mcstrodlite.
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Are fossils in slate 3 dimensional or does the slate split open at the weakest point where the flat imprint of the fossil is found?
In this picture you see a fossil of an Ammonite. When you break a slate with a hammer it will fall apart so sometimes you can find a fossil. But is this fossil only there in the slate just at the ...
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What are some regions where land-living island animals have left fossil records within the sea, of the coast of the island?
What are some examples of fossil sites where land-living fossils end up in the sea, off the coast-line of an island?
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Aligator or Dinosaur Fossil skin type rock
The more I looked at this stone and touched it, the more this thing looked like it was wrapped in some kind of reptile skin. It may just be a random rock. More photos if needed. Does this look like ...
4
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2
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"Impression and pseudomorphism" in fossils
In a book on invertebrate paleontology I have (Treatise on Invertebrate Palaeontology, A) there is a diagram showing possible fates of a shell after the death of the organism.
One of the possible ...
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What are these lines on this stone?
I found this on Lake Ontario in Canada. I was wondering is there is anything special/out of the ordinary about it?
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A sedimentary rock with only minerals
In my text book I came across this multiple-choice question
A sedimentary rock consists of only minerals and lacks fossils, it could be classified as:
i) a clastic sedimentary rock
ii) a chemical ...
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2
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Fossil or Pseudofossil?
I found these rocks in the Oregon Coast Range many years ago and have always wondered whether the interesting image was a pseudofossil or an actual fossil. If it's a pseudofossil, any ideas on how it ...
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Circular patterns at bottom of rock, is it a fossil?
The image below was taken on a hike. Circular patterns at bottom (it is flatter on this face and round otherwise) appear either man-made or possibly it is a fossil.
Any idea what this could be?
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I have found this fossil tooth, could it be pliosaur ? Or maybe theropod?
Lenght: 10 mm, striated, circular cross-section
Site: Brno-Hády (limestone quarry), Moravia, Czech republic, central Europa
Age: Jurassic, oxford
The site is a good source of fossil shark teeth, ...
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How old are Pecten fossils in general?
Many years ago, I found a piece of rock on a lakeside in Switzerland (see picture below).
I think that it could be a "fossil" from some Pecten species (do you agree?).
My question is: how old such ...
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Why cannot people burn all the atmospheric oxygen? [closed]
We are told that photosynthesis, developed a couple of billion years ago has produced all the atmospheric oxygen. I wonder, why did the process stop? Why do modern plants prefer to recover the entropy ...
6
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How to identify a predator's coprolite from an herbivore's?
I have a coprolite that is 8" by 5" and weighs 8 lbs. The shape is similar to a lumpy brain, the colors below outer crust are deep red and the crust is pastel green and grey. It has a strong density ...
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Fossil or Beef Limestone?
I found the below sample on Monmouth Beach near Lyme Regis and I am unsure if it is a fossil or simply beef limestone. The beef limestone is from fibrous calcite layers within a shale (known as shales ...
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How can I learn to spot fossils and fossil-bearing rocks on the Jurassic coast?
Due to a pleasant change in my circumstances, I have been to Lyme Regis several times recently, and it seems as though I'm going to be a regular visitor over the next few years.
As a former biologist ...
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Are there any geological periods found on top of each other that have dinosaurs of that period with in them?
In diagrams, It is common to depict geological periods to be directly on top of each other with fossils of that period within them. When looking for evidence of this, I have only found examples of ...
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Is the Principle of Fossil Succession accurate?
After wondering on the validity of the principle of Original Horizontality, I'm now focusing on the principle of fossil succession.
This principle states that :
Fossils of species that did not ...
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3
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Life on Earth previous to us
I've seen in several places that there seems to be an extinction cycle on Earth of approximately 27 million years. I've read this here:
Life on Earth wiped out every 27 million years (but we've got ...
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What geological processes can cause local biases in the fossil record?
What are the main geological processes that can cause local biases in the fossil record, e.g. when comparing species diversity or species occurances in different areas from the same time period? I ...
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How would a Mars rover identify a microbialite fossil?
I recently read of a company in Canada using robotic technology to study freshwater microbialites. Their claim is that greater understanding of terrestrial microbialites could help in the search for ...
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How do scientists determine the absolute or 'chronometric' date of fossils?
Absolute dating is the process of determining an approximate computed age of something like a fossil. How does that work?
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11
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How can I tell if a rock is really petrified wood?
I found a rock in the Mojave desert and it resembles a tree branch including what appears to be wood grain. Is there some test or observation that can be done at home to conclusively answer my ...
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How can a non-geologist identify a rock? [closed]
I found a rock on a beach in north-east Evia, Greece. Half is light gray, and half is dark gray. There are white (or very light gray) thin lines that form swirls throughout, crossing the light/dark ...
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What, if any, paleoclimate data can be derived from stromatolite fossils?
Stromatolite fossils have a layered structure vaguely reminiscent of tree rings, which are a well-known source for climate data. Although the formation process of stromatolite layers is less seasonal ...
user26
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What periods of the fossil record are most lacking in specimens?
What parts of the fossil record are most lacking in specimens? That is, if you were to trace the evolution of a modern mammal (humans, for example) from abiogenesis to now, which periods are the most ...
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