Fossil Vocab

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fossilization

Back 1

to convert into a fossil; replace organic with mineral substances in the remains of an

organism

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carbonization

Back 2

convert into carbon, typically by heating or burning, or during

fossilization; coat with carbon

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petrification

Back 3

the process by which

organic matter exposed to minerals over a long period is turned into a stony substance

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tectonic activity

Back 4

two sub-layers of the earth's crust that move, float, and

fracture and cause

continental drift,

earthquakes,

volcanoes, mountains, and oceanic trenches

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microfossil

Back 5

a fossil or fossil

fragment that can be seen only with a

microscope

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gastroliths

Back 6

Rocks that have been in the digestive system of an animal

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coprolites

Back 7

a piece of fossilized dung

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transitional fossil

Back 8

any fossilized remains of a life form that

exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group

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archaeopteryx

Back 9

the oldest known

fossil bird, of the late

Jurassic period. It had feathers, wings, and

hollow bones like a bird, but teeth, and a bony tail

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amber

Back 10

hard translucent

fossilized resin

produced by extinct

coniferous trees of the Tertiary period

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replacement fossilization

Back 11

the original calcite or aragonite might be

replaced with other minerals such as silica, pyrite, or hematite

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zoolith

Back 12

fossil formed by animal activity or composed of animal remains

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scolecodont

Back 13

jaw of a polychaete

annelid, a type of fossil producing segmented worm useful in invertebrate paleontology;

common and diverse microfossils.

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cast

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fossil formed when an organism dies, and its material

deteriorates, then

minerals gradually enter into the cavity, resulting in a cast

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anatomical features

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The bodily structure of a plant or an animal or of any of its parts

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concentric

Back 16

of or denoting circles, arcs, or other shapes that share the same center, the larger often completely surrounding the smaller

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paleontology

Back 17

the branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants

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igneous inclusions

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inclusions in rock during magma emplacement and eruption

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lithification

Back 19

the process in which sediments compact

under pressure, expel connate fluids, and gradually become solid rock

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remineralization

Back 20

the breakdown or

transformation of

organic matter into its simplest inorganic forms

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ichnofossil

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A trace fossil; a

geological record of

biological activity

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mold

Back 22

formed when an object is placed into soft mud and is removed by

decomposition or

physical sources

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boring & burrows

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digging away material; a hole or tunnel dug by a small animal, especially a rabbit, as a dwelling

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fossil beds

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A layer of identifiable fossiliferous material preserved in

sedimentary rocks; also a common term for a fossil landscape buried by deposits

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organisms

Back 25

an individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form