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Fossils and dinosaurs

Hello! My name is Andreas and I want to tell you all about fossils and dinosaurs. The study of fossils is called palaeontology.

Fossils are fantastic evidence of past life on our planet; they are found mainly in sedimentary rocks . But how did they get there? Well, getting turned into a fossil is not an easy task and needs a rare combination of events to take place:

An ammonite bobs around happily in the sea. . .

. . .but then dies and falls to the sea floor. . .

. . .the soft parts decay leaving the shell to be buried in sediment. . .

. . .then is changed by heated water and pressure over millions of years. . .

. . . into the fossil that you find on the beach!

There are lots of different types of fossils including bones, shells, footprints and burrows. Most fossils we find today are creatures that lived their lives in the sea. This is because they were most likely to be buried before all trace of them disappeared!

Learn about some sea creatures that we regularly find fossilised:

Jurassic age rocks are shown in brown on this map of Afghanistan. These rocks might contain the fossils of dinosaurs!

Creatures living on land can also be fossilised, it just happens less often. Dinosaurs are a great example of this; they lived 230 to 65 million years ago and have been found fossilised all over the world.

Fossils are very helpful when making geological maps as they can tell us how old a rock is. Scientists have worked out that creatures looked different at different times - they evolved so that they could survive better. So if we find the same fossil in two different rocks we know they are the same age!

More information

Fossils, especially the stunning ones found in museums, are beautiful and delicate reminders of the age of the earth and of the diversity of life.

Most of the fossils that we might find on beaches or in quarries are often imperfect and have been damaged by their time in the rocks; but these common fossils contain vital information, for they are our direct evidence for the past life of our planet, Earth.

A bone or a shell, a footprint or a feeding trace, are clues left by animals and plants from which we are able to reconstruct their lives.

These clues can be used to assess the environments in which the fossils lived. A fossil might contain information about the temperature of the sea in which the living organism swam, or demonstrate the existence of old oceans that have now disappeared.

By studying their shape and patterns of evolution, fossils enable us to build up a picture of the history of life of our planet and the great evolutionary forces which have changed the face of our world.

Get involved

Do you like fossil collecting? Tell us what you've found and your favourite places to seek out new fossils using our online form.

Let's see what else we can find out about fossils and dinosaurs. Try searching the internet for:

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Hello! My name is Andreas and I want to tell you all about fossils and dinosaurs. The study of fossils is called palaeontology. Fossils are fantastic evidence of past life on our planet; they are found mainly in sedimentary rocks . But how did they get there?

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Kids learn about the Earth science subject of fossils including the ways fossils form, types such as trace and body, fun facts, collecting, and where they are found.

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Fossils are really interesting things, and we can learn so much from them. Here we're going to take a look at what fossils are and we'll give you some awesome facts on fossils that we bet you won't know, unless you're all clued up on fossils already!

What is Palaeontology?

Before we go into what fossils are, it's important to know what palaeontology is. It is basically a part of biology that studies all forms of life that existed many, many years ago, and most of what a palaeontologist does is study fossils. So they're really important when it comes to fossils.

Palaeontologists carefully remove fossils from the ground and record all the details about where and how the fossils were found. This helps us understand why the living organism may have died and why it may have been found in this particular location.

What are fossils?

The only way that we've been able to learn about dinosaurs, and still do, is by studying fossils. They are the relics of ancient animals and plants, or the traces or imprints of living things from many, many years ago. Fossils also might show traces of their activities. Fossils have been found on every single continent of Earth. That's cool; it would be great to actually look at fossils.

The word fossil comes from the Latin word 'fossilis', which means, 'dug up'. That's certainly correct as most fossils are literally dug up. They are excavated, or dug up from sedimentary rock layers. But what is sedimentary rock? It is a type of rock that has been formed from sediment, like sand, mud and small pieces of rock.

Over long, long periods, these small pieces of debris are squeezed and they get buried under more and more layers of sediment that pile up high on top of it. Eventually, they are squeezed into sedimentary rock.

Now this is quite something. The fossil of a bone doesn't have any bone in it! A fossilised object is the same shape as the original object, but is more like a rock. We guess it's all those years of being under rocks that they're like this!

How are fossils formed?

Some animals were quickly buried after their death, for example if they sank in the mud or were buried in a sandstorm. As the years go by, more and more of that sediment that we spoke about covers them up. Some parts of the animals didn't rot, normally bones and teeth, and they were covered in newly formed sediment. If there were no scavengers, or any quick burials or too much weathering, then parts of those objects turned into fossils over time.

After a long time the animals bodies changed due to some chemicals. As bones slowly started rotting, water that had minerals in it seeped into the bone and replaced the chemicals turning the bone into rock-like minerals.

Fossilisation is the process where the original object is dissolved and the original minerals are replaced with other minerals.

In the end you get a heavy, rock-like copy of the original object; and that's what we call a fossil. The fossil has the same shape as the original object, but is actually more like a rock! That's quite some process it goes through.

Petrification - Another way Fossils Form

Firstly, let's give you a definition of petrification. It is a process in which matter that has been living is exposed to minerals over a long period of time and these are turned into a stony substance.

Petrification can save hard and soft parts and slowly replaces the living material with silica, calcite or pyrite, forming a rock-like fossil. Wood is often found petrified.

Some organisms are surrounded in amber, which is a hardened form of tree sap. Here you'll normally find pieces of insects or plants.

Fossils of imprints may form, like a big cast of a dinosaur footprint. That would be awesome to take a peek at. The impressions, if all goes well, fill with sediments that fossilise.

Most animals didn't actually fossilise, they mostly decayed so we know nothing about them. Palaeontologist's estimate that only a small percentage of the dinosaurs that ever lived have been or will be found as fossils. At least we know quite a lot about them already.

Interesting Facts about Fossils

Scientists study the facts about each and every fossil they find so they can find out where the animal might have lived, what they ate, how old they were and how they died. Can you believe that a fossil can give us so much information?

Dinosaur bones which are found by palaeontologists are mostly petrified, which we explained earlier.

The largest single fossil ever found was a petrified tree. It was found in Thailand and was over 72m long. Scientists estimate that the tree would have been over 100m tall when it was living. That's a very high tree. Imagine trying to climb it?

The largest dinosaur fossil found was nearly 34m dinosaur called the Argentinosaurus. It was found in central Argentina. That's one pretty long dinosaur.

No marine dinosaur fossil has ever been found.

Fossils are found on every continent on Earth including Antarctica and at the top of Mount Everest near the highest point on Earth! The presence of fossils indicates that most of the Earth was covered by water at some time. Wow!

So there's everything you need to know about fossils. Maybe you should go out hunting for some fossils and see if you can find anything. Get all your gear ready!

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Fossils are really interesting things, and we can learn so much from them. Here we're going to take a look at what fossils are and we'll give you some awesome facts on fossils that we bet you won't know, unless you're all clued up on fossils already! What is Palaeontology?

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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The "I Gotta Question" page
answers a lot of common
questions about fossils and has
an e-mail link so that you can
contact us with your special
question

The "X Marks the Spot" page lists
descriptions and locations of
places all across the United
States you can go to collect
fossils,

The "Now and Then" page has
cool pictures of different kinds of
fossils that you might find and
shows what the animal they
came from might have looked
like.

U.S. Fossils is a page that describes
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

sites I have visited and fossils I've
collected across the United States.

The "Shark Teeth" page has pictures
of shark teeth of numerous shapes,
sizes, and colors. These teeth have
been collected from all over the
world!!!

Paralegal Certificate Online at WTI

High School Diploma Online at Excel High School

The "Safety First" page gives you
great tips on how to stay safe
while your collecting fossils

Brand New and ready for you to
check out!

The "Amber" page has pictures
various bugs caught and preserved
in amber

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This website is dedicated to providing fossil education, information and fun for kids of all ages. Questions will be answered, fossils will be found and you'll have fun in the process.

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Have you ever wondered how we know so much about the dinosaurs, even though it's been millions of years since they walked the Earth? Well, we have fossils to thank for that!

Fossils can give scientists clues about animals and plants that lived a long, long time ago.

What exactly are fossils? What information do they give scientists, and how? Keep reading to learn more about these fascinating fossils!

What exactly are fossils, and how do they form?

Fossils are nature's records of animals and plants that lived a long, long time ago. Most of the time when we think of fossils, we think of animal remains that have turned to stone over time. How does this happen?

Well, sometimes the body of a dead animal sinks into dirt or mud. Some parts of the animal's body will decay over time, but harder, stronger parts like teeth and bones will remain.

These remains stay in the mud for a very long time, and eventually more mud starts pressing down on top of the animal's remains.

Over time, minerals from the surrounding dirt, rock, and other debris turn the remains into a hard fossil. This fossil is basically a stone copy of the original object.

Fossils can also form through a process called petrification, which happens when minerals replace previously living material. Wood and bone are often petrified, and so are many dinosaur fossils.

Sometimes, insects or small pieces of plants are found preserved in amber. This happens when animals or plants get trapped in sticky resin from trees, which eventually hardens into amber with the organism (plant or animal) still stuck inside.

Sometimes even footprints and burrows (holes that animals live in) can be fossilized.

For example, dinosaur footprints from long ago may have filled with sediment (sand, mud, little pieces of rock) and then eventually hardened into fossils.

What is paleontology?

The study of life that existed in geologic periods many, many years ago is called paleontology. The scientists who study paleontology are called paleontologists, and they mostly use fossils to learn about the past.

Paleontologists say that most animals don't fossilize, and that only a very small number of dinosaurs who lived will ever be found as fossils. That means that many dinosaurs and other animals existed that we will never even know about!

What can we learn from fossils?

Fossils can give us a lot of information about the past that we never would have known without them: what animals and plants looked like, where animals traveled, what animals ate, and more.

Fossils like footprints can help us learn about an animal's size and shape. For example, if an animal had very big footprints, he was probably a very big animal.

Footprints can also tell us where and how far animals usually traveled. Fossilized burrows also give us information about where animals lived.

Did you know that even poop can be fossilized? Fossils of poop are called coprolites, and they can tell us what a creature ate.

That, along with fossilized teeth, tell us which dinosaurs were carnivores (meat eaters), which were herbivores (plant eaters), and which were omnivores (ate both meat and plants).

Coprolites from the Tyrannosaurus rex have been found containing tiny pieces of bones, telling scientists that the T-rex ate other animals for lunch!

Fun facts about fossils

Fossils have been found on every continent in the world.

The largest fossil ever discovered is a petrified tree found in Thailand. The tree was more than 237 feet (72 meters) long, and was probably much taller when it was still living!

Scientists have found fossils of dinosaurs with feathers. Weird!

There are public places called fossil beds where anyone can go find fossils to collect.

The oldest known fossil is from a blue-green algae that lived in South Africa about 3.2 billion years ago.

Paleontologists recently discovered the fossil of a very tiny dinosaur in China. Named the microraptor, this dinosaur was only the size of a crow!

Fossils are also the reason scientists can estimate when the dinosaurs went extinct.

The largest dinosaur scientists have discovered is the Argentinosaurus, which was 110 feet long and lived in-you guessed it-Argentina!

Now you know all about fossils. Aren't they interesting? Fossils are important because they give us clues about what life was like a long time ago.

If we didn't have fossils, we would never even know that dinosaurs existed!

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Have you ever wondered how we know so much about the dinosaurs, even though it's been millions of years since they walked the Earth? Well, we have fossils to thank for that! Fossils can give scientists clues about animals and plants that lived a long, long time ago. What exactly are fossils?

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When an animal or plant dies, it usually decays quickly. Dead animals are often eaten. Sometimes, though, an animal's body sinks into thick mud. The mud contains no air so the remains don't decay. Animals can't disturb the remains.

Here the remains may rest for thousands or even millions of years. Over time, more mud presses down on the remains. Minerals dissolved in the mud turn the remains to stone. These remains are called fossils and they give scientists clues about what life was like on our planet.

Fun Facts About Fossils for Kids

Without fossils, we wouldn't know about dinosaurs.

Some fossils are of footprints or animal burrows, rather than the animals themselves.

Fossilized poop is called coprolites. Scientists have found coprolites from Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaurs that contain bits of crushed bones.

It's pretty unusual to find a whole fossilized animal. Scientists usually find shells, bones and teeth instead.

Scientists have found fossils of feathered dinosaurs.

Sometimes animal and plant remains are preserved, but they're not turned to stone. Insects were stuck in sticky tree resin. The tree resin turned to amber over millions of years, but the insects are completely intact inside.

Fossils Vocabulary

1. Remains: dead animal or plant material

2. Fossil: any animal or plant remains that has been preserved for more than 10,000 years

3. Coprolite: fossilized poop

4. Resin: sticky sap from trees and plants

All About Fossils Video for Kids

Here's the best kids Fossil video you can watch right now to learn more all about Fossils:

Fossils Q&A

Question: What do you call the scientists who studies fossils?

Answer: They are called Paleontologists. Paleontology is the scientific study of prehistoric life.

__________

Question: How do you find fossils?

Answer: Paleontologists work at dig sites looking for fossils, but fossils are often found accidentally when people move or disturb rocks or soil.

Enjoyed the Natural Science for Kids all about Fossils info? Take the FREE & fun Fossils quiz and download FREE all about Fossils worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.

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When an animal or plant dies, it usually decays quickly. Dead animals are often eaten. Sometimes, though, an animal's body sinks into thick mud. The mud contains no air so the remains don't decay. Animals can't disturb the remains. Here the remains may rest for thousands or even millions of years.

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A fossil can be defined as the preserved remains left behind by an organism and fossilization is a process by which a fossil is formed. They are usually found within rocks of the earth 's crust. Fossils of most of the organisms cannot be found because most of their parts are decayed or destroyed.
Fun Facts: -

By studying a fossil, scientists can find out all the facts about that particular animal species like: - where they lived, what they ate, how they died etc.

A palaeontologist is the one who removes fossils from the ground and study it completely.

The largest single fossil ever found was a petrified tree. It was more than 70 meters long.

Fossils are formed when a living organism dies and becomes buried under the ground in the layers of segments.

The oldest fossils ever found were of blue - green algae that were found in South Africa.

There are two types of fossils, Petrified and Mold.

Dinosaur fossils are examples of petrified fossil.

The largest dinosaur fossil ever found is 110 foot long that is called as Argentinosaurus.

Most of the fossils are remains of extinct organisms.

When a fossil is being formed, the chemicals in the bones are replaced by some minerals. This process is known as per mineralization.

Fossils are found where sedimentary rocks are disposed.

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A fossil can be defined as the preserved remains left behind by an organism and fossilization is a process by which a fossil is formed. They are usually found within rocks of the earth 's crust. Fossils of most of the organisms cannot be found because most of their parts are decayed or destroyed.

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Exploring Fossil Records, How Fossils Are Formed

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What are fossils and how are they formed | Learn about Fossils