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The fossil record is the record of life on Earth as it is preserved in rock as fossils . The fossil record provides evidence of when and how life began on the planet, what types of organisms existed and how long they persisted, how they lived, died, and evolved, and what the climate was and how it changed.

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A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group.
Transitional fossils are fossils that have body structures that are found both in an ancestral species and in its descendants.
A transitional fossil may be defined as a fossil which exhibits traits common to both ancestral and derived groups. This is especially important when groups are sharply differentiated. They can show how a species might adapt to survive their new conditions.

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Patterns in Extinction and Biodiversity Data

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Patterns in Extinction and Biodiversity Data

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extinction-the death of every member of a species.

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Fossils are common and are found in a variety of shapes and sizes, but there are a number of common rock and mineral structures mistaken for fossils. These are called pseudofossils (false fossils). Some pseudofossils are very convincing and it takes careful observation and wide experience to tell the difference.

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Molecular fossils are organic molecules derived from once living organisms. They fall within the category of biomarkers (or biosignatures), which are substances or characteristics that indicate a modern or past biological presence, state, or process.

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Carbon film fossils are carbonized two-dimensional remains of organisms that were exposed to great pressure over long periods of time. Carbon film fossils can often preserve information about the original organism's shape, features and evolutionary placement.

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Body fossils are the most common type of fossil found across the world. They are formed from the remains of dead animals and plants. Most body fossils are of hard parts such as teeth, bones, shells, or woody trunks, branches, and stems.

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The earliest evidence for life dates back about 3.8

billion years.

The earliest organisms were single cells, which rarely

formed fossils.

Evidence of these earliest cells was found in rock

samples with high levels of a type of carbon only found

in living things.

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Analyzing Evidence about the History of Life 

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Analyzing Evidence about the History of Life 

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Fossils can provide information about past

environments.
The fossil record shows patterns in how species appeared and disappeared in Earth’s history.
Fossils show where and when certain extinct organisms lived.
Fossils show patterns in how the body plans of organisms changed over time.

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There are different types

of carbon atoms. But

living organisms  use

only one of these types.

Scientists detected high

levels of this type of

carbon in ancient rock

compared to other types

of carbon.

They concluded that there was life on Earth at the time this

ancient rock formed 3.8 billion years ago.

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Coprolites are the fossilised faeces of animals that lived millions of years ago. They are trace fossils, meaning not of the animal's actual body. A coprolite