Fossil

Fossil bones

Description

A Sedimentary stone that has preserved an impression of a plant or animal from another geological time period. Fossils are found in all parts of the world. The imprints are sometimes formed when animals, insects, or plants walked through or were trapped in Mud, Peat, Ice, or Tar. Collectively, fossils have produced a record of the evolution of many organisms.

Fossil bones

Synonyms and Related Terms

fósil (Esp.); fossile (Fr.); fóssil (Port.); Fossil (Deut.); fossiel (Ned.)

Additional Images

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  Fossilized leaves

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  Fossilized shell

Resources and Citations

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998