We often hear the word “fossil”. This word is frequently encountered in both news channels and social media. Even if we basically know what this word means, there is actually a lot we don’t know about fossils. Our topic today is information about fossils, which is really interesting and allows us to find great traces from the past to the present. If you are wondering what fossils are, what are people who research fossils called, you will have much more information about fossils when you read the information below.
If we need to summarize the fossils in general, we can say that the most obvious details that take us to the past lives of our world. Because, thanks to fossils, we can see artifacts from many creatures that lived in the past and went extinct until today. To date, quite a lot of fossil record has been unearthed. Even if only dinosaurs come to mind when “fossils” are mentioned, we can come across much more when we delve deeper into the subject. If you wish, without further ado, let’s move on to our list of information about fossils that you will be quite surprised to read.
Information about fossils that you will be surprised to read:
- Dinosaur Fossils
- Fossils found all over our world
- poop fossils
- Paleontologist
- Actually comes from Latin
- Foot steps
- Details of fossils
- What details can fossils give us?
- Fossilization is not an easy thing
The first thing that comes to mind when fossils are mentioned: Dinosaur fossils
Yes, we’re sure that when we hear the word “fossils”, we think of dinosaurs directly. We can say that the main thing that allows us to know so much about dinosaurs that lived in the past and went extinct long before they came to the present is the main fossils. In fact, thanks to fossils, we can learn quite a lot of details about dinosaurs that lived in the past.
As a result of the fossils unearthed to date, the size of the largest dinosaur that lived on Earth in the past has been determined to be exactly 34 meters. We can say that this height is higher than an average 5-storey building. So, if dinosaurs had lived today, it would have been very difficult for them to get around the structures.
Fossils found all over our world
It shouldn’t be difficult to access fossils from the past in our world. Because almost all of the world has fossil remains from the past. In this way, many scientific data about the past cycle of the world are revealed. The fact that fossils are found on every continent also reveals what life was like in the past according to the continents.
To give a simple example of where the fossils are found, fossils have been found even on the top of Mount Everest, the largest mountain in the world. The fossils found on the top of the mountain belonged to sea creatures.
Not only living things, but also poop fossils can be found
Yes, not only creatures that lived in the past, but also fossils belonging to the excrement of those creatures were found. When all these fossils were brought together, much clearer information about the past of our world could be revealed. The poop fossils found among the fossils are called coprolites.
Scientists have found fossils belonging to different types of dinosaurs among coprolites from the past. You have to be sure, their fossils are much more than just poop.
Let’s come to the people who research fossils: Paleontologist
People who research and study fossils can be called scientists for short. Even in news feeds, the title of “scientist” is often used instead of paleontologist in a fossil news. But there is a profession that studies and researches fossils. People who are interested in this profession are called Paleontologists and their most basic duty is to reach more information about fossils from the past and to carry more information from the past to the present.
From the outside, it seems like a really difficult job to be able to come up with such clear opinions about the past through fossils. But we are sure that uncovering new things as we study fossils from the past can be one of the most enjoyable professions.
To get to the roots of the word “fossil”: It actually comes from Latin
We know roughly what the word fossil means. But unfortunately we do not know from which language this word comes from and how it is actually pronounced in that language. The word “fossil” comes from Latin when we get down to the basics. The word means dug in this language and actually derives from the word “fossus”.
The word “fossil” in TDK means “Remains or traces of animals and plants from past earth science times in the earth’s crustal rocks, special, stony”.
One of the most intriguing details is the footprints.
We said that we can learn some details about living things that lived in the past with fossils. We even called one of them poop. Other strange details of fossils are footprints. When we examine the fossilized footprints from the past to the present, we are faced with really large feet. While some footprints belong to different creatures, some footprints look like they belong to humans. Some of the footprints are large, while others appear considerably longer than normal.
Fossils are not overly obvious details
Let’s say you find a fairly old bone lying around. You can’t easily call it a “fossil”. Because fossils are not so easily encountered today. Traces from the past are buried over time and become minerals. Later, sedimentary rocks emerge over time. These rocks can be of different shapes.
It is possible to encounter many fossils in sedimentary rocks. These rocks are mostly formed as a result of the combination of sand, mud and small rock particles with them.
To sum up, what details can fossils give us?
Fossils reveal much more detail than you might think. In other words, when a fossil is found, we encounter much more than just finding out which living thing it belongs to. For example, let’s assume that a fossil belonging to a creature that lived in the past is found. Details such as where that creature might have lived, how it died, and how old it is can be revealed. In fact, even what the creature ate can be determined by fossils. In other words, we can say that fossils cannot be simplified as simple minerals that have survived from the past.
Fossilization is not that easy.
If so much detail is being extracted, then you might wonder if it’s something that is constantly being fossilized. But of course it’s not what you think. For example, after animals die, their bones decompose pretty quickly. Therefore, fossils do not appear. In other words, the fossil of every living creature may not be easily found in the coming years. But if you bury them in the ground shortly after they die and provide even a small supply of oxygen, you increase the chances of their fossilization even more.
This is our list of information about fossils, which is quite intriguing for you. There is quite a bit of detail we can learn about fossils, including what you read above. Because some creatures that lived in the past had quite different characteristics compared to today. They have different appearances, habitats and food sources. What do you think about fossils? Don’t forget to share it with us in the comments.
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