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A microfossil is a fossil that is generally between 0.001 mm and 1 mm in size, [2] the visual study of which requires the use of light or electron microscopy. A fossil which can be studied with the naked eye or low-powered magnification, such as a hand lens, is referred to as a macrofossil .
Fusulinid from the Plattsmouth Chert, Red Oak, Iowa ().Micropaleontology can be roughly divided into four areas of study on the basis of microfossil composition: (a) calcareous, as in coccoliths and foraminifera, (b) phosphatic, as in the study of some vertebrates, (c) siliceous, as in diatoms and radiolaria, or (d) organic, as in the pollen and spores studied in palynology.
Palaeozoology, also spelled as Paleozoology (Greek: παλαιόν, palaeon "old" and ζῷον, zoon "animal"), is the branch of paleontology, paleobiology, or zoology dealing with the recovery and identification of multicellular animal remains from geological (or even archeological) contexts, and the use of these fossils in the reconstruction of prehistoric environments and ancient ecosystems.
Both terms are synonymous, though paleoethnobotany (from the Greek words palaios [παλαιός] meaning ancient, ethnos [έθνος] meaning race or ethnicity, and votano [βότανο] meaning plants) is generally used in North America and acknowledges the contribution that ethnographic studies have made towards our current understanding of ...
In biology, an identification key, taxonomic key, or frequently just key, is a printed or computer-aided device that aids in the identification of biological organisms. Historically, the most common type of identification key is the dichotomous key , a type of single-access key which offers a fixed sequence of identification steps, each with ...
The trackway Protichnites from the Cambrian, Blackberry Hill, central Wisconsin. A trace fossil, also known as an ichnofossil (/ ˈ ɪ k n oʊ f ɒ s ɪ l /; from Greek: ἴχνος ikhnos "trace, track"), is a fossil record of biological activity by lifeforms but not the preserved remains of the organism itself. [1]
Large quantities of phosphate are required, either from seawater or from the tissues of the decaying organism. In some cases microbes control the phosphatization, and the remains of the microbes that feed on the preserved tissue form the fossil.
Acritarchs are organic microfossils, known from approximately 1800 million years ago to the present. [inconsistent] The classification is a catch all term used to refer to any organic microfossils that cannot be assigned to other groups.