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Fossil collecting (sometimes, in a non-scientific sense, fossil hunting) is the collection of the fossils for scientific study, hobby, or profit. Fossil collecting, as practiced by amateurs, is the predecessor of modern paleontology and many still collect fossils and study fossils as amateurs.
Fossil preparation is a complex of tasks that can include excavating, revealing, conserving, and replicating the ancient remains and traces of organisms. It is an integral part of the science of paleontology, of museum exhibition, and the preservation of fossils held in the public trust.
Evidence of possibly the oldest forms of life on Earth has been found in hydrothermal vent precipitates. [1]The earliest known life forms on Earth may be as old as 4.1 billion years (or Ga) according to biologically fractionated graphite inside a single zircon grain in the Jack Hills range of Australia. [2]
It will act as an encouragement to the commercial and private fossil collecting business, because obviously, there's much more money to be made selling fossils than was made previously," Lucas said.
Illustrates the fossil range of a taxon, the geological range of a stratigraphic unit, or other ranges on a geological timescale. Intended for use in {{taxobox}}es, {{Infobox rockunit}} s, and other infoboxes. For pre-Phanerozoic ages, see {{Long fossil range}}. You can give a numeric range, or specify the periods involved.
Tree remains that have undergone petrifaction, as seen in Petrified Forest National Park. In geology, petrifaction or petrification (from Ancient Greek πέτρα (pétra) 'rock, stone') is the process by which organic material becomes a fossil through the replacement of the original material and the filling of the original pore spaces with minerals.
Early micro-fossils may have come from a hot world of gases such as methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide, toxic to much current life. [229] Analysis of the tree of life places thermophilic and hyperthermophilic bacteria and archaea closest to the root, suggesting that life may have evolved in a hot environment. [230]
Fossils of organisms' bodies are usually the most informative type of evidence. The most common types are wood, bones, and shells. [59] Fossilisation is a rare event, and most fossils are destroyed by erosion or metamorphism before they can be observed. Hence the fossil record is very incomplete, increasingly so further back in time.