Everything About the Formation of Dinosaur Fossils
A fossil is evidence of the prehistoric life of a plant or animal. The physical evidence might be preserved remains or traces such as marks they made in the ground while they were living.
Fossilized remains such as fossil teeth and bones are known as body fossils. Body fossils also include fossilized shells.
Although it has been believed that dinosaurs lived many millions of years ago, but we know about their existence because their fossils have been formed when they died.
How Dinosaur rock fossil formed?
Petrification is the most common way of fossilization of dinosaurs. The main steps of formation of dinosaur fossil are:
- First of all, dinosaur dies.
- Soft parts of the body of animals like skin and muscles begin to rot away. These soft parts are eaten by scavengers.
- The body is buried by sediments like mud, sand, or silt before it completely disappears. At this point, only teeth and bones are left behind.
- Afterward, more layers build upon the top of the sediment. This squashes the layers due to overweight onto the layers below. After events, they turn into sedimentary rock.
- During all this happening, water seeps into the teeth and bones. This water turns them to stone as minerals are left behind.
All this process takes thousands or even millions of years.
It was further added by most researchers that the mineral crystals are left behind in the spaces in bones by water. This is the main reason behind honeycomb- or sponge-like texture. Although the internal bone structure is preserved.
Petrified wood is also known as tree fossils also form in the same way. This facilitates the counting of the growth ring of some fossil trees.
The reason behind coloring fossil rocks-
A fossil comprises different materials than the original object. During the process of fossilization, the new minerals replace the original atoms. That is why the original color is replaced and fossil has a different color.
You can easily find the best place for dinosaur fossils. You need to just search for the best places for dinosaur fossils and hence you can get what you like.
Wrap up:
Fossils come in many colors and are made of type types of minerals but it all depends on the surrounding rock matrix.
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