Fossils Game For Students Online
This page features a fossils game for students online. It is an interactive science game that teaches students about what a fossil is and the different types of fossils. It is thanks to fossils that we learn about the past ecosystems that are some times extinct today. Fossils have revealed creatures that went extinct millions of years ago. Learn about this topic in the game below.
David Martill was 21 years old when he first got his hands on fish rocks. A collector had returned from Brazil and traded these rocks for fossils he was looking for in England. Martill placed the rocks in a bucket of acid, which gradually ate away at the rock until he had an incredible fossil in his hands. Instead of sawing the rock apart, the gentle acid bath allowed the fossils to be exposed.
Petrified embryos
Scientists have discovered fossilized embryos of dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period. The researchers analyzed a fine slice of eggshell and compared it to the anatomy of other carnivorous dinosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus rex. Based on their findings, they concluded that the fossilized egg belonged to a subgroup of theropods called Oviraptoridae. Some of the best preserved fossils are embryos, the remains of unhatched organisms. They are commonly found in the Cambrian, which is characterized by an explosive diversity of animals and plants. Trilobites, for example, fossilize well because they have hard parts, while worms and sponges have soft tissue and rarely fossilize. Fossils of these animals are spherical, similar to embryos, and show the entire developmental sequence. Some fossils are from the division stage of the embryo. In a recent study, scientists from the College of Birmingham and China College of Geosciences discovered a dinosaur embryo in a fossilized egg. The embryo, named Baby Yingliang, is estimated to be 66 million years old. Scientists from the College of Birmingham and China College of Geosciences examined the fossil and embryo to determine what type of dinosaur it is. It is believed that the egg is a toothless theropod, a type of oviraptorosaur. Scientists can also observe the behavior of this type of dinosaur before it hatches.
Permineralized organisms
Most fossils containing animals or plants show signs of permineralization, a process in which organisms change from an organic to an inorganic form. This process prevents an organism's cellular space from becoming denser, which can distort organ size relationships. It is important to understand that permineralization occurs not only in the hard body parts of animals and plants. Soft body parts can also be preserved and be important to researchers studying past life. This process begins when plant or animal material is buried in sediments, which slows the rate of decomposition. Water containing dissolved minerals seeps into the buried remains, where they are deposited as minerals. Eventually, the deposited minerals replace the organic matter. Some organisms are particularly well suited for permineralization, such as shells, bones, and plants. Because these natural structures retain their shape during burial, permineralization helps to preserve them. This process results in a rich layer of minerals on the surface of a fossil. The minerals can either be dissolved in the rock or deposited in the cells of the organism. The process allows researchers to study different time periods and environments because it preserves soft body parts while maintaining the internal structure of an organism. In permineralization, the cellular structure of the organism is preserved and is the simplest form of fossilization.
Amber fossils
Scientists are beginning to find more fascinating amber fossils. Until recently, scientists did not know how to find amber fossils in rock layers. However, using advanced microscopy techniques, researchers have discovered a number of remarkable structures in amber. Some of these structures resemble simple fur, while others resemble flight feathers. The fossilized feathers have even shown their color. Amber fossils are the best preserved remains of ancient birds and reptiles. These amber fossils are 99 million years old. They were produced by ancient conifers that grew in tropical rainforests. The thick resin preserved the lifelike fidelity of the animals and plants enclosed within. One group of amber fossils features the metallic coloration of a cuckoo wasp, which is rare in the fossil record. This discovery paves the way for new discoveries. Amber fossils also offer unprecedented insight into dinosaur evolution. Amber fossils contain an array of microbial life. Researchers have not been able to extract dinosaur DNA from these amber samples. However, the study of amber is still ongoing. The AMNH has a renowned collection of Cretaceous amber that includes 10,000 pieces. Amber from Lebanon, Alaska, New Jersey, and Myanmar is among the museum's collections. The museum is currently working on developing a database to catalog amber fossils.
Clay fossils
Clay fossils have been studied for their preservation of organic matter. These early life forms were encased in layers of kaolinite clay. These layers of clay prevented the decay of living organisms, including soft-bodied Cambrian animals. Because of their preservation, these clays largely represent the earliest fossil record, pointing to tropical environments. In addition, clay minerals can protect organic matter from degradation during cast-and-mold fossilization. Some fossil squids are known from the Kimmeridge Clay, a type of Oxfordshire chalk. The Kimmeridge Clay is also home to an unidentified sauropod. The fossilized body of this large predatory mammal has been found in two locations: Kimmeridge Bay and Weymouth. Both deposits contain fossils of Muraenosaurus truncatus. The clay has also been used to create the fossils of several other species of dinosaurs. These clays are often called erniettomorphs, and they are commonly preserved in sandstones and siltstones. However, these fossils may also contain finer-grained quartz. This is due to the low-grade environment of these fossils. It is also possible to reconstruct the formation and preservation processes of these fossils from fossil distribution maps. Using these maps, researchers can assess the possible roles of clay minerals during early stages of fossilization.
Volcanic ash
When water flows into a volcanic ash deposit, it dissolves glass shards, replacing them with other elements. This leaves void space, and the water eventually changes the silica content to form derivative minerals. The water also preserves buried animals, such as bones. Volcanic ash fossils are the most common types of fossils discovered so far. This type of deposit is particularly rich in prehistoric fossils. The ash from the supervolcano that created the lava flow preserved remnants of flora and fauna, including seeds from trees and grasses. Scientists are able to reconstruct an ecosystem of the Miocene from these fossils. For example, grass seeds found in the stomachs and mouths of extinct rhinos suggest that grasslands were common during the eruption. They may also be found in ancient ash deposits of volcanic tuff. The Jehol deposits in the Philippines are an excellent example of this. The fossils preserved by the volcanic eruption were arranged in a similar manner to the Pompeii lava flows. In addition, they show evidence of pyroclastic flows, which travel at up to 50 mph and incinerate almost everything in their path. The Vesuvius eruption in 79 A.D. resulted in pyroclastic flows with temperatures over 900 degrees, instantly vaporizing the flesh of Herculaneum and destroying the Pompeiians.
Tar pits
Until recent years, scientists regarded tar pits as a mere curiosity. They thought the animals trapped in tar were recently extinct. However, discoveries of Pleistocene mammal fossils sparked interest in the region. Today, tar pits have been the site of unearthings of the imperial mammoth, mastodon, short-faced bear, sabre-toothed cat, and many other Pleistocene mammals. Other species of animals including seeds, insects, and fish have been unearthed. Extinct plants and animals are now found in the pit, including life-size figures of long-extinct creatures. Today, herbivores outnumber carnivores in most ecosystems, but tar pits preserved by the fossils at La Brea represent 90% carnivores. Although most of the bird fossils are scavengers and predators, they also include teratorns, extinct stork-like birds. This area also houses some of the world's oldest fossils, dating back 40,000 years to the Late Pleistocene. Tar pits contain disarticulated desert cottontail skeletons, fox metatarsals, bird bones, and even a disarticulated fox skeleton. Besides tar pits, fossils of other animals also exist. Some of the most interesting specimens of tar pit fossils are those of the La Brea Woman. The fossil indicates that she lived about 9,000 years ago. In addition to the tar pits, fossils of other animals include coyotes, dogs, mountain lions, gray foxes, rabbits, black bears, and rainbow trout.
Quicksand
A quicksand fossil is a fossil that is formed by a layer of sticky mud that has dissolved into a mass of dinosaur bones. During the cretaceous period, the area was surrounded by lakes, which would have left the ground saturated. The entrapped Utahraptors tried to nab an easy meal, but got stuck in the mud. The trapped Utahraptors add to the deathly odor, and the bones of these creatures reveal the anatomy of these mighty dinosaurs. The discovery of these bones is a major find in paleontology and geology. It has been the largest discovery of fossilized raptor remains in the world. The raptors may have become trapped in the mud and drowned - perhaps due to a violent earthquake. If so, they may have suffocated, starved, or been killed by a larger predator. It's not yet clear what caused the animals to be trapped in the mud, but scientists suspect that they were starving and dying. Utahraptors were discovered in a massive block of quicksand. The skeletons of four juveniles and a baby Utahraptor were found in the block. The bones of bipedal herbivore Iguanadon were also discovered in the block. The dinosaurs died together, albeit at different times, in the quicksand. This finding highlights the importance of quicksand fossils in the formation of our planet.