Plant Paleontology Lecture PDF

Plant Paleontology ‫تطور الكائنات الحيه‬ What is the meaning of Paleontology is the area of geology that examines fossils. Fossils are an important key in identifying and dating past environments and can also be extremely useful for geologic mapping. In Latin the word fossilis means “...

Plant Paleontology ‫تطور الكائنات الحيه‬ What is the meaning of Paleontology is the area of geology that examines fossils. Fossils are an important key in identifying and dating past environments and can also be extremely useful for geologic mapping. In Latin the word fossilis means “dug up.” In the nineteenth century when geology was still a young science, the word fossil was used for virtually anything that was pulled out of the ground- including artifacts and even Egyptian mummies.  fossils are the naturally preserved remains or traces of animals, plants and other organisms that lived in the geologic past. Since Egyptian mummies were preserved by humans and not through natural phenomena, they cannot be considered fossils.  Fossilization Is a natural process produced by nature, rather than by the intent of human beings, by which the animals or plants that existed in some earlier age; were turned to stones called fossils.  Conditions of fossilization: 1- The durability of the organism’s body (hard, internal or external body parts such as teeth, claws, shells, and bones) 2-The environment in which it lives (areas of high deposition, such as marine environments, will often be buried in a period of hours to days )  Types of fossils fossils 1-Body fossils 2-Trace fosssil 3- Chemical fossil 1-Body fossils : include the remains of organisms that were once living such as (Whole body of pleistocene mammoths which can be found at Siberia in ice with their hair, flesh and bloodm), teeth, bones, shell, and leaves 2-Trace fosssil: are the signs organisms were present or the results of their activity (i.e. footprints, tracks, trails, and burrows)  stages of the formation of footprint fossils. 1-organism steps into soft mud (usually silty sediment that is deposited in shallow temporary pools.) 2-the impression is covered with loose sand so that the footprint is filled 3-The sand eventually consolidates into sandstone and 4-the rock splits open along the bedding surface to reveal the original footprint in the shale and its cast in the sandstone.  3- Chemical fossil: it is the organic compounds they produce by biochemical processes, fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal are chemical fossils.