What are index fossils and how are they used to determine the absolute age of sedimentary rock?
What are index fossils and how are they used to determine the absolute age of sedimentary rock?
Index fossils are of organisms that lived over a wide area. They lived for a fairly short period of time. An index fossil allows a scientist to determine the age of the rock it is in. Trilobite fossils, as shown in Figure, are common index fossils.
How an index fossil is used to determine the age of surrounding fossils?
Index fossils are fossils of organisms that lived during only one short period of time. A layer rock with an index fossil in it is close in age to another layer of rock with the same type of index fossil in it. Even though rock layers are of different regions, index fossils indicates that the layers are close in age.
How are index fossils used?
Index fossils are used to define geological periods. These fossils can be defined as “commonly found, widely distributed fossils that are limited in time span.” If one finds an index fossil in a given layer, then one has bounds on the age of the layer. Using index fossils, the geological periods are defined.
What is the meaning of index fossils?
Index fossil, any animal or plant preserved in the rock record of the Earth that is characteristic of a particular span of geologic time or environment. A useful index fossil must be distinctive or easily recognizable, abundant, and have a wide geographic distribution and a short range through time.
Which is the best example of an index fossil?
Examples of index fossils include:
- Ammonites were common during the Mesozoic Era (245 to 65 mya), They were not found after the Cretaceous period, as they went extinct during the K-T extinction (65 mya).
- Brachiopods (mollusk-like marine animals) appeared during the Cambrian (540 to 500 mya); some examples still survive.
Is Ammonite A index fossil?
Ammonite shells are used today as index fossils, meaning they can help date other fossils that are found in the same layer of marine rock.
What type of rocks are fossils found in?
There are three main types of rock: igneous rock, metamorphic rock, and sedimentary rock. Almost all fossils are preserved in sedimentary rock. Organisms that live in topographically low places (such as lakes or ocean basins) have the best chance of being preserved.
What rocks do you look for when fossil hunting?
Fossils are most commonly found within sedimentary rocks due to the favourable conditions of burial and limited alteration through time. Sedimentary rocks form on the Earth’s surface as sediment accumulates in rivers, lakes and on the seafloor in particular.