TYPES OF FOSSILISATION

TYPES OF FOSSILISATION
From the point of view of the methods or types of preservation of organisms, several
types of fossilization have so far being recognized. Most of the fossils occurring in nature
have been formed due to the preservation of the hard parts of the plants or animal and
their subsequent conversion into mineral matter. Some of the important methods of
fossilization may be enumerated as follows.
1. The preservation of the entire organism including its soft part as such
2. The skeleton of the organism preserved almost intact
3. Petrification of the hard part only
4. Carbonisation of the hard parts and some of the soft parts
5. Preservation of the moulds of the hard parts
6. Preservation of imprints such as tracks, trails, burrows, borings
7. Coprolites
8. Gastroliths
1. Preservation of the entire organism including its soft part as such
Occasionally the skeleton as well as the most delicate parts of the organisms are
preserved completely. The whole body having suffered very little change.
Example: Large number of Woolly mammoths and Rhinoceros discovered in Arctic Tundras
of Northern Siberia and Russia. In which the animals have been perfectly preserved in
Tertiary rocks possibly due to the burial of the animals under a thick cover of mud and ice
i.e. under permafrost conditions. This method of preservation is called Refrigeration. Other
examples are the hunderds of species of insects and spiders trapped in fossilized tree resin
(Amber) on the Baltic sea shores of Germany. Here the soft bodied organisms are seen
perfectly preserved because the amber acted as a protective layer against bacterial decay.
2. The skeleton of the organism preserved almost intact
Some times when the shell or skeletal parts or woody tissues (cellulose) are preserved, It
remains almost in its original condition except that it has lost its soft organic part. Fossils of
this type exhibiting perfect preservation of the original composition and structure of the
hard and durable skeleton are seen in some Pliocene beds of England, where the shells
differ from the living onces only in being lighter, more porous or generally colourless.
However it is very rare that these hard parts are preserved without any considerable
change. Sometimes some of it skeletal matter is dissolve in groundwater and the shell
becomes brittle, fragile, porous and lighter. This process is called leaching.
Groundwater may sometimes deposit foreign mineral matter into the skeletal
material making it heavy and less porous this process is called impregnation.
3. Petrifaction or petrification or permineralisation of the hard parts only
The largest numbers of fossils have the petrified remains of the hard parts of ancient
organisms; the term petrification implies conversion of the remains of plants and animals in
to rock. This process is very slow and gradual one and the replacement takes place molecule
by molecule. Thus we fined fossil wood or petrified wood which shows the cells are formed
of mineral matters instead of cellulose; this involves removal in solution of each individual
molecule of cellulose and simultaneous precipitation of the replacing minerals. The cell
structure of fossil wood can be clearly observed under a microscope.
The chief minerals which replace the original constituents of the organisms are silica,
calcite, pyrite, dolomite etc. and these processes are known as silicification, calcification,
pyritisation, dolomitisation respectively.
4. Carbonisation of the hard parts and some of the soft parts
During carbonisation the organism is decomposed and loses nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen
and other volatile constituents leaving a residue of carbon. This carbon filling shows an
outline of not only of hard parts but also of the soft parts that are usually lost in fossils. This
method of preservation is also known as distillation. Fossils commonly preserved by
carbonasion include coal seams, graptolites, arthropods, fishes etc. Trees and leafs are
generally beautifully preserved by this method.
5. Preservation of moulds of hard parts

The fossils formed by different methods of preservation described above are, in all
cases, the actual remains of organism themselves, preserved in one form of or another, in
some cases, however the hard parts of plants and animals preserved in rock may be totally
removed in solution by ground water action. As a result, hollow spaces are left within the
rock bed and these are known as moulds. It may be termed an external mould if shape of
the outer side of the hard part is preserved or internal mould, if the impression reveals the
form and the marking of the inner surfaces of the hard part. Sometimes these moulds are
subsequently filled up with mineral matter giving rise to casts. If a shell is buried unfilled and
dissolves an external mould is formed; and it subsequently filled with mineral matter will
yield an external cast. If a shell is filled at the time of burial and is dissolved an internal and
external mould is formed. Subsequent filling of the cavity by some mineral matter will result
in the formation of an internal and external cast.
The cast thus formed is entirely different from the petrified remains of organisms. Cast
can at best retain only the external form of the hard parts. While the petrified remains
preserve their internal organic structure as well.
It may be noted that the cavities formed by the removal of shell or skeleton by natural
solution activity are known as natural moulds. If this cavity is filled with some natural
mineral substance, the filling is a natural cast of the original organism; if the natural mould
are filled artificially with moulding clay or any synthetic material, the filling is known as the
artificial cast.
6. Preservation of imprints such as tracks, trails, burrows and borings
Both vertebrates and invertebrates have left behind the record of their movements
in the form of imprints such as tracks, trails, burrows or tubes and borings on the surface of
the earth and trees, which are frequently preserved in mud of loose sediments. Other
examples are the imprints of leaves preserved in fine grained sediments such as mud.
The tracks are the footprints by animals as their walk. From a series of footprints, not
only we know the size and shape of the foot, but also length of limps and the type of the
walking of the animal.
The trails are the imprints left in the sedimentary rock by the body or part of the
body of most invertebrates such as molluscs, worms, jelly fishes, sea urchins etc. and tails of
vertebrates.
Some animals live in the burrows, tubes and holes in the ground, wood or crops.
These burrows may be later filled with sediments and preserved, they are also regarded as
fossils.
7. Coprolites
Fossilised dung or fossilised excreta of animals known as coprolites are abundant in
some rock formations. These fossil excrements are usually nodular, tabular and pellet like
shape and are phosphatic in chemical composition. The study of fossil excreta may provide
valuable information pertaining to the food habits of the fossil animal. They are trace fossils,
not of the animals actual body.
8 . Gastroliths
Gastroliths are also known as stomach stone. These are highly polished stoned found
in the body cavities of fossilized reptiles and birds. These stones believed to have been aid in
grinding the stomach contents of extinct reptiles and birds.

TYPES OF FOSSILISATION

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5. Preservation of moulds of hard parts

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