Dan R. Lynch - Fossils for Kids: An Introduction to Paleontology

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dan would like to thank his wife, Julie, for her unending support and love, and his parents, Bob and Nancy, for all their help. Hed also like to thank Steve Turnbull for his constant encouragement, and for being his fellow nature nerd for so many years.

Disclaimer This book is meant as an introduction to the world of fossils and paleontology. It does not guarantee your safety when fossil collecting in any waywhen collecting, you do so at your own risk. Neither Adventure Publications nor Dan Lynch is liable for property loss or damage or personal injury that may result from fossil collecting. Before you go fossil collecting, be sure you have permission to collect on the location, ensure that an adult or adults are present, and always avoid potentially dangerous locations, such as cliffs, areas with moving/deep water, deserts, or areas where wildlife (bears, snakes, cacti, insects) may be a concern. Finally, be aware that many national, state, and local parks do not allow rock collecting, so again, only collect where you are allowed to do so.

Edited by Brett Ortler

All photos by Dan R. Lynch unless otherwise noted.

(both).

The Flickr images below are licensed under the Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) license, which is available here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Dallas Krentzel: (bottom).

The Flickr images below are licensed under the Public Domain Dedication (CCO 1.0) license, which is available here: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/

Gary Todd: (top).

Images used under license from Shutterstock.com:

Aaron Amat: (top left).

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Fossils for Kids: An Introduction to Palentology

Copyright 2020 by Dan R. Lynch

Published by Adventure Publications, an imprint of AdventureKEEN

330 Garfield Street South, Cambridge, Minnesota 55008

(800) 678-7006

www.adventurepublications.net

All rights reserved

Printed in China

ISBN 978-1-59193-939-9 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-59193-940-5 (ebook)

Table of Contents

ALL ABOUT FOSSILS

The world is full of amazing plants and animals today, but before you or any other humans were born, Earth was once home to a wide variety of incredible plants and animals, including the mighty dinosaurs and the creepy-crawly trilobites. These animals lived millions of years agoand then many died out. But weve never seen a living dinosaur, so how do we know what they looked like? The reason we know so much about ancient animals is because of their fossils.

Tyrannosaurus rex is one of the most famous dinosaursit had powerful legs and huge jaws.

Fossils are parts of dead plants and animals that have turned into minerals over a very long time. Some were left behind by animal varieties found today (such as sharks!), but many others are from types of animals that are extinct (long dead). We can find fossils all over the world by looking inside the right kinds of rocks. Common fossils include animal bones, teeth, and shells, as well as plant leaves and branches. By comparing fossils to living things, we can learn what ancient plants and animals looked like and learn about their lives, the environment they lived in, and even what they ate!

Finding fossils helps give us an idea what ancient animals and plants might have looked like, including T. rex .

But there are many other kinds of fossils! This jaw is from an ancient short-necked giraffe.

Most fossils only show the hard parts of an animal, like this shell from an ammonite.

TYPES OF FOSSILS

There were lots of strange and amazing animals and plants that lived long ago. Some are no longer alive today, but some are still around! Here are just a few examples.

The bones of a fossil stingray. Stingrays still swim in the sea today.

A very old kind of fish, the paddlefish still exists today.

These weird creatures are fossil trilobites. Once very common, they are all extinct (gone) today.

These ancient ferns were trapped in mud.

This isnt a leaf, its actually a fossil feather from an ancient bird!

This large fossil turtle shell is still attached to rock.

Look at how this fossil branch of a sequoia tree looks almost exactly like a branch from a living sequoia!

FOSSILS, THEN AND NOW

One of the most amazing things about fossils is just how much they can tell us about ancient life. The best fossils are incredibly lifelike and can tell us a great deal about the plant or animal that produced them.

Ichthyosaur (say it ick-thee-oh-sor) may look like a dolphin, but it was an ancient reptile that lived in the ocean and ate fish.

The extinct pterosaur (say it tear-oh-soar) wasnt a dinosaur. It was a flying reptile. Even though they look sort of like birds, they were very different.

ABOUT ROCKS

But how did ancient plants and animal bones get trapped in rocks? And how did they turn into minerals? Well, it didnt happen quickly! To understand fossils, it helps to know about rocks, especially sedimentary rocks: the kinds of rocks fossils are found in.