IMPORTANCE OF FOSSILS: 5 FUNDAMENTAL REASONS - SCIENCE - 2025

The fossils are important for the various branches of science as we let you know how was life on our planet.

Fossils are the remains of extinct organisms that are found in sedimentary rocks, frozen in ice or also within the sap of trees that, when solidified, could hold the remains of plants or small organisms.

The science that is responsible for the study of fossils is Paleontology. With the fossil records it is possible to study, among other things, the evolution of fauna and why some species became extinct, what was their habitat, the age of the earth and how it has undergone changes.

Knowledge for science in general

In itself, the mere fact of obtaining fossils represents a very important event for science, since it is usual for the remains to disintegrate.

It has been possible to rescue remains that correspond to the most solid parts that were part of extinct organisms or animals, as well as footprints and leaves of plants solidified in sap.

Once the discovery is made, a multidisciplinary team works to determine aspects related to geology, biology and other scientific areas.

Knowledge for geology

Studies on fossils are essential for geology, as they provide information on specific periods in the history of the planet. The most common fossils are found in rocks, but they are also found in ice.

For example, marine fossils have been discovered in high altitude mountains, showing that the environment where these sediments were deposited corresponded to a marine environment millions of years ago.

Cases such as the discovery in Patagonia of a 60-million-year-old sediment with a tooth from an Oceanian animal, such as the platypus, reinforce the theory of the existence of a single continent 250 million years ago.

Development of evolutionary theories

The amount of fossils recovered and studied over the centuries have served as the basis for the formulation of evolutionary theories.

Thanks to these remains, it has been determined that there was a huge number of animal species that are now extinct. They have also found some species that had temporal features linked to other animal genera.

One of the first notorious cases was the discovery that birds had links to reptiles, or the records found in Africa that link man to the monkey.

With this evidence, theories such as Darwin's were able to consolidate the assertion that species adapt and their characteristics do not remain fixed.

Knowledge of meteorological characteristics

From the reconstruction of the ecosystems where fossil remains have been found, the climatic conditions of a region can be revealed.

The typology of a fossilized animal, whether it had thick fur or not, indicates what the meteorological characteristics or the seasons of an area were like, and whether the environment where it lived was warm, humid or desert.

Fuels

The word fossil comes from the Latin word fossilis which means excavated. Therefore, not only are the remains of extinct animals fossils, but there are also a group of minerals produced millions of years ago such as coal and oil that are part of what is known as fossil fuel.

The fuel used on earth comes almost entirely from fossils. Thanks to them we have services such as electricity and transportation. We enjoy the benefits of fossils in our daily lives.

References

1- Madden, G. (2014). Fossils and types of Fossilization. Recovered from relevance.org

2- Fortey, R. (1991). Fossils: the key to the pass. Cambridge: Harvard University Press

3- Brown, T. (1982). Geology and paleontology. retrieved from books.google.vom

4- Busbey, A. (1997). Rocks and fossils. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta.