Types of Fossils
Distinguish body fossils (preserved bones, teeth, shells) from trace fossils (footprints, trackways, eggs, burrows, coprolites) and explain what each type can tell scientists
What a learner can do afterwards
- Sort examples into body fossils (bones, teeth, shells) and trace fossils (footprints, eggs, dung)
- Explain that body fossils show what an animal looked like physically
- Explain that trace fossils show how an animal behaved — how it moved, what it ate, where it nested
1 · Read
Not every fossil is a piece of an animal. Some fossils show what an animal did, not just what it looked like. Scientists split fossils into two main types: body fossils and trace fossils.
A fossil bone, tooth, or shell is a body fossil. It is a piece of the animal itself, turned to stone. It shows exactly what that part of the animal looked like.
A fossil footprint, trackway, egg, burrow, or even fossil dung (called a coprolite) is a trace fossil. It is not part of the animal's body. It is a sign the animal left behind, and it shows what the animal was doing.
Ask yourself: is this a piece of the animal, or a sign of what it did? A piece of the animal is a body fossil. A sign of what it did is a trace fossil.
Body fossils are pieces of the animal; trace fossils are signs of what the animal did.
2 · Watch
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Where it sits
Where this leads
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8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.