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
The lesson
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.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
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.