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Fossils for Kids: Finding, Identifying, and Collecting (Simple Introductions to Science)
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About Fossils For Kids: Finding, Identifying, And
Product Description Dig into the History of Life! Become a young paleontologist. Learn all about ancient lifeforms preserved in rock. Dan R. Lynch, author of many Rocks & Minerals field guides, presents a kids’ introduction to fossils. Whether children see their first fossil at a museum or find their own fossil seashells from an ancient ocean, this easy-to-understand book is a perfect guide for beginners. Inside You’ll Find “How to” section, including details on what to look for and where to look The basics of paleontology and how fossils formed Rules about what you can and can’t collect Identification guide to common and collectible invertebrate fossils, such as trilobites, as well as common rock shop finds About the Author Dan R. Lynch has a degree in graphic design with emphasis on photography from the University of Minnesota Duluth. But before his love of art and writing came a passion for rocks and minerals, developed during his lifetime growing up in his parents’ rock shop in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Combining the two aspects of his life seemed a natural choice, and he enjoys researching, writing about, and taking photographs of rocks and minerals. Working with his father, Bob Lynch, a respected veteran of Lake Superior’s agate-collecting community, Dan spearheads their series of rock and mineral field guides―definitive guidebooks that help amateurs “decode” the complexities of geology and mineralogy. He also takes special care to ensure that his photographs complement the text and always represent each rock or mineral exactly as it appears in person. He currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife, Julie, where he works as a writer and photographer. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. HOW MANY FOSSILS FORM Many fossils formed when dead plants or animals were buried in wet places, like at the bottom of a lake or a bog. Think of a fish in the sea―if it gets buried quickly after it dies, then it's less likely to be eaten by other animals or rot away like it usually would. And if the conditions are just right, it could later become a fossil. When this fish died, it sank to the bottom of the lake. Its soft parts (like its skin and muscles) decayed away, but the hard bones remained. Over time, sediment sank down, burying the bones in a layer of sediment. After a long time, the bones were completely buried and were squished under the weight of the sediment. Minerals in the water began to soak into the bones, turning them into a fossil. A long time later, when the lake dried up, the sediments all hardened to form rocks and the bones stayed trapped inside the layers. ***** Gastropods What are they?Gastropods are a group of small, soft animals that have no bones. Common examples include snails and slugs. Snails have hard shells on their backs, but slugs don't. Most snail shells have some kind of coiled or spiral shape, and many can pull their soft parts into their shells for protection. Some gastropods live on land, but most live in water, especially in salt water. What are their fossils like?When we find fossil gastropods, we usually only find their shells. That’s because the bodies of slugs and snails were too soft to be preserved in rock, and only the snail shells survived. You won’t find fossil slugs because they didn’t have any hard parts. But snail shell fossils are very common and are easy to find in several different kinds of rocks! Limestone, sandstone, shale, and chert can all contain snail shells, large and small. Sometimes when they are broken, they just look like little curved pieces stuck in the rock, but those pieces can indicate that you’re looking in the right place to find a whole shell! Can I find gastropod fossils?Yes, you can! Gastropods, especially snails, are some of the most common fossils you can find. If you look hard enough in rocks like chert or limestone, you might find little coiled shells. They can be found all over the country, especially in the Midwest sta
