Fossil

Key Stage 2

The fossil of an animal's skeleton.

A fossil is a piece of a dead creature that has turned into rock over millions of years.

Singular Noun: Fossil

Plural Noun: Fossils

Adjective: Fossilised

A fossil begins as a creature that dies and falls into mud or sand.

Over millions of years the mud or sand turns into a rock with the creature trapped inside.

The creature is replaced by minerals leaving a rock that is the same shape as the creature.

In animals it is usually only the bone that becomes a fossil.

Fossils show us many creatures that do not exist anymore.


Modern horse fossils are only found in rocks younger than 5 million years old.	This fossil comes from 7 million year old rocks. You do not find modern horse fossils in rocks this age.

This fossil comes from 12 million year old rocks.	This fossil comes from 34 million year old rocks. The ancestors of modern horses were the size of dogs.

The remains of a dead creature that have been turned into rock over millions of years.