Content deleted Content added
m Open access bot: hdl updated in citation with #oabot. |
the linked article had nothing to do with fossil distortion; removed Tags: Mobile edit Mobile app edit iOS app edit App section source |
||
Line 1:
[[Image:FossilFernLeavesPennsylvanianOhio.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Fossil [[seed fern]] leaves from the Late [[Carboniferous]] of northeastern [[Ohio]].]]
A '''compression fossil''' is a [[fossil]] preserved in [[sedimentary rock]] that has undergone [[compression (physical)|physical compression]]. While it is uncommon to find [[animal]]s preserved as good compression fossils, it is very common to find [[plant]]s preserved this way. The reason for this is that physical compression of the rock often leads to
The best fossils of [[leaf|leaves]] are found preserved in fine layers of [[sediment]] that have been compressed in a direction [[perpendicular]] to the plane of the deposited sediment.<ref name="Arnold 1947"/> Since leaves are basically flat, the resulting distortion is minimal. [[Plant stem]]s and other three-dimensional plant structures do not preserve as well under compression. Typically, only the basic outline and surface features are preserved in compression fossils; internal [[anatomy]] is not preserved. These fossils may be studied while still partially entombed in the sedimentary rock matrix where they are preserved, or once lifted out of the matrix by a peel or transfer technique.<ref name="Stewart 1993"/>
| |||