Fossils Defining Geologic Timeline

How Index Fossils Help Define

Geologic Time
Defining The Geologic Time
While every fossil tells us something
about the age of the rock it's found in,
and index fossils are the ones that tell
us the most. Index fossils (also called
key fossils or type fossils) are those that
are used to define periods of geologic
time.
4 Characteristics of an
Index Fossil
 A good index fossil is one with four
characteristics:
•distinctive
•widespread
•abundant and
•limited in geologic time.
Because most fossil-bearing rocks
formed in the ocean, the major index
fossils are marine organisms. That
being said, certain land organisms are
useful in young rocks and specific
regions.
Fossilized marine organism.
Boom and bust
organisms
Any type of organism
can be distinctive, but
not so many are
widespread. Many
important index fossils
are of organisms that
start life as floating
eggs and infant stages,
which allowed them to
populate the world Fossilized trilobite eggs
using ocean currents.
The most successful of these became
abundant, yet at the same time, they became
the most vulnerable to environmental change
and extinction. Thus, their time on Earth may
have been confined to a short period of time.
That boom-and-bust character is what makes
the best index fossils.
Passennger Pigeon
Trilobites, Hard-Shelled
Invertebrates
Consider trilobites, a
very good index fossil
for Paleozoic rocks that
lived in all parts of the
ocean. Trilobites were a
class of animal, just like
mammals or reptiles,
meaning that the
individual species within
the class had
noticeable differences.
Trilobites were constantly evolving new
species during their existence, which lasted
270 million years from Middle Cambrian time
to the end of the Permian Period, or almost
the entire length of the Paleozoic. Because
they were mobile animals, they tended to
inhabit large, even global areas. They were
also hard-shelled invertebrates, so they
fossilized easily. These fossils are large
enough to study without a microscope.
Other index fossils of this type include
•ammonites
•crinoids
• rugose corals
• brachiopods
•bryozoans
•mollusks.
Small or Microscopic
Fossils
Other major index
fossils are small or
microscopic, part of
the floating plankton
in the world ocean.
These are handy
because of their small
size. They can be
found even in small
bits of rock, such as
wellbore cuttings.
Because their tiny bodies rained down all
over the ocean, they can be found in all
kinds of rocks. Therefore, the petroleum
industry has made great use of index
microfossils, and geologic time is broken
down in quite fine detail by various schemes
based on graptolites, fusulinids, diatoms, and
radiolarians.
The rocks of the ocean floor are
geologically young, as they are
constantly subducted and recycled into
the Earth's mantle. Thus, marine index
fossils older than ~200 million years are
normally found in sedimentary strata on
land, in areas that were once covered
by seas.
Terrestrial Rocks
For terrestrial rocks,
which form on land,
regional or continental
index fossils may
include small rodents
that evolve quickly as
well as larger animals
that have wide
geographic ranges.
These form the basis of
provincial time divisions.
Defining Ages, Epochs, Periods and
Eras
Index fossils are used in the formal
architecture of geologic time for defining the
ages, epochs, periods and eras of the
geologic time scale. Some of the boundaries
of these subdivisions are defined by mass
extinction events, like the Permian-Triassic
extinction. The evidence for these events is
found in the fossil record wherever there is a
disappearance of major groups of species
within a geologically short amount of time.
index fossils
Index fossils:
(also known as guide fossils, indicator
fossils or zone fossils) are fossils used to define
and identify geologic periods (or faunal
stages). They work on the premise that,
although different sediments may look
different depending on the conditions under
which they were laid down, they may include
the remains of the same species of fossil.
 The shorter the lifespan of a species, the
more precisely different sediments can be
correlated, and so rapidly evolving types of
fossils are particularly valuable. The best
index fossils are common, easy-to-identify at
species level, and have a broad
distribution—otherwise the likelihood of
finding and recognizing one in the two
sediments is minor.
Examples of index fossils
Ammonites fit these demands well, and are
the best-known fossils that have been widely
used for this. Other important groups that
provide index fossils are the corals,
graptolites, brachiopods, trilobites, and
echinoids (sea urchins).
Sizes to be used
 Geologists use both large fossils (called
macrofossils) and microscopic fossils (called
microfossils) for this process, known as
biostratigraphy.
MACROFOSSILS:
have the
advantage of
being easy to see
in the field, but
they are rarer.
MICROFOSSILS: are very
commonly used by oil
prospectors and other
industries interested in
mineral resources when
accurate knowledge of
the age of the rocks
being looked at is
needed.
The series of deposits that spans the
occurrence of a particular index fossil, is often
referred to as that fossil's zone, enabling to
relate different faunas through time. An
example would be to say that Mesolenellus
hyperborea occurs in the late Nevadella-zone.
Significance of Index Fossils
Index fossils are used to
define geological periods.
These fossils can be defined
as "commonly found, widely
distributed fossils that are
limited in time span.“
If one finds an index fossil in
a given layer, then one has
bounds on the age of the
layer.
The geological periods
make up the "geological
column" which lists the
periods in sequence.
Though some periods may
be missing in places, it is
argued that the geological
column is real and
represents the order in
which various life forms
existed in the past.
The series of deposits that spans the
occurrence of a particular index fossil, is often
referred to as that fossil's zone, enabling to
relate different faunas through time. An
example would be to say that Mesolenellus
hyperborea occurs in the late Nevadella-zone.
Uses of index fossils
Index fossils have a great significance in the
fields of geology and paleontology. This is
because they allow geologists and
paleontologists to find the fossil age by
examining the relationship of a particular fossil
with another event of a specific period.
Index fossil are of significant use to geologist
mainly because:
•Also known as guide fossils, indicator fossils,
or zone fossils, they are used to identify
periods of geological time.

•When the date of the rocks is determined

using index fossils, these rocks can be further
studied to help find the period when the fossils
were created.
•They have also been useful in dating the other
fossils found in the same sedimentary layer.
That is, if a fossil from an unknown period is
found near a fossil from a known one, it is
assumed that the two species belonged to the
same time.
•If the period during which an organism lived is
known and if a rock is said to contain a fossil
of that particular organism, then it can be
concluded that the rock has been deposited
during that period.
•Index fossils are believed to be useful in
correlating rock strata from widespread
locations.
•The collection of such fossils from different
rock formations and layers enables the
geologists to identify the layer of rock they
were found in.
•Bothmacrofossils (large fossils) and
microfossils (miscroscopic fossils) are said to
be used by geologists in Biostratigraphy. The
use of macrofossils is rare whereas
microfossils are said to be very commonly
used by oil prospectors and other industries.
Index fossils used in Dating Rocks
Back in 1793, William Smith collected fossils
from his work sites and, over time, he learned
to recognize which fossils tended to show up in
which rock strata. He began to identify rock
layers by the fossils they contained, and he
even noticed that the general order of strata
was identical over many different parts of the
country. Smith was the first person to
understand the principle of fossil succession.
Now, when we use fossils to date rocks, we
have to be careful. We can't just use any fossil
that we find.
We don't want to use fossils belonging to
species that lived for too long
We want fossils of plants and animals that lived
for a relatively short amount of time, like a few
hundred thousand years or so.
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