A relic or impression of a plant or animal that existed in a past geological age; SYN. archeological remains.
Remains of an animal or plant preserved in rocks. Fossils may be formed by refrigeration (for example, Arctic mammoths in ice); carbonization (leaves in coal); formation of a cast (dinosaur or human footprints in mud); or mineralization of bones, teeth or shells. The study of fossils is called paleontology.
About 250,000 fossil species have been discovered—a figure that is believed to represent less than 1 in 20,000 of the species that ever lived. Microfossils are so small they can only be seen with a microscope. They include the fossils of pollen, bone fragments, and bacteria. + prikaži više

ETYM Cf. French fossilisation.
(Alternate spelling: fossilisation).
1. Becoming inflexible or out of date.
2. The process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone.

1. A rock created by petrifaction; an organic object infiltrated with mineral matter and preserved in its original form.
2. The process of turning some plant material into stone by infiltration with water carrying mineral particles without changing the original shape; SYN. petrification.

Petrifaction.