Throughout the whole process of leaching, some of these end up retaining the complete image of the original animal or plant. This rock basically sports some qualities or features of the original shell. Mold fossils are primarily formed through a process called ‘leaching.’ In this process, the shell material of rock, for instance, is removed, leaving behind a hollow or gap in the rock. They are quite similar to the negative impressions left by an animal or a plant. The fossil makes use of these substrate components in order to leave their mark on them.Ī mold fossil is kind of like an impression that is made in the substrate. The substrate, in this case, is usually a rock or sediment. These are fossilized imprints that are made within a substrate. There are different types of fossils, each of which has been incredibly beneficial in telling us about the life on earth that existed billions of years ago. These traces could be anything from a leaf imprint to the skeletal remains of living organisms that are preserved in the Earth’s crust. Types of Fossilsįossils are remnants or traces of organisms from prehistoric times that belonged to the past geological ages. This is one of the main reasons why you will notice that most of the fossils found till today are remains of those animals that lived either near the water or in the water.
These rock-like layers settle down in water bodies like oceans, lakes, and swamps and basically create a kind of a settlement there. They harden so much that eventually, they end up adopting a rocky formation, hence the name sedimentary rocks. These rocks are defined as those that are formed when multiple layers of clay, sand, mud, and silt combine together and then harden over a span of a billion years or so. So, pick up your palaeontologist’s hammer and join our exciting expedition.There is no denying the fact that fossils are found in the Earth’s crust and surface, however, if you were to narrow it down, they are commonly found in all those areas or spaces where sedimentary rocks may be exposed.
We find out about local sedimentary rocks including the chalky White Cliffs (made from the bodies and poo of billions of tiny sea creatures), razor-sharp flint and Kent Coal… and reveal what you can tell from cutting open a coprolite (prehistoric poo).Ĭoming closer to the present, we explore the giants of the Ice Ages and the warmer periods between them - including mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, hippo and straight-tusked elephant… all tucked up safe in the Bayle Bone Bed! Not forgetting how fossils were formed and the uses of rocks in history and today. This topic explores the fossilised remains of creatures that lived in the Great Chalk Sea that covered Kent in the Cretaceous over 65 million years ago… including the jaws, teeth and vertebrae of sharks, icthyosaurs and fossil fish… and one very lucky ammonite, with bite marks in its shell. But be careful… its owner was related to T-Rex! And investigate a mysterious three-toed footprint from Folkestone beach. Find out about Iguanodon one of the first dinosaurs discovered… and the wealthy Victorians who dined inside one. Many of these fossils come from the White Cliffs, the Warren and East Wear Bay -one of the best places to find fossils in Britain - which were, at different times, the bed of a warm prehistoric ocean, and a coastal zone teeming with life.Ĭome face to face with Folkestone’s very own dinosaur Acanthropholis Horridus Huxley and explore its bones and body armour in stunning 3D detail. Folkestone Museum has incredible collections of rocks, minerals and fossils, including the remains of dinosaurs, prehistoric sharks and the mighty mammoth.