Fossil record — Science definition
The whole body of fossil evidence — biased towards hard parts, towards places where sediment accumulates, and towards places geologists have searched.
Where it is taught
- Fossils, Rock Layers & Life History — Evolution, Evidence & Life History, Life Science & Scientific Inquiry, Grade 7
In use
A fossil is what survives that extremely unlikely sequence, which is the single most important thing to know about the fossil record: it is not a sample of past life, it is a sample of the organisms that happened to die in the right circumstances and were later found.
Fossils, Rock Layers & Life History