Nano fossils

and their Application
NANOFOSSILS

Content
 Introduction
 How is a fossil formed?
 Classification of fossils
 Classification of nanofossils
 Applications
 Conclusion
 References

Introduction
Fossils are the remains of living things.
 remains of plants
Fossil leaf

Introduction
Fossils are the remains of living things.
 remains of plants  remains of animals
Fossil shell Fossil alligator

Introduction
 Fossils aren’t just the remains of living things. Fossils can be
something that a living thing made.
Fossil dinosaur footprint

IntroductionHOW IS A FOSSIL FORMED?

HOW IS A FOSSIL FORMED?
1. Sediment
An animal is buried by
sediment, such as
volcanic ash or silt,
shortly after it dies. Its
bones are protected
from rotting by the
layer of sediment.

2. Layers
More sediment layers
accumulate above the
animal’s remains, and
minerals, such as silica
(a compound of silicon
and oxygen), slowly
replace the calcium
phosphate in
the bones.

3. Movement
Movement of tectonic
plates, or giant rock
slabs that make up
Earth’s surface, lifts up
the sediments and
pushes the fossil
closer to the surface.

4. Erosion
Erosion from rain,
rivers, and wind wears
away the remaining
rock layers.
Eventually, erosion or
people digging for
fossils will expose the
preserved remains.

Classification of fossils
Depending on the size and nature , fossils are classified
into :-
Plant Fossil
Vertebrate Fossil
Invertebrate Fossil
Microfossil
Nanofossil

into :-
Plant Fossil
Microfossil
Nanofossil

Classification
into :-
Plant Fossil
Microfossil
 Size is in between 1000 to 50 micron
Observed under Paleontological microscope like
Binocular, Stereo Binocular, Phase contrast
microscope

Classification
into :-
Plant Fossil
Microfossil
Nanofossil
 Microfossils less than micrometer , comes under
nanofossils category.
Used to observe under electron microscope
e.g. SEM, TEM etc.
Planktonic in nature.

Classification
Nanofossils
 Coccoliths nanofossils
 Calcareous nanofossils
 Thomas Huxley
 Individual plates of CaCo2 formed
by coccolithophores.
 which are arranged around them in
a coccosphere.
Classification of nanofossils

Classification
Nanofossils
 Coccoliths nanofossils
 Heterococcoliths  Holococcoliths
 formed by radial array of
elaborately shaped crystal units.

Classification
Nanofossils
 Heterococcoliths  Holococcoliths
 formed by minute calcite rhombohedral
crystals, arranged in continuous arrays.

Classification
Nanofossils
 Remains of golden brown, single celled
algae, also known as ‘nanos’.
 Slowly covered by remains of other plants
and animals and bits of mud and sand.
 Preserved in rocks; can be part of a
limestone or shale.
 Age: Around 200 Ma from Triassic.

 Used in forensic studies.
 A very large number of individual Coccoliths
may be preserved in a tiny amount of
sediment. Hence only very small quantities of
sample are needed to produce statistically
valid results.
 Used to determine the origin of building for Medieval
churches in Denmark.
 Calcareous nanofossils can be used to help determine
the temperature and current patterns of ancient
oceans.
 It can be use as a biostratigraphic marker.
Applications

The size of nanofossils range between 1 nm to
100 nm.
Calcareous nanofossils are one of the primary
organisms at the base of the food chain.
Heterococcoliths are formed by radial array of
elaborately shaped crystal units whereas
holococcoliths are formed of minute
calcite rhombohedral crystals, arranged in
continuous arrays.
Conclusion

 Books & Journals
 Bown P.R. (1993) New holococcoliths from the Toarcian-Aalenian
(Jurassic) of northern Germany. Senckenbergiana Lethaea, Pp:
407-419.
 Young, J.R., Davis, S.A., Bown, P.R., and Mann, S. 1999. Coccolith
ultrastructure and biomineralisation. Journal of Structural
Biology, Pp: 195-215.
 Websites
 INA – International Nanoplankton
Association http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/ina/
 UCL Earth Sciences http://www.es.ucl.ac.uk/
 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nanofossil
 www.teara.govt.nz/en/fossils/page-7
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccolith
References

Nano fossils

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