Skip to main content

Paleoclimatology (thesaurus)

Search from vocabulary

Concept information

study material > mineral > fossil > microfossil

Preferred term

microfossil  

Definition

  • A microfossil is a fossil that is generally between 0.001 mm and 1 mm in size, the visual study of which requires the use of light or electron microscopy. A fossil which can be studied with the naked eye or low-powered magnification, such as a hand lens, is referred to as a macrofossil. Microfossils are most common in deposits of marine environments, but also occur in brackish water, fresh water and terrestrial sedimentary deposits. While every kingdom of life is represented in the microfossil record, the most abundant forms are protist skeletons or microbial cysts from the Chrysophyta, Pyrrhophyta, Sarcodina, acritarchs and chitinozoans, together with pollen and spores from the vascular plants. (Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfossil)

Broader concept

In other languages

URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/QX8-WXMNVZK5-C

Download this concept: