How does a carbon film fossil form?

1 Answer
Jan 11, 2018

Carbon film fossils are formed from the carbon residue of a soft-bodied organism that has been buried in sediment.

Explanation:

Most of the body or any organism is made of carbon.

When an organism dies, it can become covered in layers of sediment.

Eventually all the materials that make up the body of the dead organism break down from the heat and the huge weight of the overlying layers of sediment, leaving nothing but carbon.

The stable carbon in the organism's body remains after the more volatile oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen disappear.

What is left is a thin film or residue of carbon in the shape of the outline of the body.

enter image source here
http://slideplayer.com/slide/4457602/

You can find out more about carbon film fossils here:
https://sciencing.com/carbon-film-types-fossils-8474464.html