Fossils are the remains or evidence of ancient life. Fossils come in various forms - from bones and shells to carbon imprints to footprints and burrows. Fragmented or whole, fossils provide vital information about Earth and its inhabitants millions, even billions, of years ago.
Only a tiny fraction of organisms that have lived during the past 3.8 billon years are preserved as fossils. Instead, most were eaten, attacked by bacteria, fragmented, crushed, or dissolved (worn away) by water movement.
Hard parts hold up better to decay and destruction than soft tissue such as muscles and organs. This is why we find more clams than worms.
Kansas has many fossil-bearing rocks at the surface, mostly limestone, sandstone, and shale. Limestone is composed mostly of the mineral calcite, or calcium carbonate, which is secreted by various animals and plants, such as oysters, corals, and algae. Sandstone and shale are made up of sediment that eroded from other rocks. Sandstone is made up of sand grains, bonded together by natural cement. Shale is composed of compacted clay and silt sized particles too small to be seen without a microscope.
I saw at least 4 types of fossils in this wall - Fusulinids, Brachiopods, Bryozoans, and Crinoids.
Fusulinids are small marine organisms about the size and shape of a grain of wheat.
Brachiopod shells come in a variety of shapes and sizes. These are very common fossils and are easily found in limestone and sandstone.
Bryozoans are small animals that are just large enough to see with the naked eye. They tend to spread like a crust on shells, rocks, and plants.
Crinoids are usually found in stem pieces, which may be round, elliptical, pentagonal, or star-shaped with a hole in their centers. It is rare to find one intact as shown above.
To log this earthcache, please answer the following questions:
1. How many are in your geocaching group?
2. Is this wall limestone or sandstone and why do you think this.
3. Find the largest fossil and tell me its name and the approximate measurements.
4. Find the smallest fossil and tell me its name and the approximate measurements.
4. Please post a picture with your log of yourself &/or group with your GPS in front of the thrift store to prove that you were at the correct location.
5. Message the answers to me. Do not post your answers with your log.