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In some cases, and especially with plants, some of the organic material is lost in the form of gases, while the carbon remains behind. This process, called distillation, leaves carbonised remains. Most fossil plants are of this kind.
Fossils may not be of actual living things at all.
In some cases, trails of living things become preserved in the rocks. Dinosaur footprints and, more commonly, trails of insects are quite often found.
Where fossils are found
Some environments are more suited to the preservation of fossils than others. Molten rocks or those that have been subjected to great heat and pressure are the least productive fossil environments. Places where there have been fast-flowing currents are also poor in fossils. By contrast, environments where there were slow currents, and where there was little oxygen, are often very rich in fossils.
(Below) What was once the shell of this ammonite is now pyrite, a shiny yellow mineral.
(Below) The plant has left a trace with carbonised remains through distillation.
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