GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -For an organism to become a fossil, it must not decompose or be eaten. This can happen if the organism either lives within or is moved to a place where it can be buried and kept from decaying. When an organism is buried quickly, there is less decay and the better the chance for it to be preserved.

Detailed explanation-2: -Soft body parts, such as skin and hair, are less likely to be preserved as fossils. Indirect trace – Fossilized footprints, burrow marks, or coprolites all provide traces that an organism once existed, but are not preserved remains of the organism itself.

Detailed explanation-3: -Fossils also include any preserved trace of life that is typically more than 10 000 years old. Soft body parts decay soon after death, but the hard parts, such as bones, shells and teeth can be replaced by minerals that harden into rock.

Detailed explanation-4: -Soft parts, in contrast, are usually lost through scavenging and decay. In rare cases the soft (i.e., non-biomineralized) parts of animals survive and are fossilized alongside the hard skeleton, and even wholly soft-bodied organisms (those without biomineralized tissues) can be preserved.