microfossil
noun
mi·cro·fos·sil ˌmī-krō-ˈfä-səl 
: a small fossil that typically can be studied only microscopically and that may be either a fragment of a larger organism or an entire minute organism
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The most complex microfossil consists of a stem with parallel branches on one side that is nearly a centimeter long. 
David Bressan, Forbes, 14 Apr. 2022 At around 1 billion years old, the seaweed microfossil — a type of algae known as Proterocladus antiquus — is the oldest green seaweed known to man. Joshua Bote, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2020 The freckles, Virginia Tech researchers say, are actually billion-year-old seaweed microfossils. Alaa Elassar, CNN, 26 Feb. 2020 The scientists discovered the cave while searching for microfossils to buttress their then-radical theory that microbial life flourished on land more than a billion years ago. Peter Byrne, Quanta Magazine, 24 Apr. 2014 All of these microfossils — or the chemical evidence associated with them — are hotly debated. Quanta Magazine, 22 Jan. 2018 Paleosols are typically full of pollen and microfossils of simple organisms, such as diatoms, a kind of algae that can indicate climate conditions. Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 20 May 2019 And where there are geochemical signs of life, there could also be microfossils. Peter Byrne, Quanta Magazine, 24 Apr. 2014 The sediment layers where the skeleton was positioned, known as microfossils, were crucial to determining the quadrupedal whale's age, around 42.6 million years ago. David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 4 Apr. 2019 See More
David Bressan, Forbes, 14 Apr. 2022 At around 1 billion years old, the seaweed microfossil — a type of algae known as Proterocladus antiquus — is the oldest green seaweed known to man. Joshua Bote, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2020 The freckles, Virginia Tech researchers say, are actually billion-year-old seaweed microfossils. Alaa Elassar, CNN, 26 Feb. 2020 The scientists discovered the cave while searching for microfossils to buttress their then-radical theory that microbial life flourished on land more than a billion years ago. Peter Byrne, Quanta Magazine, 24 Apr. 2014 All of these microfossils — or the chemical evidence associated with them — are hotly debated. Quanta Magazine, 22 Jan. 2018 Paleosols are typically full of pollen and microfossils of simple organisms, such as diatoms, a kind of algae that can indicate climate conditions. Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 20 May 2019 And where there are geochemical signs of life, there could also be microfossils. Peter Byrne, Quanta Magazine, 24 Apr. 2014 The sediment layers where the skeleton was positioned, known as microfossils, were crucial to determining the quadrupedal whale's age, around 42.6 million years ago. David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 4 Apr. 2019 See More Word History
First Known Use
1924, in the meaning defined above