: a fossil (as of a dinosaur footprint) that shows the activity of an animal or plant but is not formed from the organism itself
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebIn other words, the scientists had discovered the rarest of the rare: trace fossils within a trace fossil. Jeanne Timmons, Ars Technica, 6 June 2022 In the same year, the Austrian paleontologist Theodor Fuchs, an authority on trace fossils, independently arrived at the same conclusion. Hans-dieter Sues, Smithsonian, 26 Nov. 2019 These particular trace fossils consist of up to 12 parallel scratches, and had been thought to be connected to a trilobite but the evidence was never strong enough, Geggel reports. Lauren Young, Smithsonian, 8 Feb. 2017