Paleobiocenosis

part of a biocenosis, an aggregate of cohabitant organisms preserved in fossil form. The character and appearance of a paleobiocenosis are reconstructed by means of paleoecological analysis of the oryctocenosis (the complex of preserved petrifactions) and the taphocenosis (the accumulation of animal carcasses and dead plants buried and covered with sediments). A paleobiocenosis usually differs from a biocenosis owing to the absence of remains of askeletal organisms, which could not be preserved in the fossil state, and to the presence of remains of organisms that were accidentally deposited at burial sites.