ALL meanings of index fossil
in·dex fos·sil
I i - noun index fossil a widely distributed fossil, of narrow range in time, regarded as characteristic of a given geological formation, used especially in determining the age of related formations. 1
- noun index fossil Any ancient remains of a plant or animal that lived during a specific geological period and that can be used to date the containing rocks. 0
- noun index fossil a fossil species that characterizes and is used to delimit a geological zone 0
- noun index fossil any fossil of wide geographical distribution and a short range in time, used to correlate and date rock strata and their associated fossils 0