Skip to main content
fossiliferous

fossiliferous

1 9.9
Rock or soil that has fossils
  • adjective
  • /ˌfɑːsəˈlɪfərəs/
  • Specialized
: fósilífero
  • The cliff is made of fossiliferous rock, revealing many ancient sea creatures trapped inside.

Examples

  • For example, fossiliferous sediments may indicate the distribution of warm- and cold-loving species.

    Academic text (1991)
  • This is the 21st century, not the 20th in which the fossiliferous GOP languishes.

    Blog text (9)
  • A a new word I learned what specific fossiliferous site contains would have been dated to be the earliest fossilized remains of life.

  • That black shale with fossils was indeed most likely Shublik, which is highly fossiliferous.

    Blog text (8)
  • The assembled were privy to the first public display of a photo taken the night before of a Shublik formation core break—shiny, black, and highly fossiliferous.

    Blog text (14)
  • On the other hand, it is also plausible that the average global temperature was exceedingly hot and that the fossiliferous sedimentary rocks dated to 3.8 billion years ago were deposited in what were temperate or polar regions at the time.

    Academic text (1991)
  • During our hike, we discovered a fossiliferous layer rich in fossils from the Jurassic period.

  • The museum displayed samples of fossiliferous sediment, demonstrating the history of life on Earth.

Synonyms

ossiferous
vsfossiliferous
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Containing old bones in rock or soil

is broader and applies to any fossils rather than only bones

Surface Forms

fossiliferous positive

Morphology

fossiliferous = fossil (semi-transparent) = fossil + iferous

The word clearly combines 'fossil' with the scientific suffix '-iferous' meaning 'bearing' or 'containing', but the suffix is less familiar to average learners.

Etymology

Fossiliferous starts with fossil and ends with -ferous, a part that means 'bearing' or 'carrying', just like coniferous means 'cone-bearing'. So fossiliferous describes rock that 'bears' or contains fossils.