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Glite Dictionary
🦴 Partly fossilized 🦴 Partial fossil
subfossil

subfossil

1 9.9
Partly turned to stone while still keeping some original organic material
  • adjective
  • /sʌbˈfɑsəl/
  • Specialized
: subfósil
  • The subfossil remains were discovered in a peat bog.

Examples

  • The cave contained subfossil remains of animals that lived thousands of years ago.

  • Scientists analyzed subfossil wood to learn about ancient climates.

  • Researchers found subfossil bones that still contained traces of original proteins.

  • Researchers found a subfossil specimen dating back thousands of years.

  • The archaeologists discovered subfossil remains of ancient organisms in the permafrost, retaining some of their original structure.

  • Research on subfossil plants has provided valuable insights into the climate of the region over thousands of years.

  • The subfossil bones found in the cave still show signs of organic material, indicating they are not fully fossilized.

Surface Forms

subfossil positive

Morphology

subfossil = fossil (transparent) = sub + fossil

Formed by productive prefixation of 'sub-' to 'fossil' to indicate something partly or slightly fossilized, so the meaning is directly inferable.

Etymology

Subfossil combines sub- 'under' or 'partly' and fossil (a thing 'dug up' from the ground). That's why it describes material that is not fully turned to stone and still keeps some of its original material.