TERMIUM Plus®

The Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

FOSSIL IMPRINT [4 records]

Filter results by subject field Alphabetical list of terms

Filter results by subject field

Alphabetical list of terms

Record 1 2011-01-18

English

Subject field(s)
  • Paleontology
DEF

The imprint of a living organism that has survived the length of time necessary to be considered a fossil.

OBS

Casts and moulds are most frequently thought of in connexion with the preservation of fossils but any three dimensional feature may be so replicated, e.g. rain prints, ripple marks, footprints, etc.

OBS

mold: term used at Natural Resources Canada - Earth Sciences Sector.

PHR

Externel, internal, natural mold.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Paléontologie
CONT

Il arrive que tout ce qui formait l'animal ou la plante d'origine ait disparu. Ne reste alors qu'une cavité dont les parois constituent le moule naturel du fossile. Des substances peuvent remplir ce creux donnant ainsi un moulage naturel de l'organisme.

OBS

moule : terme en usage à Ressources naturelles Canada - Secteur des sciences de la Terre.

PHR

Moule externe, interne.

Spanish

Campo(s) temático(s)
  • Paleontología
DEF

[...] dispositivo que lleva en hueco las formas de un objeto [...].

Save record 1

Record 2 2005-04-20

English

Subject field(s)
  • Paleontology
CONT

The hardened tracks of animals or the burrows of prehistoric worms in solidified mud are examples of fossil imprints.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Paléontologie
DEF

Traces d'organismes fossilisés.

CONT

Les fossiles sont les témoins de la vie tout au long des temps géologiques. Ces témoins [...] sont les restes organiques eux-mêmes [...]; ce peut être seulement leurs empreintes ou leurs moulages naturels, les restes organiques proprement dits ayant disparu; [...]

CONT

En fouillant un peu dans le sol argileux, on trouve souvent des pierres avec de superbes empreintes de fossiles : ramures d'une fougère, spirale d'une coquille, annélides d'un ver, nervures d'une aile de libellule [...]

Spanish

Save record 2

Record 3 2005-04-20

English

Subject field(s)
  • Paleontology
OBS

Molds are made when organisms are totally or partially buried in mud that hardens into rocks. Over time ground water may dissolve the organisms, leaving cavities shaped like their bodies.... If a mold was later filled with mud or mineral material, the hardened filling is called a cast. It is a reproduction that has the same outer shape as the organism. A cast looks like the organism itself, not like its imprint. Paleontologists make casts of fossil molds by filling them with liquids, such as plaster, that harden.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Paléontologie
OBS

Il arrive que tout ce qui formait l'animal ou la plante d'origine ait disparu. Ne reste qu'une cavité dont les parois constituent le moule naturel du fossile. Des substances peuvent remplir ce creux donnant ainsi un moulage naturel de l'organisme.

Spanish

Save record 3

Record 4 2005-01-12

English

Subject field(s)
  • Paleontology
DEF

The study of what happens to a fossil, from the time of its initial creation(e. g. the death of an organism or the imprint left by the movement of an organism) and the time that the fossil is discovered by a paleontologist.

OBS

Taphonomy is often broken into two parts, biostratinomy and the study of diagenesis.

OBS

Taphonomy ... means "laws of burial" ... The Russian paleontologist Ivan A. Efremov coined the term taphonomy and founded the study of taphonomy in 1940.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Paléontologie
DEF

«Lois de l'enfouissement» ou méthode d'analyse des restes organiques dans les sédiments, précisant l'origine des accumulations et les questions de conservation différentielle des fossiles.

OBS

La taphonomie, branche de la paléontologie, étudie la façon dont sont morts les organismes, et ce qui leur est arrivé jusqu'à leur découverte.

Spanish

Campo(s) temático(s)
  • Paleontología
Save record 4

Copyright notice for the TERMIUM Plus® data bank

© Public Services and Procurement Canada, 2025
TERMIUM Plus®, the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank
A product of the Translation Bureau

Display options

Change the order of display of the official languages of Canada
Option to display the non-official languages (Spanish or Portuguese)
Display definitions, contexts, etc., on records

Features

Language Portal of Canada

Access a collection of Canadian resources on all aspects of English and French, including quizzes.

Writing tools

The Language Portal’s writing tools have a new look! Easy to consult, they give you access to a wealth of information that will help you write better in English and French.

Glossaries and vocabularies

Access Translation Bureau glossaries and vocabularies.

Date Modified: