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The principle of faunal succession, also known as the law of faunal succession, is based on the observation that sedimentary rock strata contain fossilized flora and fauna, and that these fossils succeed each other vertically in a specific, reliable order that can be identified over wide horizontal distances.
The principle of faunal succession is based on the appearance of fossils in sedimentary rocks. As organisms exist at the same time period throughout the world, their presence or (sometimes) absence may be used to provide a relative age of the formations in which they are found.
Image displaying newly discovered fossil being introduced into the succession sequence. The concept of faunal succession was theorized at the beginning of the 19th century by William Smith . When Smith was studying rock strata, he began to recognize that rock outcrops contained a unique collection of fossils. [ 10 ]
The principle of faunal succession is used in biostratigraphy to determine each biostratigraphic unit, or biozone. The biostratigraphic unit is a section of geological strata that is defined on the basis of its characteristic fossil taxa or faunal assemblage. Faunal assemblages are also analyzed in archaeological deposits, where they are ...
Strata from widespread locations containing the same fossil fauna and flora are said to be correlatable in time. Biologic stratigraphy was based on William Smith's principle of faunal succession, which predated, and was one of the first and most powerful lines of evidence for, biological evolution.
In geology, a succession is a series of strata or rock units in chronological order. Rock successions can be seen in cross sections through rock , for example in a road cut or cliff . With sedimentary layers of rocks, newer units will be above older units, except in cases of inversion .
Nationality: French: Known for: Le Règne Animal; establishing the fields of stratigraphy and comparative anatomy, and the principle of faunal succession in the fossil record; making extinction an accepted scientific phenomenon; opposing theories of evolution; popularizing catastrophism
Principle of cross-cutting relationships – Principle that the geologic feature which cuts another is the younger of the two; Law of included fragments – Clasts in a rock are older than the rock formation; Principle of uniformitarianism – Assumption that the natural laws and processes of the universe are constant through time and space