Crocodiles have existed in slightly different variations from before the time of the dinosaurs and they exist even now on earth. Would a crocodile be a good index fossil why or why not?
1 answer
A crocodile would not be a good index fossil because they have existed for such a long period of time and have remained relatively unchanged throughout their evolutionary history. As a result, they would not be able to accurately indicate the specific time period in which they lived based on their fossilized remains. Index fossils are typically used to determine the relative age of rock layers in which they are found, and because crocodiles have been around for so long, they would not provide a precise indicator of age.