Thanatocoenosis (from

Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...

''thanatos'' - death and ''koinos'' - common) are all the embedded

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s at a single discovery site. This site may be referred to as a death assemblage. Such groupings are composed of fossils of organisms which may not have been associated during life, often originating from different habitats. Examples include marine fossils having been brought together by a

water current A current in a fluid is the magnitude and direction of flow within that fluid, such as a liquid or a gas. Types of fluid currents include: * Air current * Boundary current * Current (stream), a current in a river or stream * Longshore current * Oc ...

or animal bones having been deposited by a predator.

References

*''Concise Encyclopedia - Biology'', Thomas A. Scott,

References

See also