"Fragmentary fossils" refers to fossils that are incomplete or only consist of fragments, making it difficult to fully understand the organism they belong to.
Sentences with «fragmentary fossils»
Fragmentary fossils of the new species — bones from a fairly complete skull, as well as some from one wing and leg — were discovered in 1983, when excavations began for a new terminal at Charleston International Airport. (sciencemag.org)
The identification of a new species of troodontid in the Late Cretaceous of North America indicates that small dinosaur diversity in the latest Cretaceous of North America is likely underestimated due to the difficulty of identifying species from fragmentary fossils. (sciencedaily.com)
1825: Only the second dinosaur (after Megalosaurus) to be classified scientifically, the species's first fragmentary fossils were named by British paleontologist Gideon Mantell for the similarity of their teeth to those of iguanas. (discovermagazine.com)