{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.fossil","code":"thing-q40614","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q40614/","name":"fossil","alternateNames":["fossil embryo","Beetle fossils","ootaxon","oofamily","oogenus","oospecies","toadstone","fossil resin","trace fossil","Pholad borings","Bromalite","coprolite"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Any preserved remains, impression or trace of an organism from a past geological age, including body fossils such as bones, shells and beetle fossils, trace fossils such as footprints and burrows, and rare fossil embryos and eggs; fossil eggs and eggshells are classified in parataxonomy as ootaxa with ranks such as oofamily, oogenus and oospecies; fossils form by processes such as permineralisation, moulds and casts, carbonisation and amber preservation, and are the primary evidence for the history of life.","purpose":"Let an agent explain fossils and how they form, relay kinds, dating and classification from palaeontology sources, describe fossil embryos, insect fossils and egg parataxonomy, and distinguish fossils from subfossils, pseudofossils, living fossils and fossil fuels, and give general guidance on collecting laws.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Ancient remains or traces","Many preservation modes","Evidence of evolution","Parataxonomic classification for eggs"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a fossil is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a fossil, and how does it differ from subfossils, pseudofossils, living fossils and fossil fuels?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about formation, a kind, classification, collecting or a specific fossil?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"kinds","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds.","findings":[{"id":"kinds-finding","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds.","questions":[{"text":"What are body, trace, micro and insect fossils, fossil embryos and ootaxa?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific kind?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"science","name":"Science","description":"Formation and dating.","layers":[{"id":"formation","name":"Formation","description":"Formation.","findings":[{"id":"formation-finding","name":"Formation","description":"Formation.","questions":[{"text":"How do permineralisation, moulds, carbonisation and amber preserve organisms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"dating","name":"Dating","description":"Dating.","findings":[{"id":"dating-finding","name":"Dating","description":"Dating.","questions":[{"text":"How are fossils dated by stratigraphy and radiometric methods?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"classification","name":"Classification","description":"Classification.","layers":[{"id":"eggs","name":"Eggs","description":"Egg parataxonomy.","findings":[{"id":"eggs-finding","name":"Eggs","description":"Eggs.","questions":[{"text":"How are fossil eggs classified into oofamilies, oogenera and oospecies?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits ootaxonomy?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"embryos","name":"Embryos","description":"Fossil embryos.","findings":[{"id":"embryos-finding","name":"Embryos","description":"Embryos.","questions":[{"text":"What do fossil embryos reveal, and what is debated, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits fossil embryo?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Collecting and history.","layers":[{"id":"collecting","name":"Collecting","description":"Collecting law.","findings":[{"id":"collecting-finding","name":"Collecting","description":"Collecting.","questions":[{"text":"What do laws say about collecting and exporting fossils, in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits fossil collecting?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did fossils come to be understood as remains of ancient life?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of paleontology?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain fossils and their kinds, citing palaeontological sources.","Distinguish fossils from pseudofossils and explain parataxonomic ranks."],"mustNot":["Assist illegal collecting, export or trade of fossils.","Disclose locations of protected or unpublished fossil sites.","Present a pseudofossil or forgery as genuine.","Damage specimens while handling them."],"requiresHuman":["Removing a fossil from a site or a collection."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Fossils are irreplaceable records of life's history.","Commercial trade can take heritage away from the countries where it was found."],"affectedParties":["Scientists and museums","Countries of origin","Landowners"]},"owners":{"steward":"The landowner or the state under heritage law; museums hold catalogued specimens.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Museum collection catalogues"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q16686022","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"natural physical object","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"paleontology","type":"related"},{"target":"ootaxonomy","type":"related","note":"for eggs"},{"target":"pseudofossil","type":"related"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.fossil","Wikidata: Q40614 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q40614)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["conventional age threshold: about 10000 years","oldest accepted fossils: about 3.5 billion years - stromatolites and microfossils, debated","egg parataxonomy: ootaxa separate from body fossil taxa note"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms","Fossil embryos, beetle fossils, ootaxa, oofamily, oogenus, oospecies","Subfossils are young and little altered; pseudofossils are inorganic; living fossils are extant organisms; fossil fuels are energy resources","Stone or mineral replacements, impressions or preserved remains in rock or amber."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain formation and kinds","relay dating and classification","describe egg parataxonomy","distinguish related terms"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Illegal collecting and trade","Confusing pseudofossils with fossils","Registry aliases mixing parataxonomic ranks and fossil types"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["National fossil protection and collecting laws","ICZN rules on ichnotaxa and ootaxa","Export controls on fossils"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; natural remains.","body fossils","trace fossils","microfossils","insect fossils such as beetles","fossil embryos and eggs as ootaxa","amber inclusions"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q40614: fossil","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q40614","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Fossil","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should ootaxon and fossil embryo be separate primary entries?","How should palaeontology sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming parataxonomic ranks; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q40614/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q40614/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T18:15:16Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:30+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}