biostratigraphy

[ bahy-oh-struh-tig-ruh-fee ]

noun

1. a branch of geology dealing with the differentiation of sedimentary rock units on the basis of the fossils they contain.

biostratigraphy

/ bī′ō-strə-tĭg′rə-fē /

1. The study and categorization of rock strata based on their fossil content and distribution. Biostratigraphic data are often considered together with radiometric and paleoenvironmental data as a means of dating rock strata.
2. Compare lithostratigraphy

Other Words From

• bi·o·strat·i·graph·ic [bahy-oh-strat-i-, graf, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of biostratigraphy¹

bio- + stratigraphy

Example Sentences

Puckett, T. M. Santonian–Maastrichtian planktonic foraminiferal and ostracode biostratigraphy of the northern Gulf Coastal Plain, USA.

From Nature

That technique is known as biostratigraphy, and it is typically much less accurate than methods such as uranium-lead dating.

From Science Magazine

Their method, known as biostratigraphy, allows geologists to assign relative ages to rocks based on the types of fossil creatures found within them.

From BBC

This is because the rocks have been dated using only biostratigraphy, a process in which paleontologists compare the fossils preserved in a rock unit of uncertain age with rock units of known age that preserve similar fossils.

From New York Times