Ichthyolith

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A fossilized fish bone or scale, often found in sedimentary rock layers
2. A type of fossil formed from the hard parts of fish, such as bones or scales, that have been preserved over time
3. An ancient remnant of fish anatomy, typically consisting of osseous or dermal structures, used in paleontological studies

Etymology: "Ichthyolith" is a technical coinage rather than an old word that drifted into science. It was made in 1974 by the paleontologists Doyle, Kennedy and Riedel, who needed a single term for the hard, fossilised fish remains such as bony scales, plates and fin spines that are studied in paleontology. The word was built deliberately from two Greek-derived elements, so its meaning can be read straight off its parts. The first element, "ichthyo-", comes from the Greek "ichthys", meaning "fish", which also gave English words like ichthyology, the study of fish. The second, "-lith", comes from the Greek "lithos", meaning "stone", and appears in words like "monolith" and "megalith". Together they describe a fish that has turned to stone, a sense that suits fossil material well.