Final answer:
The youngest fossils in the oceanic crust are found at mid-ocean ridges due to seafloor spreading. While not the youngest, significant Cambrian fossils at the Burgess Shale provide insight into early complex life. Young fossils are also found in shallower sea beds and reefs, such as the El Capitan reef in Guadalupe Mountain National Park.
Step-by-step explanation:
The youngest fossils in the oceanic crust are found at mid-ocean ridges, where new crust is being formed continuously by the process of seafloor spreading. As tectonic plates pull apart, magma rises to fill the gap, solidifying to create a new oceanic crust. This process results in a symmetrical pattern of crust age, with the youngest rocks at the ridge and progressively older rocks as you move away from the ridge center. Information about the age of the oceanic lithosphere has been compiled by researchers such as Muller et al. in their study published in Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., which can be consulted for an in-depth analysis of crust age.
Significant fossil findings, such as those discovered at the Burgess Shale in Canada, showcase a variety of ancient life forms, many of which are precursors to modern species. While these fossils, dating back to the Cambrian explosion approximately 508 million years ago, are not the youngest, they provide essential insight into the development of early complex life on Earth. The Burgess Shale was originally described by Charles Walcott and has become a renowned palaeontological site for the abundance and diversity of its soft-bodied fossils.
In the context of oceanic environments, however, young fossils are typically found in shallower sea beds and reefs, as these environments are often more conducive to the preservation of organic material. Fossils from El Capitan reef in Guadalupe Mountain National Park, for example, display a range of ocean life including sponges, bryozoans, foraminifera, and ammonites that thrived in reef ecosystems.