20
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 1:
Line 1: − The study of life's history as revealed in the preserved relics of once-living plants and animals.<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With General Science''. Anderson: Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. + − 2000</ref> − + − <references/>+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
no edit summary
'''Paleontology''', '''palaeontology''' or '''palæontology''' is the study of [[prehistory|prehistoric]] life forms on [[Earth]] through the examination of plant and animal [[Fossil|fossils]]. This includes the study of body [[fossil]]s, tracks ([[ichnite]]s), [[burrow]]s, cast-off parts, fossilised [[feces|faeces]] ([[coprolite]]s), [[palynomorph]]s and chemical residues. Paleontology provides much of the physical evidence for the fact of [[evolution]].
==References==
==Overview==
Modern paleontology sets [[Prehistoric life|ancient life]] in its contexts by studying how long-term physical changes of global geography [[Palaeogeography|paleogeography]] and climate [[paleoclimate]] have affected the [[evolution]] of life, how ecosystems have responded to these changes and have changed the planetary environment in turn and how these mutual responses have affected today's patterns of [[biodiversity]]. Hence, paleontology overlaps with [[geology]] (the study of rocks and rock formations) as well as with [[botany]], [[biology]], [[zoology]] and [[ecology]] – fields concerned with [[Organism|life forms]] and how they interact.
The major subdivisions of paleontology include [[paleozoology]] (animals), [[paleobotany]] (plants) and [[micropaleontology]] (microfossils). Paleozoologists may specialise in [[invertebrate paleontology]], which deals with animals without backbones or in
[[vertebrate paleontology]], dealing with fossils of animals with backbones, including fossil hominids ([[paleoanthropology]]). Micropaleontologists study microscopic fossils, including organic-walled microfossils whose study is called [[palynology]].
There are many developing specialties such as [[paleobiology]], [[paleoecology]], [[ichnology]] (the study of tracks and burrows) and [[taphonomy]] (the study of what happens to organisms after they expire). Major areas of study include the correlation of [[rock strata]] with their [[geologic ages]] and the study of [[evolution]] of lifeforms.
Paleontology utilises the same classic [[binomial nomenclature]] scheme, devised for the biology of living things by the mid-[[18th century]] [[Swedish people|Swedish]] biologist [[Carolus Linnaeus]] and increasingly sets these species in a genealogical framework, showing their degrees of interrelatedness using the still somewhat controversial technique of '[[cladistics]]'.
The primary economic importance of paleontology lies in the use of fossils to determine the age and nature of the rocks that contain them or the layers above or below. This information is vital to the [[mining]] industry and especially the [[petroleum]] industry. Simply looking at the fossils contained in a rock remains one of the fastest and most accurate means of telling how old that rock is.
Fossils were known by primitive humans and were sometimes identified correctly as the remains of ancient lifeforms. The organised study of paleontology dates from the late 18th century. For a more complete historical overview see the article [[History of paleontology]].
==Notable paleontologists==
[[Image:Paleontologist chipping.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae.]]
History includes a number of prominent paleontologists. [[Charles Darwin]] collected fossils of South American mammals during his trip on the Beagle and examined petrified forests in Patagonia. [[Mary Anning]] was a notable early paleontologist. She found several landmark fossils, in her home town of [[Lyme Regis]]. Although self-taught, she collected and described them in a very systematic way. [[William Buckland]], [[Richard Owen]], [[Gideon Mantell]], [[Georges Cuvier]] and [[Thomas Huxley]] were important early pioneers, in the field of paleontology. [[Thomas Jefferson]] took a keen interest in mammoth bones. [[Edward Drinker Cope]] and [[Othniel Charles Marsh]] waged a famously fierce competition known as the [[Bone Wars]] in the late 19th century that involved some questionable practices, but which significantly advanced the understanding of the natural history of North America and vertebrate paleontology. Besides looking at mammal teeth and unearthing [[penguin]] skeletons, [[George Gaylord Simpson]] played a crucial role in bringing together ideas from biology, paleontology and genetics, to help create the 'Modern Synthesis' of evolutionary biology. His book "''Tempo and Mode''" is a classic in the field. Prominent names in invertebrate paleontology include [[Steven Stanley]], [[Stephen Jay Gould]], [[David Raup]] and [[Jack Sepkoski]], who have done much to expand our understanding of long-term patterns in the [[evolution]] of life on earth. Large names in the field of [[paleoanthropology]] include [[Louis Leakey|Louis]], [[Mary Leakey|Mary]] and [[Richard Leakey]], [[Raymond Dart]], [[Robert Broom]], [[Charles Kimberlin Brain|C.K. 'Bob' Brain]], [[Kenneth Oakley]], [[Robert Ardrey]] and [[Donald Johanson]]. In recent times, [[Mongols|Mongolian]] paleontologist [[Rinchen Barsbold]] has done much to expand our understanding of [[dinosaur]] and [[bird]] evolution.
==See also==
* [[Timeline of geography, paleontology]], [[biology]]
* [[List of publications in biology#Paleontology|Important publications in paleontology]]
* [[Synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy]]
* [[Fossil]]s
* [[Prehistoric life]]
* [[Fossil Parks]]
* [[List of Fossil Parks]]
* [[Geology]]
* [[Dinosaurs]]
* [[Rockhounding]]
* [[Mary Anning]]
* [[Fossil Hunters]]
* [[Fossils and the geological timescale]]
* [[Fossil collecting]]
* [[List of transitional fossils]]
* [[List of notable fossils]]
* [[List of fossil sites]] ''(with link directory)''
* [[Fossil fuel]]s
* [[Prehistoric life]]
* [[Lazarus taxon]]
* [[Elvis taxon]]
* [[Paleobiology]]
* [[History of paleontology]]
==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurnews.org Dinosaurnews] the free dinosaur zine (very popular site, with the latest international news about dinosaurs).
*[http://fossilinsects.net/index.html International Palaeoentomological Society]
*[http://www.nmnh.si.edu/paleo/geotime/ Smithsonian's Paleobiology website: a good introduction]
*[http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/FAQ/faq.html University of California Museum of Paleontology FAQ About Paleontology]
*[http://www.discoverfossils.com The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, biggest collection of marine reptile fossils in Canada, field trips, museum tours]