Portal:Paleontology

The Palaeontology Portal

Introduction

Paleontology (/ˌpeɪliɒnˈtɒlədʒi, ˌpæli-, -ən-/ PAY-lee-on-TOL-ə-jee, PAL-ee-, -⁠ən-), also spelled palaeontologyorpalæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossils to classify organisms and study their interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier's work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term has been used since 1822 formed from Greek παλαιός ('palaios', "old, ancient"), ὄν ('on', (gen. 'ontos'), "being, creature"), and λόγος ('logos', "speech, thought, study").

Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology, but it differs from archaeology in that it excludes the study of anatomically modern humans. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including biochemistry, mathematics, and engineering. Use of all these techniques has enabled paleontologists to discover much of the evolutionary history of life, almost back to when Earth became capable of supporting life, nearly 4 billion years ago. As knowledge has increased, paleontology has developed specialised sub-divisions, some of which focus on different types of fossil organisms while others study ecology and environmental history, such as ancient climates. (Full article...)

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All three species ate leaves, fruits, and seeds, but the proportions were different. M. pithecoides was primarily a leaf-eater (folivores), but also ate fruit and occasionally seeds. M. globiceps ate a mix of fruits and leaves, as well as a larger quantity of seeds than M. pithecoides. M. dolichobrachion also consumed a mixed diet of fruits and leaves, but analysis of its teeth suggests that it was more of a seed predator than the other two species. (see more...)

Did you know?

• ... that the extinct Pliocene dolphin Australodelphis from the Vestfold HillsofAntarctica has been described as an example of convergent evolution with whales?

... that the extinct sawfly Pseudosiobla cambelli is one of three species of Pseudosiobla known from the fossil record?

• ... that the ancient snakefly Cantabroraphidia was the first snakefly described from the El Soplao ambers?

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  Image 1Diagram by O.C. Marsh of the evolution of horse feet and teeth, reproduced in T. H. Huxley's 1876 book, Professor Huxley in America (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 2Johann Jakob Scheuchzer tried to explain fossils using Biblical floods in his Herbarium of the Deluge (1709). (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 3Illustration from William Smith's Strata by Organized Fossils (1817) (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 4Stephan Endlicher (from List of paleontologists)
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  Image 5Photograph of the second Archaeopteryx skeleton to be found, taken in 1881 at the Natural History Museum, Berlin (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 6A drawing comparing jaws was added in 1799 when Cuvier's 1796 presentation on living and fossil elephants was published. (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 7Duria Antiquior – A more Ancient Dorset is a watercolor painted in 1830 by the geologist Henry De la Beche based on fossils found by Mary Anning. The late 18th and early 19th century was a time of rapid and dramatic changes in ideas about the history of life on earth. (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 8Elmer Riggs and H.W. Menke in Field Columbian Museum's paleontology lab, 1899 (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 9Illustration of fossil Iguanodon teeth with a modern iguana jaw for comparison from Mantell's 1825 paper describing Iguanodon (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 10A complete Anomalocaris fossil from the Burgess shale (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 11Fossil of the Taung child discovered in South Africa in 1924 (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 12Philippe-Charles Schmerling (from List of paleontologists)
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  Image 13Geologic time scale from an 1861 book by Richard Owen shows the appearance of major animal types. (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 14First mention of the word palæontologie, as coined in January 1822 by Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville in his Journal de physique (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 15ASpriggina fossil from the Ediacaran (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 16Illustration from Steno's 1667 paper shows a shark head and its teeth along with a fossil tooth for comparison. (from History of paleontology)
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  Image 17Illustration of the fossil jaw of the Stonesfield mammal from Gideon Mantell's 1848 Wonders of Geology (from History of paleontology)

In 1859, when Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was first published, the fossil record was poorly known. Indeed, Archaeopteryx was discovered just two years later and represents a classic transitional form between dinosaurs and birds. Many more transitional fossils have been discovered since then, and there is now abundant evidence of how all classesofvertebrates are related, much of it in the form of transitional fossils. The phrase missing link has been used extensively in popular writings on human evolution to refer to a perceived gap in the hominid evolutionary record. It is most commonly used to refer to any new transitional fossil finds. Scientists, however, do not use the term, as it refers to a pre-evolutionary view of nature. (see more...)

On this day...

• 1797 - James Scott Bowerbank was born in London, England.
• 1815 - Moritz Hornes was born in Vienna, Austria.
• 1954 - Egidio Feruglio died in Udine, Italy at age 56.

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Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : Swiss Journal of Palaeontology - Ronan Allain - Paul Upchurch - David Martill - Diapophysis - Matthew Carrano - Chionopsis - Richard J. Butler - Psammacoma - Saccella - When Dinosaurs Ruled - Adam Yates (paleontologist) - Orthaulax - Georges Zbyszewski - Lamelliconcha - Extinct: A Horizon Guide to Dinosaurs - Phacoides - Dinosaurs: Messages in Stone - 1853 in paleontology - Rodney Steel - Land of Dinosaurs - 1829 in paleontology - Roca Formation, Argentina - Crassinella - Roger Benson - Bayley Silleck - Ficus carbasea - The Hunt for China's Dinosaurs - The Great Dinosaur Hunt - Micromactra - The Infinite Voyage - Lower Elliot Formation - Lindapecten - Dinosaurs: Fun, Fact and Fantasy - Dinosaurs: Myths & Reality - Dinosaur! (miniseries) - Ochetoclava - The Ultimate Guide: Tyrannosaurus rex - Graham Holloway - Dinosaurs: The Terrible Lizards - Pierre de Lespinois - Psammotreta - Cross Valley Formation - Dinotasia - Dinosaurs Decoded - Falcón Basin - Lirophora - Beyond T-Rex - Jean Le Loeuff - Muschelkalk Formation - Polypora - Eucrassatella - Cymatophos - Apiocardia - Hyperleptus - Panchione - Leopecten - Prehistoric Assassins - Dendostrea - Prehistoric (TV Series) - Charadreon - Politoleda - Susannah Maidment - Sabalites - European Archipelago - Hexacorbula - Adventures of Ceratops - Dallocardia - George Olshevsky - Cyclinella - Bactrospira - Caryocorbula - Eurytellina - Solena - Araucarites - Bizarre Dinosaurs - Caytonanthus arberi Expand : Archaeodontosaurus - Archaeornithomimus - Asiatosaurus - Avemetatarsalia - Bagaraatan - Becklespinax - Cerapoda - Ceratosauria - Club (zoology) - Deinonychosauria - Efraasia - Eoarthropleura - Fukuiraptor - Gastonia (dinosaur) - Graciliraptor - Heterodontosauriformes - Huayangosaurus - Iguanodont - Jiangshanosaurus - Kaijiangosaurus - Koparion - Laiyangosaurus - Lexovisaurus - Lukousaurus - Megalosaurid - Microdecemplex - Mussaurus - Ornithomimoides - Pandoravenator - Pantydraco - Plateosauridae - Pyroraptor - Quaesitosaurus - Rapator - Santanaraptor - Shanag - Siamotyrannus - Stegosaurides - Stenopelix - Tuojiangosaurus - Urbacodon - Velocipes - Vulcanodon - Vulcanodontidae - Wellnhoferia - Xinjiangovenator - Yunnanosaurus - Youngina - Zalmoxes Stubs : Dinosaur stubs Prehistoric reptile stubs Prehistoric mammal stubs Other : Fabrosaurus (needs references)

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