Portal:Paleontology

The Palaeontology Portal

Introduction

Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geologic time, and assess the interactions between prehistoric organisms and their natural environment. While paleontological observations are known from at least the 6th century BC, the foundation of paleontology as a science dates back to the work of Georges Cuvier in 1796. Cuvier demonstrated evidence for the concept of extinction and how life of the past was not necessarily the same as that of the present. The field developed rapidly over the course of the following decades, and the French word paléontologie was introduced for the study in 1822, which was derived from the Ancient Greek word for "ancient" and words describing relatedness and a field of study. Further advances in the field accompanied the work of Charles Darwin who popularized the concept of evolution. Together, evolution and extinction can be understood as complementary processes which shaped the history of life.

Paleontology overlaps the most with the fields of geology and biology. It draws on technology and analysis of a wide range of sciences to apply them to the study of life and environments of the past, particularly for the subdisciplines of paleobiology and paleoecology that are analogous to biology and ecology. Paleontology also contributes to other sciences, being utilized for biostratigraphy to reconstruct the geologic time scale of Earth, or in studies on extinction to establish both external and internal factors that can lead to the disappearance of a species. Much of the history of life is now better understood because of advances in paleontology and the increase of interdisciplinary studies. Several improvements in understanding have occurred from the introduction of theoretical analysis to paleontology in the 1950s and 1960s that led to the rise of more focused fields of paleontology that assess the changing geography and climate of Earth, the phylogenetic relationships between different species, and the analysis of how fossilization occurs and what biases can impact the quality of the fossil record. (Full article...)

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Selected article on the prehistoric world and its legacies

Subfossil lemurs are lemurs from Madagascar that are represented by recent (subfossil) remains dating from nearly 26,000 years ago (during the late Pleistocene) to approximately 560 years ago. They include both living and extinct species, although the term more frequently refers to the extinct giant lemurs. The diversity of subfossil lemur communities was greater than that of present-day lemur communities, ranging from as high as 20 or more species per location, compared with 10 to 12 species today. Extinct species are estimated to have ranged in size from slightly over 10 kg (22 lb) to roughly 160 kg (350 lb).

Despite their size, the giant lemurs shared many features with living lemurs, including rapid development, poor day vision, relatively small brains, and lack of male dominance. They also had many distinct traits among lemurs, including a tendency to rely on terrestrial locomotion, slow climbing, and suspension instead of leaping, as well as a greater dependence on leaf-eating and seed predation. The giant lemurs likely filled ecological niches now left vacant, particularly seed dispersal for plants with large seeds. There were three distinct families of giant lemur, including the Palaeopropithecidae (sloth lemurs), Megaladapidae (koala lemurs), and Archaeolemuridae (monkey lemurs). Two other types were more closely related and similar in appearance to living lemurs: the giant aye-aye and Pachylemur, a genus of "giant ruffed lemurs".(see more...)

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Did you know?

... that the extinct sweat bee genus Oligochlora contains six species all known from the Dominican amber deposits on Hispaniola?
... that Riojasuchus was an ornithosuchid that is known from four skeletons and lived about 217 to 215 million years ago?
... that the extinct ant Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni is the first member of its genus found in Europe?
... that the extinct species Agulla mineralensis is the first North American snakefly to be described from Neogene fossils?
... that the amber entombing the extinct ant Haidoterminus cippus (pictured) was preserved in a lagoon or saltwater marsh?

...that the largest sea turtles ever to have swum the oceans belonged to the family Protostegidae?
... that the extinct ant-like stone beetle Kachinus, found in Cretaceous amber, is similar in appearance to the modern genus Paraneseuthia?
... that at just over 18 millimetres (0.71 in), Fibla carpenteri is the largest species of snakefly known from amber?
... that Aenigmastacus, a fossil crayfish from Canada, belongs to a family only otherwise known from the Southern Hemisphere?
... that the extinct pseudoscorpion Pseudogarypus synchrotron is named for the synchrotron imaging equipment?

More did you know facts

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various paleontology-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A complete Anomalocaris fossil from the Burgess shale (from History of paleontology)
Image 2Illustration from William Smith's Strata by Organized Fossils (1817) (from History of paleontology)
Image 3First 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)
Image 4Photograph of the second Archaeopteryx skeleton to be found, taken in 1881 at the Natural History Museum, Berlin (from History of paleontology)
Image 5Johann Jakob Scheuchzer tried to explain fossils using Biblical floods in his Herbarium of the Deluge (1709). (from History of paleontology)
Image 6Stephan Endlicher (from List of paleontologists)
Image 7Elmer Riggs and H.W. Menke in Field Columbian Museum's paleontology lab, 1899 (from History of paleontology)
Image 8A drawing comparing jaws was added in 1799 when Cuvier's 1796 presentation on living and fossil elephants was published. (from History of paleontology)
Image 9Illustration from Steno's 1667 paper shows a shark head and its teeth along with a fossil tooth for comparison. (from History of paleontology)
Image 10Geologic time scale from an 1861 book by Richard Owen shows the appearance of major animal types. (from History of paleontology)
Image 11A Spriggina fossil from the Ediacaran (from History of paleontology)
Image 12Duria 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)
Image 13Illustration of fossil Iguanodon teeth with a modern iguana jaw for comparison from Mantell's 1825 paper describing Iguanodon (from History of paleontology)
Image 14Philippe-Charles Schmerling (from List of paleontologists)
Image 15Fossil of the Taung child discovered in South Africa in 1924 (from History of paleontology)
Image 16Illustration of the fossil jaw of the Stonesfield mammal from Gideon Mantell's 1848 Wonders of Geology (from History of paleontology)
Image 17Diagram 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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Selected article on paleontology in human science, culture and economics

Cope (left) and Marsh (right).

Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards is a graphic novel written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by the company Big Time Attic. The book tells a slightly fictionalized account of the Bone Wars, a period of intense excavation, speculation, and rivalry which led to a greater understanding of dinosaurs in the western United States. This novel is the first semi-fictional work written by Ottaviani; previously, he had taken no creative license with the characters he depicted, portraying them strictly according to historical sources.

Bone Sharps follows the two scientists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Marsh as they engage in an intense rivalry for prestige. Ottaviani has Cope and Marsh interact and meet many important figures of the Gilded Age, from P. T. Barnum to U.S. Grant, as the two scientists pursue their hotheaded and sometimes illegal acquisitions of fossils. Unlike in his previous books, "the scientists are the bad guys this time". Upon release, the novel received praise from critics for its exceptional historical content, although some reviewers wished more fiction had been woven into the story. (see more...)

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On this day...

June 29:

1895 - Thomas Henry Huxley died of a heart attack in Eastbourne, England at age 70.
1910 - Charles Abiathar White died at age 74.

Cranial Ontogeny in Stegoceras validum (Dinosauria: Pachycephalosauria): A Quantitative Model of Pachycephalosaur Dome Growth and Variation

Ryan K. Schott, David C. Evans, Mark B. Goodwin, John R. Horner, Caleb Marshall Brown, Nicholas R. Longrich

published 29 Jun 2011

Reanalysis of “Raptorex kriegsteini”: A Juvenile Tyrannosaurid Dinosaur from Mongolia

Denver W. Fowler, Holly N. Woodward, Elizabeth A. Freedman, Peter L. Larson, John R. Horner

published 29 Jun 2011

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Selected image

A stromatolite collected from the 3,600- to 3,200-million-year-old Paleoarchean Strelley Pool Chert of Western Australia, Australia. Stromatolites are formed over the years by mats (1–10 mm in thickness) of microorganisms (cyanobacteria among others) found in shallow, mainly marine waters. The microorganisms precipitate mineral particles, which makes the mat thicken, but only the upper part survives. Most stromatolites display characteristically layered structures. Only the layers are visible to the naked eye.
Photo credit: Didier Descouens