Portal:Paleontology

The Palaeontology Portal

Introduction

Paleontology (/ˌpeɪliɒnˈtɒlədʒi, ˌpæli-, -ən-/ PAY-lee-on-TOL-ə-jee, PAL-ee-, -⁠ən-), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, 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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Selected article on the prehistoric world and its legacies

Sculptures of Vulcanodon karibaensis. — Sculptures of *Vulcanodon karibaensis*.

Vulcanodon (meaning "volcano tooth") is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. The only known species is V. karibaensis. Discovered in 1969 in Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe), it was regarded as the earliest known sauropod for decades, and is still one of the most primitive sauropods that has been discovered. As a quadrupedal, ground-dwelling herbivore, Vulcanodon already showed the typical sauropod body plan with column-like legs and a long neck and tail. It was much smaller than most other sauropods, measuring approximately 6.5 metres (20 ft) in length. Vulcanodon is known from a fragmentary skeleton including much of the pelvic girdle, hind limbs, forearms, and tail, but lacking the trunk and neck vertebrae as well as the skull.

Originally, this genus was believed to be a prosauropod because of the knife-shaped teeth found near its fossils, which fit in with the idea that prosauropods were omnivorous. Scientists now know that the teeth belonged to an unidentified theropod that may have scavenged on the Vulcanodon carcass. Vulcanodon is now known to be a true sauropod. Upon the discovery of the related Tazoudasaurus, both animals were unified in the family Vulcanodontidae, though this has not been universally accepted. (see more...)

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Did you know?

... that a revolution in burrowing marks the base of the Cambrian period, and is followed by the Cambrian explosion of animal diversity?
... that the extinct Chamaecyparis eureka is the oldest confirmed member of the genus Chamaecyparis?
... that when first described, the extinct bird Cruschedula was thought to be a "dry-land" penguin?
... that Puppigerus, an extinct sea turtle, had a specialized jaw structure which kept it from accidentally inhaling water?
...that Kirill Eskov named a genus from the Linyphiidae spider family discovered by him in 1988 after Kikimora, a female spirit in Slavic mythology?

... that both Fordilla and Pojetaia, Cambrian members of the extinct bivalve family Fordillidae, are part of the Turkish small shelly fauna?
... that, being a descendant of Pliohippus, Astrohippus is not considered to be an ancestor to modern horses?
... that the ichnogenus Chondrites (pictured) can be used as an indicator of anoxia in sediments?
... that the extinct plant species Eucommia jeffersonensis and Eucommia rolandii were both described from fossils in 1997?
... that, when described, the brown lacewing species Wesmaelius mathewesi was the most ancient member of its subfamily?

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General images - load new batch

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

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