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

Ornatifilum fossil.

Ornatifilum (Latin ornatis + filum, Ornamented filament) is an artificial form genus, which is used to categorise any small, branched filaments with external ornamentation. It has been applied to microfossils of Devonian age with possible fungal affinities; two "species" have been described, and further Silurian fossils closely resemble it. These Silurian specimens hint that the organisms may have been fungal, placing them among the oldest representatives of this kingdom.

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Did you know?

... that the extinct ant Burmomyrma rossi was missing its head when described?
... that out of the described snakefly specimens from the Florissant Formation, the Raphidia funerata holotype is the most complete?
... that Alanqa is a newly described pterosaur from Morocco which had a wingspan of up to six metres?
... that the extinct genus Paleopanax is one of the oldest reliable records for the ginseng family?
... that with a 20 million year fossil record, Acer chaneyi has the longest fossil record of the Western North American maples?

... that the primary leaf veins for the extinct plant Trochodendron nastae are palmate rather than being pinnate like those in the living Trochodendron aralioides?
... that the Early Cretaceous crocodilian relative Susisuchus was one of the first mesoeucrocodylians to have a segmented shield of bony osteoderms over its back, which allowed for greater flexibility while swimming?
... that the extinct griffenfly genus Bohemiatupus inhabited peat-mires?
... that the extinct rose species Stonebergia columbiana is named for its type locality of British Columbia?
... that the Miocene maple Acer latahense is most similar in appearance to the living Honshū maple?

More did you know facts

General images - load new batch

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

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

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Selected article on paleontology in human science, culture and economics

The Palanga Amber Museum, near the Baltic Sea in Palanga, Lithuania, is a branch of the Lithuanian Art Museum. It is housed in the restored 19th-century Tiškevičiai Palace and is surrounded by the Palanga Botanical Garden. The museum's collection of amber comprises about 28,000 pieces, of which about 15,000 contain inclusions of insects, spiders, or plants. About 4,500 pieces of amber are exhibited; many of these are items of artwork and jewelry.

The first floor is dedicated to displays that illustrate the formation and composition of amber. Amber in the area arose from deltaic deposits of rivers flowing from Fennoscandia in the Eocene Period, about 40 to 45 million years ago. The processes via which resin is changed into amber by microorganisms, oxidation, and polymerization are illustrated. Samples of microdrops and microicicles (i.e. "amber within amber") are among the displayed items. The museum holds Europe's third largest amber specimen, the "Sun Stone", of size 210x190x150 mm and weighing 3,526 grams, which has been stolen twice. Amber from other areas of the world is also part of the collection.(see more...)

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On this day...

September 20:

1821 - Auguste Pomel was born in Issoire, France.
1834 - Charles Darwin, during the second voyage of the HMS Beagle, fell seriously ill, possibly of Chagas disease, and spent the next month in bed.
1932 - Theodor Anton Neagu was born in Giurgiu, Romania.

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Selected image

Skull from one of the women preserved in the Tomb of Téviec. The tomb is dated to the Mesolithic between 6740 and 5680 years ago. They died a violent death, with several head injuries and impacts of arrows. The two bodies were buried with great care in a pit half in the basement rock (underlying or country rock) and half in the kitchen debris that covered them. The tomb was protected by antlers. The grave goods include flint and bone (mainly wild boar) offerings and funeral jewelry. The tomb was recovered in 1938 and restored in 2010.
Photo credit: Didier Descouens