The Palaeontology Portal
IntroductionPaleontology (/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...) Selected article on the prehistoric world and its legaciesAll species of Psittacosaurus were gazelle-sized bipedal herbivores characterized by a high, powerful beak on the upper jaw. At least one species had long, quill-like structures on its tail and lower back, possibly serving a display function. Psittacosaurs were extremely early ceratopsians and, while they developed many novel adaptations of their own, they also shared many anatomical features with later ceratopsians, such as Protoceratops and the elephant-sized Triceratops. Psittacosaurus is not as familiar to the general public as its distant relative Triceratops but it is one of the most completely known dinosaur genera. Fossils of over 150 individuals have been collected so far, including many near-complete skeletons. Most different age classes are represented, from nestling through to adult, which has allowed several detailed studies of Psittacosaurus growth rates and reproductive biology. The abundance of this dinosaur in the fossil record has led to its use as an index fossil for Early Cretaceous sediments of central Asia. (see more...) Did you know?
General images -The following are images from various paleontology-related articles on Wikipedia.
Selected article on paleontology in human science, culture and economicsThe first half of the 19th century saw paleontological activity become increasingly well organized. This contributed to a rapid increase in knowledge about the history of life on Earth, and progress towards definition of the geologic time scale. As knowledge of life's history continued to improve, it became increasingly obvious that there had been some kind of successive order to the development of life. After Charles Darwin published Origin of Species in 1859, much of the focus of paleontology shifted to understanding evolutionary paths. The last half of the 19th century saw a tremendous expansion in paleontological activity, especially in North America. The trend continued in the 20th century with additional regions of the Earth being opened to systematic fossil collection, as demonstrated by a series of important discoveries in China near the end of the 20th century. There was also a renewed interest in the Cambrian explosion that saw the development of the body plans of most animal phyla. (see more...) On this day...
Evidence for Avian Intrathoracic Air Sacs in a New Predatory Dinosaur from Argentina Paul C. Sereno, Ricardo N. Martinez, Jeffrey A. Wilson, David J. Varricchio, Oscar A. Alcober, Hans C. E. Larsson published 30 Sep 2008 Common Avian Infection Plagued the Tyrant Dinosaurs Ewan D. S. Wolff, Steven W. Salisbury, John R. Horner, David J. Varricchio published 30 Sep 2009 Cartilaginous Epiphyses in Extant Archosaurs and Their Implications for Reconstructing Limb Function in Dinosaurs Casey M. Holliday, Ryan C. Ridgely, Jayc C. Sedlmayr, Lawrence M. Witmer published 30 Sep 2010 Selected image
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TopicsGeneral - Paleontology - Fossil - Evolution - Extinction Quality ContentFeatured paleontology articles
- Achelousaurus
- Acrocanthosaurus
- Albertosaurus
- Allosaurus
- Amargasaurus
- Ankylosaurus
- Apatosaurus
- Archaeopteryx
- Baryonyx
- Carnotaurus
- Catopsbaatar
- Ceratosaurus
- Chicxulub Crater
- Compsognathus
- Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event
- Daspletosaurus
- Deinocheirus
- Deinonychus
- Deinosuchus
- Dilophosaurus
- Dinosaur
- Diplodocus
- Dromaeosauroides
- Edmontosaurus
- Elasmosaurus
- Giganotosaurus
- Gorgosaurus
- Herrerasaurus
- Iguanodon
- Istiodactylus
- Lambeosaurus
- List of dinosaur genera
- Majungasaurus
- Massospondylus
- Megalodon
- Nemegtomaia
- Nigersaurus
- Opisthocoelicaudia
- Paranthodon
- Parasaurolophus
- Plateosaurus
- Psittacosaurus
- Seorsumuscardinus
- Spinosaurus
- Stegosaurus
- Stegoceras
- Styracosaurus
- Tarbosaurus
- Thescelosaurus
- Triceratops
- Tyrannosaurus
- Velociraptor
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