Paleontologist Pick Up Lines? Quick Answer

Petrified what?! Stop by and check out some fun facts about fossilized feces!

When you think of fossils, you probably think of dinosaurs or other ancient bones, but did you know that feces can be fossilized? From crocodile cocoa to dino dung, join us in exploring the shitty world of coprolites with these 5 fun facts about fossilized poop!

To learn more about prehistoric poop, stomp into the Poozeum at the Orlando Science Center!

Preserved remains or traces of organisms from a bygone geological era

“Petrification” redirects here. For the term linguistics, see Fossilization (linguistics)

A fossil (from Classical Latin fossilis, literally “obtained by digging”)[1] is any preserved remnant, imprint, or vestige of a once-living thing from a bygone geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, animal or microbial stone imprints, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood, oil, charcoal, and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is referred to as the fossil record.

Paleontology is the study of fossils: their age, how they were formed, and their evolutionary importance. Specimens are usually considered fossils if they are over 10,000 years old.[2] The oldest fossils are about 3.48 billion years old[3][4][5] to 4.1 billion years old.[6][7] The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological time scale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the absolute age of rocks and the fossils they contain.

There are many processes that lead to fossilization, including permineralization, casting and molding, authentic mineralization, replacement and recrystallization, impression, carbonization, and bioimmuration.

Fossils range in size from micron (1 µm) bacteria[8] to dinosaurs and trees many meters long and weighing many tons. A fossil usually preserves only part of the deceased organism, usually the part that became partially mineralized during life, such as the bones and teeth of vertebrates or the chitinous or calcareous exoskeletons of invertebrates. Fossils can also consist of traces left by the organism during its lifetime, such as animal tracks or feces (coprolites). These types of fossils are referred to as trace fossils or ichnofossils, as opposed to body fossils. Some fossils are biochemical and are called chemofossils or biosignatures.

fossilization processes

The process of fossilization varies depending on tissue type and external conditions.

permineralization

Permineralization is a process of fossilization that occurs when an organism is buried. The empty spaces within an organism (spaces filled with liquid or gas during life) fill with mineral-rich groundwater. Minerals fall out of the groundwater and occupy the empty spaces. This process can take place in a very small space, for example within the cell wall of a plant cell. Small-scale permineralization can produce very detailed fossils.[9] For permineralization to occur, the organism must be covered by sediment shortly after death, otherwise the remains will be destroyed by scavengers or decomposition. The degree of decomposition of the remains when covered determines the later details of the fossil. Some fossils consist only of skeletal remains or teeth; other fossils contain traces of skin, feathers, or even soft tissue. This is a form of diagenesis.

casts and moulds

In some cases, the original remains of the organism completely disintegrate or are otherwise destroyed. The remaining hole in the shape of an organism in the rock is called the outer shape. If you later fill this cavity with sediment, the resulting cast resembles what the organism looked like. An endocast, or internal mold, is the result of sediment filling the interior of an organism, such as B. the interior of a shell or snail or the cavity of a skull. Endocasts are sometimes referred to as stony cores, particularly when mussels are preserved in this way.[13]

Authentic mineralization

This is a special form of casting and molding. If the chemistry is right, the organism (or a fragment of an organism) can act as a nucleus for the precipitation of minerals such as siderite, causing a nodule to form around it. If this is done quickly before significant organic tissue degradation occurs, very fine three-dimensional morphological detail can be preserved. Nodules from the fossil strata of the Carboniferous Mazon Creek in Illinois, USA, are among the best documented examples of such mineralization.

exchange and recrystallization

Silicified (replaced by silica) fossils from the Road Canyon Formation (Middle Texas Permian)

Recrystallized scleracterite coral (aragonite to calcite) from the Jurassic of southern Israel

Replacement occurs when the shell, bone, or other tissue is replaced with another mineral. In some cases, mineral replacement of the original shell is so gradual and on such fine scales that microstructural features are preserved despite the complete loss of the original material. A shell is said to be recrystallized when the original skeletal connections are still present but in a different crystal form, e.g. B. from aragonite to calcite.

Adpression (compression impression)

Compression fossils, like those of fossil ferns, are the result of a chemical reduction of the complex organic molecules that make up the organism’s tissues. In this case, the fossil consists of original material, but in a geochemically altered state. This chemical change is an expression of diagenesis. What remains is often a carbonaceous film known as phytoleum, in which case the fossil is called compression. However, the phytoleum is often lost and all that remains is an imprint of the organism in the rock – an imprint fossil. In many cases, however, compression and impressions occur together. For example, when the rock is fractured, the phyto-glue is often attached to one part (compression), while the counterpart is just an imprint. For this reason, one term encompasses the two types of preservation: Adpression.[16]

Soft tissue, cell and molecular preservation

Because of their age, the discovery of soft tissues in dinosaur fossils, including blood vessels, and the isolation of proteins and evidence of DNA fragments was an unexpected exception to the alteration of an organism’s tissues through chemical reduction of the complex organic molecules during fossilization.[17][ 18][19][20] In 2014, Mary Schweitzer and her colleagues reported the presence of iron particles (goethite-aFeO(OH)) associated with soft tissue recovered from dinosaur fossils. Based on various experiments examining the interaction of iron in hemoglobin with blood vessel tissue, they proposed that solution hypoxia associated with iron chelation improves soft tissue stability and preservation and provides the basis for an explanation for the unanticipated preservation of fossil soft tissues.[21] However, a slightly older study based on eight taxa from the Devonian to Jurassic found that reasonably well-preserved fibrils, probably representing collagen, were preserved in all of these fossils, and that the quality of preservation depends mainly on the arrangement of the collagen fibers , with close packing favoring good conservation.[22] Within this period, there appeared to be no correlation between geological age and preservation quality.

carbonization and charring

Charred, or charred, fossils are made up of organic remains that have been reduced primarily to the chemical element carbon. Carbonized fossils consist of a thin film that forms a silhouette of the original organism, and the original organic remains were typically soft tissue. Charred fossils are mostly charcoal, and the original organic remains were typically woody in composition.

Carbonized fossil of a possible leech from the Silurian Waukesha biota of Wisconsin.

Partially charred axis (branch) of a Devonian lycopod from Wisconsin.

bioimmuration

Catellocaula vallata) in this Upper Ordovician bryozoan represent a soft-bodied organism that has been preserved in the bryozoan skeleton by bioimmuration.[23] The stellate holes () in this Upper Ordovician bryozoan represent a soft-bodied organism that has been preserved in the bryozoan skeleton by bioimmuration.

Bioimmuration occurs when a skeletal organism overgrows or otherwise subsumes another organism, leaving the latter or an imprint of it within the skeleton.[24] Usually it is a sessile skeletal organism like a bryozoan or an oyster that grows along a substrate and covers other sessile sclerobionts. Sometimes the bio-embedded organism has a soft body and is then preserved as a negative relief as a kind of external form. There are also cases where an organism settles on top of a living skeletal organism, which grows upward and sustains the settler in its skeleton. Bioimmuration is known in the fossil record from the Ordovician[25] to modern times[24].

types

Examples of index fossils

index

Index fossils (also known as index fossils, indicator fossils, or zone fossils) are fossils used to define and identify geological periods (or faunal stages). They hypothesize that although sediments can appear different depending on the depositional conditions, they may contain remains of the same type of fossil. The shorter the species’ time span, the more accurately different sediments can be correlated, making the fossils of rapidly evolving species particularly valuable. The best index fossils are common, easily identifiable at the species level, and widespread—otherwise, there is little chance of finding and recognizing either sediment.

Pursue

Trace fossils consist primarily of tracks and burrows, but also include coprolites (fossil droppings) and tracks left by feeding. Trace fossils are of particular importance as they provide a data source not limited to animals with easily fossilized hard parts and they reflect animal behavior. Many traces predate the body fossils of animals believed to have been able to produce them.[28] For example, while accurate attribution of trace fossils to their producers is generally impossible, traces may provide the earliest physical evidence for the appearance of moderately complex animals (comparable to earthworms).[27]

Coprolites are classified as trace fossils, as opposed to body fossils, because they provide evidence of the animal’s behavior (diet in this case) rather than morphology. They were first described by William Buckland in 1829. Before that they were known as “fossil pine cones” and “bezoar stones”. They serve a valuable purpose in paleontology as they provide direct evidence of the predation and feeding of extinct organisms.[29] Coprolites can range in size from a few millimeters to over 60 centimeters.

Cambrian trace fossils including Rusophycus made from a trilobite

A carnivorous dinosaur coprolite found in southwest Saskatchewan

Densely packed, subaerial or nearshore lanes (Climactichnites wilsoni) produced by a putative snail-like mollusc on a Cambrian tidal flat

crossing

A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits characteristics common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group.[30] This is particularly important if the descendant group differs greatly from the ancestral group in terms of gross anatomy and lifestyle. Because of the incompleteness of the fossil record, there is usually no way to know exactly how close a transitional fossil is to the point of divergence. These fossils are a reminder that taxonomic divisions are human constructs imposed on a continuum of variation after the fact.

microfossils

Microfossils about 1 mm

Microfossil is a descriptive term applied to fossilized plants and animals whose size is just at or below the level at which the fossil can be analyzed with the naked eye. A commonly used cut-off between “micro” and “macro” fossils is 1mm. Microfossils can be either complete (or nearly complete) organisms in their own right (like the marine plankter foraminifera and coccolithophores) or parts (like small teeth or spores) of larger animals or plants. Microfossils are crucial as reservoirs of paleoclimate information and are also commonly used by biostratigraphers to help correlate rock units.

resin

Leptofoenus pittfieldae, captured in The wasp, captured in Dominican amber, 20 to 16 million years ago. It is only known from this specimen.

Fossil resin (colloquially called amber) is a natural polymer found in many types of strata around the world, even in the Arctic. The oldest fossil resin is from the Triassic, but most are from the Cenozoic. The secretion of the resin by certain plants is believed to be an evolutionary adaptation to protect against insects and seal wounds. Fossil resin often contains other fossils, called inclusions, that have been trapped by the sticky resin. This includes bacteria, fungi, other plants and animals. Animal inclusions are mostly small invertebrates, predominantly arthropods such as insects and spiders, and only extremely rarely a vertebrate such as a small lizard. The preservation of inclusions can be exquisite, including small fragments of DNA.

Derived or revised

remanié fossil. Eroded Jurassic plesiosaur vortex center found in the Lower Cretaceous Faringdon sponge gravels at Faringdon, England. An example of afossil.

A derived, revised, or remanié fossil is a fossil found in rock that accumulated significantly later than the fossilized animal or plant died.[31] Reworked fossils are formed by erosion that exhumes (frees) fossils from the rock formation in which they were originally deposited and redeposits them in a younger sedimentary deposit.

wood

Stoned wood . The inner structure of the tree and the bark is preserved during permineralization. Polished section of petrified wood with annual rings

Fossil wood is wood that is preserved in the fossil record. Wood is usually the part of a plant that is best preserved (and easiest to find). Fossil wood may or may not be petrified. The fossil wood is possibly the only part of the plant that has survived:[32] Hence such wood may be given a special botanical name. This usually includes “xylon” and a term indicating its presumed relationship, such as araucarioxylon (wood of Araucaria or a related genus), palmoxylon (wood of an indefinite palm tree), or castanoxylon (wood of an indefinite chinkapin).

subfossil

The term subfossil can be used to refer to remains such as bones, nests, or feces that have not completed the fossilization process, either because the length of time since the animal in question lived is too short (less than 10,000 years) or because the conditions, under which the remains were buried were not optimal for petrification. Subfossils are often found in caves or other shelters where they can be preserved for thousands of years.[34] The main importance of subfossil vs. fossil remains is that the former contain organic material that can be used for radiocarbon dating or the extraction and sequencing of DNA, protein or other biomolecules. In addition, isotopic ratios can provide a lot of information about the ecological conditions in which extinct animals lived. Subfossils are useful for studying the evolutionary history of an environment and can be important for studies in paleoclimatology.

Subfossils are commonly found in depositional environments such as lake sediments, oceanic sediments, and soils. Once deposited, physical and chemical weathering can alter the state of preservation.

Chemical Fossils

Chemical fossils, or chemofossils, are chemicals found in rocks and fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, and natural gas) that represent an organic signature for ancient life. Molecular fossils and isotope ratios represent two types of chemical fossils.[35] The oldest traces of life on Earth are fossils of this type, including carbon isotope anomalies found in zircons, which indicate the existence of life as early as 4.1 billion years ago.[6][7]

Dating

Paleontology seeks to understand how life evolved over geological time. A major hurdle is the difficulty of determining fossil ages. Beds that preserve fossils usually lack the radioactive elements needed for radiometric dating. This technique is our only means of giving rocks older than about 50 million years an absolute age, and can be accurate to 0.5% or better.[36] Although radiometric dating requires careful laboratory work, its basic principle is simple: the rates at which various radioactive elements decay are known, and therefore the ratio of the radioactive element to its decay products shows how long the radioactive element has been incorporated into the rock. Radioactive elements are found only in rocks of volcanic origin, and so the only fossil-bearing rocks that can be radiometrically dated are layers of volcanic ash, which may provide closures to the intervening sediments.[36]

stratigraphy

Consequently, paleontologists rely on stratigraphy to date fossils. Stratigraphy is the science of deciphering the “layer cake” that is the sedimentary record.[37] Rocks usually form relatively horizontal layers, with each layer younger than the one below. When a fossil is found between two strata of known age, the fossil is said to be between the two known ages.[38] Because rock sequences are not contiguous, but can be interrupted by faulting or periods of erosion, it is very difficult to bring rock strata that are not directly adjacent together. However, fossils of species that have survived relatively short periods of time can be used to level isolated rocks: this technique is called biostratigraphy. For example, the middle Ordovician conodont Eoplacognathus pseudoplanus has a short range.[39] When rocks of unknown age show traces of E. pseudoplanus, they are of Middle Ordovician age. Such index fossils must be distinctive, globally distributed, and occupy a short period of time to be useful. Misleading results are produced when the index fossils are misdated.[40] Stratigraphy and biostratigraphy can generally only provide relative datings (A was before B), which is often sufficient for studying evolution. However, this is difficult for some time periods due to problems in finding rocks of the same age across continents.[40] Family tree relationships also help narrow down the date when lineages first appeared. For example, if fossils of B or C date X million years ago and the calculated “family tree” says A was an ancestor of B and C, then A must have evolved earlier.

It is also possible to estimate how long it has been since two living clades separated from each other, in other words approximately how long their last common ancestor must have lived, by assuming that DNA mutations accumulate at a constant rate . However, these “molecular clocks” are fallible and only provide approximate dates: for example, they are not accurate enough and not reliable enough to estimate when the groups that first appeared in the Cambrian explosion[41] and estimates created by different techniques can vary by a factor of two.[42]

limitations

Some of the most notable gaps in the fossil record (as of October 2013) show a bias toward hard-parted organisms.

Organisms are rarely preserved as fossils in the best of circumstances, and only a fraction of such fossils have been discovered. This is illustrated by the fact that the number of species known through fossils is less than 5% of the number of known living species, suggesting that the number of species known through fossils must be far less than 1% of all species that have ever lived have.[43] Because of the special and rare circumstances required for the fossilization of a biological structure, only a small percentage of life forms can be expected to be represented in discoveries, and each discovery represents only a snapshot of the evolutionary process. The transition itself can only be through Transitional fossils illustrated and confirmed that will never show an exact half-time.[44]

The fossil record is heavily biased toward hard-parted organisms, leaving little to no role for most groups of soft-bodied organisms.[43] It is teeming with mollusks, vertebrates, echinoderms, brachiopods, and some groups of arthropods.[45]

sites

deposits

Fossil sites with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissue—are referred to as Lagerstätten—German for “storage sites”. These formations can result from burial of carcasses in an anoxic environment with minimal bacteria, slowing decomposition. Deposits span the geological time from the Cambrian to the present. Some of the world’s finest examples of near-perfect fossilization are the Cambrian Maotianshan Shales and Burgess Shales, the Devonian Hunsrück Shales, the Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone, and the Carboniferous Mazon Creek sites.

stromatolites

Lower Proterozoic stromatolites from Bolivia, South America

Stromatolites are layered accretion structures formed in shallow water by the entrapment, binding, and cementing of sediment grains by biofilms of microorganisms, particularly cyanobacteria.[46] Stromatolites provide some of the oldest fossil records of life on Earth, dating back more than 3.5 billion years.[47]

Stromatolites were much more common in Precambrian times. While older Archean fossil remains are believed to be colonies of cyanobacteria, younger (i.e., Proterozoic) fossils may be ancestors of eukaryotic chlorophytes (i.e., green algae). A genus of stromatolites that is very common in the geological record is Collenia. The earliest confirmed stromatolite of microbial origin dates back to 2.724 billion years ago.[48]

A 2009 discovery provides strong evidence for microbial stromatolites stretching back to 3.45 billion years ago.[49][50]

Stromatolites are a major component of the fossil record from the first 3.5 billion years of life, peaking about 1.25 billion years ago.[49] Subsequently, their frequency and diversity decreased,[51] having fallen to 20% of their peak at the beginning of the Cambrian. The most common explanation is that stromatolite builders fell prey to grazing creatures (the Cambrian Substrate Revolution), implying that sufficiently complex organisms were common over 1 billion years ago.[52][53][54]

The link between Grazer and stromatolite abundance is well documented in the younger Ordovician evolutionary radiation; The abundance of stromatolites also increased after the end-Ordovician and end-Permian marine animal extinctions were decimated, and fell to earlier levels as marine animals recovered. Fluctuations in metazoan population and diversity may not have been the only factor in reducing stromatolite abundance. Factors such as environmental chemistry may have been responsible for changes.[56]

While prokaryotic cyanobacteria themselves reproduce asexually through cell division, they have been instrumental in preparing the environment for the evolutionary development of more complex eukaryotic organisms. Cyanobacteria (as well as extremophile gamma-proteobacteria) are presumably largely responsible for increasing the oxygen content in the primeval earth’s atmosphere through their continuous photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria use water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to make their food. A layer of slime often forms over mats of cyanobacterial cells. In modern microbial mats, debris from the surrounding habitat can become trapped in the slime, which can be cemented by the calcium carbonate to grow thin layers of limestone. These laminations can accumulate over time, resulting in the banded pattern common to stromatolites. The domal morphology of biological stromatolites is the result of the vertical growth required for the continued penetration of sunlight into the organisms for photosynthesis. Layered spherical growth structures called oncolites resemble stromatolites and are also known from the fossil record. Thrombolites are poorly laminated or non-laminated coagulated structures formed by cyanobacteria common in the fossil record and modern sediments.[48]

The Zebra River Canyon area of ​​the Kubis Platform in the deeply dissected Zaris Mountains of southwestern Namibia offers an extremely well exposed example of the thrombolite-stromatolite-metazoan reefs that developed during the Proterozoic, with the stromatolites here under certain conditions better developed at updip sites of higher current velocities and larger sediment inflow.[57]

astrobiology

It has been suggested that biominerals could be important indicators of extraterrestrial life and thus play an important role in the search for past or present life on the planet Mars. In addition, organic components (biosignatures), which are commonly associated with biominerals, are believed to play critical roles in both prebiotic and biotic reactions.[58]

On January 24, 2014, NASA reported that current studies by the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers on Mars will now search for evidence of ancient life, including a biosphere based on autotrophic, chemotrophic, and/or chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms, and ancient waters, including Fluvio, based – lake environments (plains related to ancient rivers or lakes) that may have been habitable. [59] [60] [61] [62] Finding evidence of habitability, taphonomy (related to fossils), and organic carbon on the planet Mars is now a primary goal of NASA.[59][60]

pseudofossils

An example of a pseudofossil: manganese dendrites on a limestone layer from Solnhofen, Germany; scale in mm

Pseudofossils are visual patterns in rocks formed by geological rather than biological processes. They can easily be mistaken for real fossils. Some pseudofossils, such as B. geological dendrite crystals are formed by naturally occurring cracks in the rock, which are filled by seeping minerals. Other types of pseudofossils include kidney ore (round shapes found in iron ore) and moss agate, which looks like moss or plant leaves. Concretions, spherical or ovoid nodules found in some layers of sediment, were once believed to be dinosaur eggs and are also often confused with fossils.

History of Fossil Science

Fossil collecting dates back to at least the beginning of recorded history. The fossils themselves are referred to as the fossil record. The fossil record was one of the early sources of data underlying the study of evolution and remains relevant to the history of life on Earth. Paleontologists study the fossil record to understand the evolutionary process and how certain species evolved.

Ancient Civilizations

Fossils have been visible and widespread throughout most of natural history, and so documented human interaction with them dates back to recorded history or earlier.

Es gibt viele Beispiele paläolithischer Steinmesser in Europa, mit fossilen Stachelhäutern, die genau am Handgriff angebracht sind, und die bis zum Homo heidelbergensis und Neandertaler zurückreichen.[63] Diese alten Völker bohrten auch Löcher durch die Mitte dieser runden fossilen Muscheln und benutzten sie anscheinend als Perlen für Halsketten.

Die alten Ägypter sammelten Fossilien von Arten, die den Knochen moderner Arten ähnelten, die sie verehrten. Der Gott Set wurde mit dem Nilpferd in Verbindung gebracht, daher wurden versteinerte Knochen nilpferdähnlicher Arten in den Tempeln dieser Gottheit aufbewahrt.[64] Fünfstrahlige fossile Seeigelschalen wurden mit der Gottheit Sopdu, dem Morgenstern, in Verbindung gebracht, der in der römischen Mythologie der Venus entspricht.[63]

Ceratopsian-Schädel sind im Bergpass Dzungarian Gate in Asien weit verbreitet, einem Gebiet, das einst für Goldminen und seine endlos kalten Winde berühmt war. Dies wurde Legenden von Greifen und dem Land Hyperborea zugeschrieben.

Fossilien scheinen direkt zur Mythologie vieler Zivilisationen beigetragen zu haben, einschließlich der alten Griechen. Der klassische griechische Historiker Herodot schrieb über ein Gebiet in der Nähe von Hyperborea, wo Greifen goldene Schätze beschützten. Es gab tatsächlich Goldabbau in dieser ungefähren Region, in der Protoceratops-Schädel mit Schnabel als Fossilien weit verbreitet waren.

Ein späterer griechischer Gelehrter, Aristoteles, erkannte schließlich, dass fossile Muscheln aus Felsen denen am Strand ähneln, was darauf hindeutet, dass es sich bei den Fossilien um einst lebende Tiere handelte. Zuvor hatte er sie mit dampfenden Ausatmungen erklärt,[65] die der persische Universalgelehrte Avicenna in die Theorie der versteinernden Flüssigkeiten (succus lapidificatus) umwandelte. Die Anerkennung fossiler Muscheln als aus dem Meer stammend wurde im 14. Jahrhundert von Albert von Sachsen aufgebaut und bis zum 16. Jahrhundert von den meisten Naturforschern in irgendeiner Form akzeptiert.[66]

Der römische Naturforscher Plinius der Ältere schrieb von „Zungensteinen“, die er Glossopetra nannte. Dies waren fossile Haifischzähne, von denen einige klassische Kulturen dachten, sie sähen aus wie die Zungen von Menschen oder Schlangen.[67] Er schrieb auch über die Hörner von Ammon, die fossile Ammoniten sind, von denen die Gruppe der geschälten Oktopus-Vettern letztendlich ihren modernen Namen bezieht. Plinius macht auch einen der früher bekannten Hinweise auf Krötensteine, die bis zum 18. Jahrhundert als magisches Heilmittel gegen Gift galten, das aus Krötenköpfen stammt, aber fossile Zähne von Lepidotes sind, einem Rochenflossenfisch aus der Kreidezeit.[68]

Es wird angenommen, dass die Plains-Stämme Nordamerikas ähnliche Fossilien, wie die vielen intakten Flugsaurierfossilien, die in der Region auf natürliche Weise freigelegt wurden, mit ihrer eigenen Mythologie des Donnervogels haben.

Aus dem prähistorischen Afrika ist keine solche direkte mythologische Verbindung bekannt, aber es gibt beträchtliche Beweise dafür, dass Stämme dort Fossilien ausgegraben und zu zeremoniellen Stätten gebracht haben, wobei sie sie anscheinend mit einer gewissen Ehrfurcht behandelten.[70]

In Japan wurden fossile Haifischzähne mit dem mythischen Tengu in Verbindung gebracht, von dem angenommen wurde, dass es sich um die rasiermesserscharfen Klauen der Kreatur handelt, die einige Zeit nach dem 8. Jahrhundert n. Chr. Dokumentiert wurden.[67]

Im mittelalterlichen China wurden die fossilen Knochen alter Säugetiere, einschließlich des Homo erectus, oft mit „Drachenknochen“ verwechselt und als Medizin und Aphrodisiaka verwendet. Darüber hinaus werden einige dieser fossilen Knochen von Gelehrten als „Kunst“ gesammelt, die Schriften auf verschiedenen Artefakten hinterlassen haben, die den Zeitpunkt angeben, zu dem sie einer Sammlung hinzugefügt wurden. Ein gutes Beispiel ist der berühmte Gelehrte Huang Tingjian aus der Song-Dynastie im 11. Jahrhundert, der ein bestimmtes Muschelfossil mit seinem eigenen eingravierten Gedicht aufbewahrte.[71] In seinen 1088 veröffentlichten Dream Pool Essays stellte der chinesische Gelehrte Shen Kuo aus der Song-Dynastie die Hypothese auf, dass Meeresfossilien, die in einer geologischen Bergschicht Hunderte von Kilometern vom Pazifik entfernt gefunden wurden, ein Beweis dafür sind, dass dort einst eine prähistorische Küste existiert hatte und sich über Jahrhunderte verschoben hatte der Zeit.[72][73] Seine Beobachtung von versteinerten Bambussen in der trockenen nördlichen Klimazone des heutigen Yan’an, Provinz Shaanxi, China, führte ihn dazu, frühe Ideen eines allmählichen Klimawandels voranzutreiben, da Bambus in feuchteren Klimazonen natürlich wächst. [75]

In medieval Christendom, fossilized sea creatures on mountainsides were seen as proof of the biblical deluge of Noah’s Ark. After observing the existence of seashells in mountains, the ancient Greek philosopher Xenophanes (c. 570 – 478 BC) speculated that the world was once inundated in a great flood that buried living creatures in drying mud.[76][77]

In 1027, the Persian Avicenna explained fossils’ stoniness in The Book of Healing:

If what is said concerning the petrifaction of animals and plants is true, the cause of this (phenomenon) is a powerful mineralizing and petrifying virtue which arises in certain stony spots, or emanates suddenly from the earth during earthquake and subsidences, and petrifies whatever comes into contact with it. As a matter of fact, the petrifaction of the bodies of plants and animals is not more extraordinary than the transformation of waters.[78]

From the 13th century to the present day, scholars pointed out that the fossil skulls of Deinotherium giganteum, found in Crete and Greece, might have been interpreted as being the skulls of the Cyclopes of Greek mythology, and are possibly the origin of that Greek myth.[79][80] Their skulls appear to have a single eye-hole in the front, just like their modern elephant cousins, though in fact it’s actually the opening for their trunk.

Fossil shells from the cretaceous era sea urchin, Micraster , were used in medieval times as both shepherd’s crowns to protect houses, and as painted fairy loaves by bakers to bring luck to their bread-making.

In Norse mythology, echinoderm shells (the round five-part button left over from a sea urchin) were associated with the god Thor, not only being incorporated in thunderstones, representations of Thor’s hammer and subsequent hammer-shaped crosses as Christianity was adopted, but also kept in houses to garner Thor’s protection.[63]

These grew into the shepherd’s crowns of English folklore, used for decoration and as good luck charms, placed by the doorway of homes and churches.[81] In Suffolk, a different species was used as a good-luck charm by bakers, who referred to them as fairy loaves, associating them with the similarly shaped loaves of bread they baked.[82][83]

Early modern explanations

More scientific views of fossils emerged during the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci concurred with Aristotle’s view that fossils were the remains of ancient life.[84] For example, Leonardo noticed discrepancies with the biblical flood narrative as an explanation for fossil origins:

If the Deluge had carried the shells for distances of three and four hundred miles from the sea it would have carried them mixed with various other natural objects all heaped up together; but even at such distances from the sea we see the oysters all together and also the shellfish and the cuttlefish and all the other shells which congregate together, found all together dead; and the solitary shells are found apart from one another as we see them every day on the sea-shores.

And we find oysters together in very large families, among which some may be seen with their shells still joined together, indicating that they were left there by the sea and that they were still living when the strait of Gibraltar was cut through. In the mountains of Parma and Piacenza multitudes of shells and corals with holes may be seen still sticking to the rocks….[85]

Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus from the 1834 Czech edition of Discours sur les revolutions de la surface du globe andfrom the 1834 Czech edition of Cuvier ‘s

In 1666, Nicholas Steno examined a shark, and made the association of its teeth with the “tongue stones” of ancient Greco-Roman mythology, concluding that those were not in fact the tongues of venomous snakes, but the teeth of some long-extinct species of shark.[67]

Robert Hooke (1635-1703) included micrographs of fossils in his Micrographia and was among the first to observe fossil forams. His observations on fossils, which he stated to be the petrified remains of creatures some of which no longer existed, were published posthumously in 1705.[86]

William Smith (1769–1839), an English canal engineer, observed that rocks of different ages (based on the law of superposition) preserved different assemblages of fossils, and that these assemblages succeeded one another in a regular and determinable order. He observed that rocks from distant locations could be correlated based on the fossils they contained. He termed this the principle of faunal succession. This principle became one of Darwin’s chief pieces of evidence that biological evolution was real.

Georges Cuvier came to believe that most if not all the animal fossils he examined were remains of extinct species. This led Cuvier to become an active proponent of the geological school of thought called catastrophism. Near the end of his 1796 paper on living and fossil elephants he said:

All of these facts, consistent among themselves, and not opposed by any report, seem to me to prove the existence of a world previous to ours, destroyed by some kind of catastrophe.[87]

Interest in fossils, and geology more generally, expanded during the early nineteenth century. In Britain, Mary Anning’s discoveries of fossils, including the first complete ichthyosaur and a complete plesiosaurus skeleton, sparked both public and scholarly interest.[88]

Linnaeus and Darwin

Early naturalists well understood the similarities and differences of living species leading Linnaeus to develop a hierarchical classification system still in use today. Darwin and his contemporaries first linked the hierarchical structure of the tree of life with the then very sparse fossil record. Darwin eloquently described a process of descent with modification, or evolution, whereby organisms either adapt to natural and changing environmental pressures, or they perish.

When Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, the oldest animal fossils were those from the Cambrian Period, now known to be about 540 million years old. He worried about the absence of older fossils because of the implications on the validity of his theories, but he expressed hope that such fossils would be found, noting that: “only a small portion of the world is known with accuracy.” Darwin also pondered the sudden appearance of many groups (i.e. phyla) in the oldest known Cambrian fossiliferous strata.[89]

After Darwin

Since Darwin’s time, the fossil record has been extended to between 2.3 and 3.5 billion years.[90] Most of these Precambrian fossils are microscopic bacteria or microfossils. However, macroscopic fossils are now known from the late Proterozoic. The Ediacara biota (also called Vendian biota) dating from 575 million years ago collectively constitutes a richly diverse assembly of early multicellular eukaryotes.

The fossil record and faunal succession form the basis of the science of biostratigraphy or determining the age of rocks based on embedded fossils. For the first 150 years of geology, biostratigraphy and superposition were the only means for determining the relative age of rocks. The geologic time scale was developed based on the relative ages of rock strata as determined by the early paleontologists and stratigraphers.

Since the early years of the twentieth century, absolute dating methods, such as radiometric dating (including potassium/argon, argon/argon, uranium series, and, for very recent fossils, radiocarbon dating) have been used to verify the relative ages obtained by fossils and to provide absolute ages for many fossils. Radiometric dating has shown that the earliest known stromatolites are over 3.4 billion years old.

Modern era

The fossil record is life’s evolutionary epic that unfolded over four billion years as environmental conditions and genetic potential interacted in accordance with natural selection. The Virtual Fossil Museum[91]

Paleontology has joined with evolutionary biology to share the interdisciplinary task of outlining the tree of life, which inevitably leads backwards in time to Precambrian microscopic life when cell structure and functions evolved. Earth’s deep time in the Proterozoic and deeper still in the Archean is only “recounted by microscopic fossils and subtle chemical signals.”[92] Molecular biologists, using phylogenetics, can compare protein amino acid or nucleotide sequence homology (i.e., similarity) to evaluate taxonomy and evolutionary distances among organisms, with limited statistical confidence. The study of fossils, on the other hand, can more specifically pinpoint when and in what organism a mutation first appeared. Phylogenetics and paleontology work together in the clarification of science’s still dim view of the appearance of life and its evolution.[93]

Phacopid trilobite Eldredgeops rana crassituberculata. The genus is named after . The genus is named after Niles Eldredge

Niles Eldredge’s study of the Phacops trilobite genus supported the hypothesis that modifications to the arrangement of the trilobite’s eye lenses proceeded by fits and starts over millions of years during the Devonian.[94] Eldredge’s interpretation of the Phacops fossil record was that the aftermaths of the lens changes, but not the rapidly occurring evolutionary process, were fossilized. This and other data led Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge to publish their seminal paper on punctuated equilibrium in 1971.

Synchrotron X-ray tomographic analysis of early Cambrian bilaterian embryonic microfossils yielded new insights of metazoan evolution at its earliest stages. The tomography technique provides previously unattainable three-dimensional resolution at the limits of fossilization. Fossils of two enigmatic bilaterians, the worm-like Markuelia and a putative, primitive protostome, Pseudooides, provide a peek at germ layer embryonic development. These 543-million-year-old embryos support the emergence of some aspects of arthropod development earlier than previously thought in the late Proterozoic. The preserved embryos from China and Siberia underwent rapid diagenetic phosphatization resulting in exquisite preservation, including cell structures.[jargon] This research is a notable example of how knowledge encoded by the fossil record continues to contribute otherwise unattainable information on the emergence and development of life on Earth. For example, the research suggests Markuelia has closest affinity to priapulid worms, and is adjacent to the evolutionary branching of Priapulida, Nematoda and Arthropoda.[95][jargon]

Despite significant advances in uncovering and identifying paleontological specimens, it is generally accepted that the fossil record is vastly incomplete.[97] Approaches for measuring the completeness of the fossil record have been developed for numerous subsets of species, including those grouped taxonomically,[98][99] temporally,[100] environmentally/geographically,[101] or in sum.[102][103] This encompasses the subfield of taphonomy and the study of biases in the paleontological record.[104][105][106]

art

According to one hypothesis, a Corinthian vase from the 6th century B.C. C. is the oldest artistic record of a vertebrate fossil, perhaps a Miocene giraffe combined with elements from other species.[107][108] However, a subsequent study using artificial intelligence and expert evaluations reject this idea, because mammals do not have the eye bones shown in the painted monster. Morphologically, the vase painting correspond to a carnivorous reptile of the Varanidae family that still lives in regions occupied by the ancient Greek.[109]

Trading and collecting

Fossil trading is the practice of buying and selling fossils. This is many times done illegally with artifacts stolen from research sites, costing many important scientific specimens each year.[110] The problem is quite pronounced in China, where many specimens have been stolen.[111]

Fossil collecting (sometimes, in a non-scientific sense, fossil hunting) is the collection of fossils for scientific study, hobby, or profit. Fossil collecting, as practiced by amateurs, is the predecessor of modern paleontology and many still collect fossils and study fossils as amateurs. Professionals and amateurs alike collect fossils for their scientific value.

As medicine

The use of fossils to address health issues is rooted in traditional medicine and include the use of fossils as talismans. The specific fossil to use to alleviate or cure an illness is often based on its resemblance to the symptoms or affected organ. The usefulness of fossils as medicine is almost entirely a placebo effect, though fossil material might conceivably have some antacid activity or supply some essential minerals.[112] The use of dinosaur bones as “dragon bones” has persisted in Traditional Chinese medicine into modern times, with mid-Cretaceous dinosaur bones being used for the purpose in Ruyang County during the early 21st century.[113]

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A paleontologist’s job varies depending on the scope of the research or discoveries and may involve working closely with archeology teams.

Paleontologists study the fossilized remains of all kinds of organisms—plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and other single-celled creatures—to understand the history of organic life on Earth.

What does a paleontologist do?

Paleontologists study the relationship between extinct plants and animals and their living relatives. They study fossils and use them to piece together pieces of history that made up the earth and life on it.

Fossils are defined as any trace of a past life form, and most fossils are thousands to millions or billions of years old. In trying to understand past extinction events, paleontologists hope to apply their scientific conclusions to extinctions in the modern world as the environment and global climate change.

There are several areas of study within paleontology that aspiring paleontologists can choose from:

Biostratigraphy – The study of the vertical distribution of fossils in rocks

– The study of the vertical distribution of fossils in rocks Invertebrate paleontology – The study of fossils of spineless animals

– The study of fossils of animals without spines. Paleobotany – The study of plant fossils

– The study of plant fossils Micropalaeontology – The study of fossils of unicellular organisms

– The study of fossils of unicellular organisms Vertebrate paleontology – The study of fossils of animals with backbones

– The study of fossils of animals with backbones Paleoecology – The study of ancient ecosystems and how they evolved

– The study of ancient ecosystems and how they evolved. taphonomy. – The study of how fossils are formed and preserved

Typical things a paleontologist does:

Determines the location of fossils

Excavate layers of sedimentary rock to find fossils

Collects information about the fossils (age, location, etc.)

Uses special excavation tools (chisels, drills, pickaxes, shovels, brushes)

Evaluates all discoveries using specialized computer programs

Compares new data with existing data

Analyzes findings in the laboratory

Identifies the period of fossils found

Shares results with colleagues from other scientific disciplines

Note the differences between paleontologists, archaeologists, and anthropologists:

Stephen Brusatte is a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences. He provided expert advice on Walking With Dinosaurs 3D, which is now available on DVD.

Always wanted to be a dinosaur expert?

It wasn’t at all what I wanted to do. I wasn’t very interested in science as a kid and it wasn’t until I was about 14 or 15 and entering high school in the US that I got interested in it. I was more interested in sports, history and travel. I hated science classes. When I was a little older, my younger brother went through the dinosaur phase. His room was like a dinosaur museum and he had posters all over the wall and hundreds of books and toys. I had to help him with a science fair project and when I started reading more about some of the recent discoveries I was just blown away. Within months I knew this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life and I’ve been on this journey ever since.

Paleontology sounds exciting. You’re the guys being chased by a T-Rex in Jurassic Park, right?

I don’t think the few caricatures of paleontologists that are portrayed in movies and TV shows are entirely accurate. We’re mostly normal people. We’re not super geniuses on the one hand, or losers like Ross from Friends on the other. We study fossils to try to understand how the world used to be. That’s always the goal. The job is really varied and the great thing is that every day is different. We travel a lot which is great and I spend a few months out in the field every year trying to find new dinosaurs. You never know what a new fossil might tell you.

That’s the big focus, but it’s certainly not the only one. The perception is that we’re out in the desert like Indiana Jones all year long, digging things up and fighting Nazis. Some people spend more time out there than others, but most of the year I teach at Edinburgh University and run my own courses. I also travel to museums to see fossils. That’s a big part of the job. We then spend a lot of time in our laboratories, conducting experiments, analyzing fossils, writing descriptions of fossils, and writing for scientific publications. This is really what the job entails and is very different from what is portrayed. It is a great combination of travel, field work, teaching and communicating with the public. I love it because it’s so varied.

Have movies like Jurassic Park and Walking with Dinosaurs done the profession a favor?

Jurassic Park was huge for the field. It was probably one of the most important things that ever happened to paleontology. It came out 20 years ago and since then there has been a huge surge in public interest in dinosaurs. This also increased the funds for our work. Many museums hired paleontologists because they wanted a dinosaur expert. Of course that has subsided and there aren’t that many jobs anymore. It is very competitive and there are many students interested in the subject.

When you climb the ladder in grad school, people drop out when they realize it’s difficult and you have to go to school for a long time and get a lot of degrees. There is also no guarantee of a job at the end because there are no real practical or industrial applications for paleontology. That’s the flip side of that.

How do you become a paleontologist? What is the ideal career path?

I work at the University of Edinburgh, teaching and researching. All the things normal academics do. To get such a job, you need a PhD. This is a requirement. Without them, there is no way to get an academic job. It took me about 10 years of university to get there. That’s the minimum you need when applying for a job, so it’s a bit tedious. All of my degrees were geology or earth science, but many other paleontologists have degrees in biology or anatomy.

I was hooked into reality when I was young, but a lot of the students I teach just don’t realize at first how long it takes to get all those degrees. That’s one of the big hurdles they have to overcome. But if you really enjoy travelling, exploring new territories, finding new things, teaching people and continuing to push the boundaries of knowledge about the ancient world, then this is a totally fulfilling career path. Getting up every day is fun because there is always the opportunity to learn something new about the world that you or no one else knew the day before.

What did you learn from working on the film Walking with Dinosaurs?

It’s been fun to do, and while it’s not necessarily a normal part of the job, we do consult and communicate with the public about science quite a bit. Working with the Walking with Dinosaurs team was a great opportunity for me to speak about science in front of a large audience. It’s a truly unique time to be showing a major blockbuster movie about dinosaurs around the world. We’ve learned so incredibly much about dinosaurs over the last few decades, and the ones portrayed in this film are so different from the ones we saw in Jurassic Park. They are by far the most realistic ever portrayed. It is a great trojan horse for teaching science to kids.

Walking with Dinosaurs The Movie is available now on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and Digital HD.

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Famous Paleontologists: If you’ve ever been fascinated by the massive skeletal remains of dinosaurs or the unearthed early human tools on display in museums, you probably should thank the paleontologists.

Paleontologists study the fossils (biological remains) of organisms that lived in the past.

The information gleaned from these fossils is useful because it provides the link between time and the place where an organism once lived.

In the past few centuries, the field of paleontology had flourished due to the discoveries made by various scientists. To pay tribute, below are just a few of the amazing few scientists who made the field of paleontology flourish as it is today. These famous paleontologists are not listed in any particular order.

15 famous paleontologists

William Buckland (1784-1856) William Buckland was interested in the field of paleontology from an early age. His contributions in this area included the following: William Buckland’s Key Contributions to Paleontology He wrote the first complete account of a dinosaur fossil.

He later named the giant reptilian organism Megalosaurus (later called the dinosaur).

He pioneered the use of fossil feces (called coprolites) in reconstructing notions of primitive ecosystems. William Buckland discovered his interest in the field of paleontology at an early age. His contributions in this area included the following: Further Reading: Strange Science

Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) Stephen Gould, himself a professor at Harvard University, rose to fame in the field of paleontology in the 20th century. Stephen Jay Gould’s Key Contributions to Paleontology Perhaps his greatest contribution was the main promoter of the theory of evolutionary change.

His theory, better known as punctuated equilibrium, suggested that changes in the fossil record are not the result of a slow and steady process, but are rather caused by sporadic changes. Stephen Gould, himself a professor at Harvard University, rose to fame in the field of paleontology in the 20th century. Further reading: Stephen Jay Gould & NYTimes articles on his life.

John Ostrom (1928-2005) If you’re very intrigued by the discovery of dinosaurs, you should give this scientist credit as well. John Ostrom’s Key Contributions to Paleontology In 1969, John Ostrom discovered the remains of an organism he named Deinonychus, meaning “terrible claw.” As the name suggests, the human-sized animal is characterized by sharp claws and gripping hands.

Years later, it was found out that this animal is a hundred and ten million year old dinosaur. If you are very intrigued by the discovery of dinosaurs, you should also give credit to this scientist. Further Reading: National Geographic (Scroll down to Dinosaurs) and Berkeley Journal.

Alan Walker (1938-) Alan Walker is another great paleontologist who reportedly became interested in paleontology at the age of 11 by examining fossils near his home. Alan Walker’s Key Contributions to Paleontology He studied the very earliest stages of human evolution, particularly at the different epochs (Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene) on the geological time scale.

Basically, he mainly focused on dates and fossils from East Africa. As a result, he was able to infer ancient behaviors exhibited by the organisms’ biological remains.

In addition, Walker discovered hundreds of fossils, including the skeleton of a young Homo erectus and a skull of an Australopithecus. Alan Walker is another great paleontologist who reportedly became interested in paleontology at the age of 11 by examining fossils near his home. Further reading: The monkey in the trees.

Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935) Osborn served as President of the American Museum of National History for 25 years and oversaw the expansion of the museum’s research programs and facilities. Henry Osborn’s Key Contributions to Paleontology In the early 20th century, Osborn rose to fame after leading various fossil-hunting expeditions and training new vertebrate paleontologists in the western United States.

Osborn also described and named several dinosaur species such as Ornitholestes, Tyrannosaurs rex, Pentaceratops and Velociraptor.

Osborn also conducted several studies of the T.rex brain by dissecting the fossils with a diamond chainsaw. Osborn was President of the American Museum of National History for 25 years and had directed the expansion of the museum’s research programs and facilities. Further reading: The Osborn problem.

James Hall (1811-1898) Considered by many to be the “father of modern geology,” James Hall is best known for his work on the geosyncline principle in mountain building. James Hall’s key contributions to paleontology It was in this geosyncline principle that he discovered the main reason a basin sinks – due to the gradual accumulation of sediments forcing it to sink slowly.

Aside from that, Hall also founded the famous New York Natural and History Museum. James Hall, considered by many to be the “father of modern geology,” is best known for his work on the geosyncline principle in mountain engineering. Further Reading: James Hall Legacy.

Benjamin Franklin Mudge (1817-1879) B.F.Mudge is well known as a collector of fossils. In fact, he was one of the very first paleontologists to document detailed information about every fossil found. Benjamin Franklin Mudge’s Key Contributions to Paleontology One of his greatest contributions to the field was his discovery of the ichthyomis, the first “bird with teeth”.

In 1878 he founded the Kansas Academy of Science (formerly the Kansas Natural History Society) with John Parker. B.F.Mudge is known as a fossil collector. In fact, he was one of the very first paleontologists to document detailed information about every fossil found. Further Reading: Archives of the Robinson Library.

Of all the people who said they wanted to be paleontologists, how many actually made it happen? Probably very few. Some people develop other interests or find a career that they feel better suits them, but among the “would-be” paleontologists there are some who just didn’t know how to start making progress toward that goal.

When I was preparing for college, I had a dream of becoming a paleontologist. However, because I lived in New Jersey, my parents and my college advisor assured me that there were no paleontology programs at the nearby universities. If I wanted to learn about dinosaurs I had to go west and I couldn’t afford that.

Much to my frustration, I later learned that there were paleontology programs within my reach. If only I had known about them sooner! I imagine I’m not the only one who’s been frustrated in this way, but what can aspiring paleontologists do to get on the right track?

Luckily, some professional paleontologists have shared their advice on their personal blogs. Late last year, paleontologist Jeffrey Martz published a series of papers entitled “Advice for Aspiring Researchers in Vertebrate Paleontology.” The contributions dealt with the topics “Do you really want to be a researcher?” “Find your area of ​​expertise”, “Look carefully, don’t be afraid to reinvent the wheel, find your future projects”, “Find your community” and “You are not writing to yourself”. really put professional paleontology in perspective and are required reading for anyone considering a career as a vertebrate paleontologist.

If you’re already in college (or about to start classes), note that not all relevant courses are explicitly labeled “paleontology”. Many courses in physical anthropology departments, such as on the structure of the human skeleton, can be invaluable to aspiring paleontologists. Make sure you look through a college’s course catalog to see what’s on offer and, if you don’t see a major you like, speak to an advisor to see if you can create your own major. I didn’t know this was possible when I first entered college, but I really wish I had!

However, perhaps some of you are like me in that you are currently unable to go back to school or pursue an academic career. That doesn’t mean you have to break away from the paleontological community. One of the best ways to educate yourself in your free time is to keep up with new research, and paleontologists Andy Farke and Dave Hone have shared tips on good ways to get papers. Technical papers may be difficult at first, but reading them is one of the best ways to learn about paleontology.

However, as with many other academic professions, there are more paleontologists than jobs. Even if you can complete your training and do a doctorate. in paleontology it could (and probably will) be very difficult to find permanent employment. That’s why you can’t just want to be a paleontologist; one must really feel the need to be a paleontologist. It’s the kind of career that comes with many challenges that can only be overcome by those who are genuinely passionate about it.

Even if you can’t make paleontology a career, there are other ways to get involved. Go to conferences, keep up with magazines, and ask if there are volunteer opportunities at your local museums. If you give yourself enough time to educate yourself, you might even be able to publish articles. Not everyone can be a professional paleontologist, but there are many ways to get involved in this field.

Famous Paleontologists: If you’ve ever been fascinated by the massive skeletal remains of dinosaurs or the unearthed early human tools on display in museums, you probably should thank the paleontologists.

Paleontologists study the fossils (biological remains) of organisms that lived in the past.

The information gleaned from these fossils is useful because it provides the link between time and the place where an organism once lived.

In the past few centuries, the field of paleontology had flourished due to the discoveries made by various scientists. To pay tribute, below are just a few of the amazing few scientists who made the field of paleontology flourish as it is today. These famous paleontologists are not listed in any particular order.

15 famous paleontologists

William Buckland (1784-1856) William Buckland was interested in the field of paleontology from an early age. His contributions in this area included the following: William Buckland’s Key Contributions to Paleontology He wrote the first complete account of a dinosaur fossil.

He later named the giant reptilian organism Megalosaurus (later called the dinosaur).

He pioneered the use of fossil feces (called coprolites) in reconstructing notions of primitive ecosystems. William Buckland discovered his interest in the field of paleontology at an early age. His contributions in this area included the following: Further Reading: Strange Science

Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) Stephen Gould, himself a professor at Harvard University, rose to fame in the field of paleontology in the 20th century. Stephen Jay Gould’s Key Contributions to Paleontology Perhaps his greatest contribution was the main promoter of the theory of evolutionary change.

His theory, better known as punctuated equilibrium, suggested that changes in the fossil record are not the result of a slow and steady process, but are rather caused by sporadic changes. Stephen Gould, himself a professor at Harvard University, rose to fame in the field of paleontology in the 20th century. Further reading: Stephen Jay Gould & NYTimes articles on his life.

John Ostrom (1928-2005) If you’re very intrigued by the discovery of dinosaurs, you should give this scientist credit as well. John Ostrom’s Key Contributions to Paleontology In 1969, John Ostrom discovered the remains of an organism he named Deinonychus, meaning “terrible claw.” As the name suggests, the human-sized animal is characterized by sharp claws and gripping hands.

Years later, it was found out that this animal is a hundred and ten million year old dinosaur. If you are very intrigued by the discovery of dinosaurs, you should also give credit to this scientist. Further Reading: National Geographic (Scroll down to Dinosaurs) and Berkeley Journal.

Alan Walker (1938-) Alan Walker is another great paleontologist who reportedly became interested in paleontology at the age of 11 by examining fossils near his home. Alan Walker’s Key Contributions to Paleontology He studied the very earliest stages of human evolution, particularly at the different epochs (Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene) on the geological time scale.

Basically, he mainly focused on dates and fossils from East Africa. As a result, he was able to infer ancient behaviors exhibited by the organisms’ biological remains.

In addition, Walker discovered hundreds of fossils, including the skeleton of a young Homo erectus and a skull of an Australopithecus. Alan Walker is another great paleontologist who reportedly became interested in paleontology at the age of 11 by examining fossils near his home. Further reading: The monkey in the trees.

Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935) Osborn served as President of the American Museum of National History for 25 years and oversaw the expansion of the museum’s research programs and facilities. Henry Osborn’s Key Contributions to Paleontology In the early 20th century, Osborn rose to fame after leading various fossil-hunting expeditions and training new vertebrate paleontologists in the western United States.

Osborn also described and named several dinosaur species such as Ornitholestes, Tyrannosaurs rex, Pentaceratops and Velociraptor.

Osborn also conducted several studies of the T.rex brain by dissecting the fossils with a diamond chainsaw. Osborn was President of the American Museum of National History for 25 years and had directed the expansion of the museum’s research programs and facilities. Further reading: The Osborn problem.

James Hall (1811-1898) Considered by many to be the “father of modern geology,” James Hall is best known for his work on the geosyncline principle in mountain building. James Hall’s key contributions to paleontology It was in this geosyncline principle that he discovered the main reason a basin sinks – due to the gradual accumulation of sediments forcing it to sink slowly.

Aside from that, Hall also founded the famous New York Natural and History Museum. James Hall, considered by many to be the “father of modern geology,” is best known for his work on the geosyncline principle in mountain engineering. Further Reading: James Hall Legacy.

Benjamin Franklin Mudge (1817-1879) B.F.Mudge is well known as a collector of fossils. In fact, he was one of the very first paleontologists to document detailed information about every fossil found. Benjamin Franklin Mudge’s Key Contributions to Paleontology One of his greatest contributions to the field was his discovery of the ichthyomis, the first “bird with teeth”.

In 1878 he founded the Kansas Academy of Science (formerly the Kansas Natural History Society) with John Parker. B.F.Mudge is known as a fossil collector. In fact, he was one of the very first paleontologists to document detailed information about every fossil found. Further Reading: Archives of the Robinson Library.

Stephen Brusatte is a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences. He provided expert advice on Walking With Dinosaurs 3D, which is now available on DVD.

Always wanted to be a dinosaur expert?

It wasn’t at all what I wanted to do. I wasn’t very interested in science as a kid and it wasn’t until I was about 14 or 15 and entering high school in the US that I got interested in it. I was more interested in sports, history and travel. I hated science classes. When I was a little older, my younger brother went through the dinosaur phase. His room was like a dinosaur museum and he had posters all over the wall and hundreds of books and toys. I had to help him with a science fair project and when I started reading more about some of the recent discoveries I was just blown away. Within months I knew this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life and I’ve been on this journey ever since.

Paleontology sounds exciting. You’re the guys being chased by a T-Rex in Jurassic Park, right?

I don’t think the few caricatures of paleontologists that are portrayed in movies and TV shows are entirely accurate. We’re mostly normal people. We’re not super geniuses on the one hand, or losers like Ross from Friends on the other. We study fossils to try to understand how the world used to be. That’s always the goal. The job is really varied and the great thing is that every day is different. We travel a lot which is great and I spend a few months out in the field every year trying to find new dinosaurs. You never know what a new fossil might tell you.

That’s the big focus, but it’s certainly not the only one. The perception is that we’re out in the desert like Indiana Jones all year long, digging things up and fighting Nazis. Some people spend more time out there than others, but most of the year I teach at Edinburgh University and run my own courses. I also travel to museums to see fossils. That’s a big part of the job. We then spend a lot of time in our laboratories, conducting experiments, analyzing fossils, writing descriptions of fossils, and writing for scientific publications. This is really what the job entails and is very different from what is portrayed. It is a great combination of travel, field work, teaching and communicating with the public. I love it because it’s so varied.

Have movies like Jurassic Park and Walking with Dinosaurs done the profession a favor?

Jurassic Park was huge for the field. It was probably one of the most important things that ever happened to paleontology. It came out 20 years ago and since then there has been a huge surge in public interest in dinosaurs. This also increased the funds for our work. Many museums hired paleontologists because they wanted a dinosaur expert. Of course that has subsided and there aren’t that many jobs anymore. It is very competitive and there are many students interested in the subject.

When you climb the ladder in grad school, people drop out when they realize it’s difficult and you have to go to school for a long time and get a lot of degrees. There is also no guarantee of a job at the end because there are no real practical or industrial applications for paleontology. That’s the flip side of that.

How do you become a paleontologist? What is the ideal career path?

I work at the University of Edinburgh, teaching and researching. All the things normal academics do. To get such a job, you need a PhD. This is a requirement. Without them, there is no way to get an academic job. It took me about 10 years of university to get there. That’s the minimum you need when applying for a job, so it’s a bit tedious. All of my degrees were geology or earth science, but many other paleontologists have degrees in biology or anatomy.

I was hooked into reality when I was young, but a lot of the students I teach just don’t realize at first how long it takes to get all those degrees. That’s one of the big hurdles they have to overcome. But if you really enjoy travelling, exploring new territories, finding new things, teaching people and continuing to push the boundaries of knowledge about the ancient world, then this is a totally fulfilling career path. Getting up every day is fun because there is always the opportunity to learn something new about the world that you or no one else knew the day before.

What did you learn from working on the film Walking with Dinosaurs?

It’s been fun to do, and while it’s not necessarily a normal part of the job, we do consult and communicate with the public about science quite a bit. Working with the Walking with Dinosaurs team was a great opportunity for me to speak about science in front of a large audience. It’s a truly unique time to be showing a major blockbuster movie about dinosaurs around the world. We’ve learned so incredibly much about dinosaurs over the last few decades, and the ones portrayed in this film are so different from the ones we saw in Jurassic Park. They are by far the most realistic ever portrayed. It is a great trojan horse for teaching science to kids.

Walking with Dinosaurs The Movie is available now on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and Digital HD.

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You could graduate in:

botany

earth sciences

geology

paleontology

zoology

Some employers, such as museums or oil and gas companies, may require a postgraduate qualification such as MGeol, MBiol, or MSci.

Other employers, such as universities or research institutes, expect you to have or are working towards a PhD in your field.

entry requirements

Usually you need:

5 GCSEs in Grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) or equivalent, including English, Maths and Science

2 or 3 A levels or equivalent, including a science, for a degree

a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

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