Portal:Paleontology

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Portal:Paleontology - Wikipedia

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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

Pteranodon (/tɪˈrænədɒn/; from Greek πτερόν ("wing") and ἀνόδων ("toothless")) is a genus of pterosaurs which included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with wingspans over 6 metres (20 ft). It existed during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota. More fossil specimens of Pteranodon have been found than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well preserved with nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons. It was an important part of the animal community in the Western Interior Seaway.

Pteranodon was not a dinosaur. By definition, all dinosaurs belong to the groups Saurischia and Ornithischia, which exclude pterosaurs. Nevertheless, Pteranodon is frequently featured in dinosaur books and is strongly associated with dinosaurs by the general public. (see more...)

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Did you know?

... that the extinct ant Anochetus lucidus is named for its shiny exoskeleton?
... that the recently described extinct penguin Inkayacu from the Eocene of Peru is postulated to have had gray and reddish brown feathers, unlike the black and white feathers of living penguins?
... that Ocepeia (pictured), a 60-million-year-old afrotherian mammal, is named after a Moroccan mining company?
...that although related to modern filter feeding baleen whales, the recently discovered prehistoric whale Janjucetus had large serrated teeth implying that it fed on large fish or even sharks?
... that seeds of the extinct tree Eucommia montana are found from British Columbia to Colorado?

... that paleontologists have discovered the fossilized eggs of cephalopods, fishes, and reptiles, with some dinosaur eggs (pictured) being preserved with pathological shell deformities?
... that Electrinocellia peculiaris is named for the Latin "electrum" meaning amber, "Inocellia", the type genus for Inocelliidae, and "peculiaris" for the enigmatic nature of the species?
... that Adolf Carl Noé challenged disbelief in the possibility of North American coal balls (example pictured) by presenting a wheelbarrow full of them?
... that the extinct New Zealand Musk Duck was becoming more sedentary than its closest relative, the Australian Musk Duck?
... that the Cretaceous Malagasy mammal Lavanify is most closely related to a species from India?

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

Image 1Johann Jakob Scheuchzer tried to explain fossils using Biblical floods in his Herbarium of the Deluge (1709). (from History of paleontology)
Image 2Philippe-Charles Schmerling (from List of paleontologists)
Image 3Stephan Endlicher (from List of paleontologists)
Image 4Illustration of the fossil jaw of the Stonesfield mammal from Gideon Mantell's 1848 Wonders of Geology (from History of paleontology)
Image 5First 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 6A drawing comparing jaws was added in 1799 when Cuvier's 1796 presentation on living and fossil elephants was published. (from History of paleontology)
Image 7A complete Anomalocaris fossil from the Burgess shale (from History of paleontology)
Image 8Geologic time scale from an 1861 book by Richard Owen shows the appearance of major animal types. (from History of paleontology)
Image 9Elmer Riggs and H.W. Menke in Field Columbian Museum's paleontology lab, 1899 (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 Spriggina fossil from the Ediacaran (from History of paleontology)
Image 13Fossil of the Taung child discovered in South Africa in 1924 (from History of paleontology)
Image 14Duria 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 15Illustration from Steno's 1667 paper shows a shark head and its teeth along with a fossil tooth for comparison. (from History of paleontology)
Image 16Illustration from William Smith's Strata by Organized Fossils (1817) (from History of paleontology)
Image 17Diagram by O.C. Marsh of the evolution of horse feet and teeth, reproduced in T. H. Huxley's 1876 book, Professor Huxley in America (from History of paleontology)

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Selected article on paleontology in human science, culture and economics

Cope (left) and Marsh (right).

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

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

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On this day...

December 18:

1832 - The HMS Beagle, carrying Charles Darwin on its second voyage, arrived at Tierra del Fuego. His encounters with the native Yaghan people would inflence his later views of human evolution.
1868 - Henry Woods was born in Cottenham, England.
1892 - Richard Owen died in London, England at age 88.
1903 - Robert Etheridge died in London, England.

Vertebral Pneumaticity in the Ornithomimosaur Archaeornithomimus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) Revealed by Computed Tomography Imaging and Reappraisal of Axial Pneumaticity in Ornithomimosauria

Akinobu Watanabe, Maria Eugenia Leone Gold, Stephen L. Brusatte, Roger B. J. Benson, Jonah Choiniere, Amy Davidson, Mark A. Norell

published 18 Dec 2015

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A mounted skeleton of a Late Cretaceous mosasaurid species belonging to the genus Plioplatecarpus, probably P. ictericus. In life the animal would have been about 5.5 m in length. The mounted skeleton is actually a composite of two individuals collected from the Niobrara Formation, of Kansas, USA and is exhibited in the Museum für Naturkunde in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Photo credit: H. Zell