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The discipline that studies the formation of fossil sites is the part of paleontology called taphonomy. [ 1 ] The term paleontological site is somewhat ambiguous and its use is more practical than scientific, so it can refer to localities in which several fossiliferous layers of different ages appear, whose study must be faced by clearly ...
Paleontology (/ ˌ p eɪ l i ɒ n ˈ t ɒ l ə dʒ i, ˌ p æ l i-,-ən-/ PAY-lee-on-TOL-ə-jee, PAL-ee-, -ən-), also spelled palaeontology [a] or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present).
Taphonomy is the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized or preserved in the paleontological record. The term taphonomy (from Greek táphos, τάφος 'burial' and nomos, νόμος 'law') was introduced to paleontology in 1940 [1] by Soviet scientist Ivan Efremov to describe the study of the transition of remains, parts, or products of organisms from the biosphere to the lithosphere.
A similar step forward depicts a dragon-like animal meant to represent the pterosaur Dimorphodon flying over a coastline by George Howman; this 1829 watercolor painting was a fanciful piece that, albeit being not particularly scientific, was another very early attempt at restoring a fossil animal in a suitable habitat. [50]
This fossil dates between 5.3 and 14 million years ago to the Miocene epoch of the Neogene period. It was discovered in the Linxia Basin of Gansu Province, China and measures 20 × 9 × 6 cm in size. Photo credit: Didier Descouens
Relative dating by biostratigraphy is the preferred method in paleontology and is, in some respects, more accurate. [1] The Law of Superposition, which states that older layers will be deeper in a site than more recent layers, was the summary outcome of 'relative dating' as observed in geology from the 17th century to the early 20th century.
Conservation paleobiology is a field of paleontology that applies the knowledge of the geological and paleoecological record to the conservation and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services. [1]
Paleontology portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Palaeontology , a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of palaeontology -related topics and create a standardized, informative, comprehensive and easy-to-use resource on Wikipedia.