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...) Selected article on the prehistoric world and its legacies
Thescelosaurus (meaning 'wondrous lizard') was a genus of small ornithopod dinosaur that appeared at the very end of the Late Cretaceous period in North America and was a member of the last dinosaurian fauna before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event around 65.5 million years ago. The preservation and completeness of many of its specimens indicate that it may have preferred to live near stream channels.
This bipedal ornithopod is known from several partial skeletons and skulls that indicate it grew to between 2.5 and 4.0 meters (8.2 to 13.1 feet) in length on average. It had sturdy hind limbs, small wide hands, a head with an elongate pointed snout, and possibly small armor scutes along the midline of the back. This genus of dinosaur is regarded as a specialized hypsilophodont and a herbivore. Several species have been suggested for this genus, but only one, T. neglectus, is currently recognized; the others have been given their own genera, or are believed to be the same as T. neglectus. The genus attracted media attention in 2000, when a specimen unearthed in 1993 in South Dakota was interpreted as including a fossilized heart. There was much discussion over whether the remains were actually of a heart. Many scientists now doubt the identification of the object and the implications of such an identification. (see more...) Did you know?![]()
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General images -The following are images from various paleontology-related articles on Wikipedia.
Selected article on paleontology in human science, culture and economics
Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction adventure monster film. It is the third installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and a sequel to the 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park. It is the series' first film that was not directed by Steven Spielberg nor based on a book by Michael Crichton (though numerous scenes in the film were ultimately taken from Crichton's novels Jurassic Park and The Lost World). The film takes place on Isla Sorna, off Central America's Pacific coast, the island featured in the second film, where a divorced couple has tricked Dr. Alan Grant into going in order to help them find their son.
After the success of Spielberg's Jurassic Park, Joe Johnston expressed interest in directing a sequel, a film adaptation of The Lost World. Spielberg instead gave Johnston permission to direct the third film in the series, if there were to be one. Production of Jurassic Park III began on August 30, 2000. Upon its release, the film received mixed reviews, with many praising the visual effects and action scenes but finding the plot clichéd and unoriginal. Despite being less well-received than the previous films, Jurassic Park III was a box office success, grossing $368 million worldwide. (see more...) On this day...
Terrestrial Origin of Viviparity in Mesozoic Marine Reptiles Indicated by Early Triassic Embryonic Fossils Ryosuke Motani, Da-yong Jiang, Andrea Tintori, Olivier Rieppel, Guan-bao Chen published 12 Feb 2014
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CategoriesTopicsGeneral - 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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