Paleontology is the study of ancient life. It includes organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments. Since it is a “historical science,” researchers explain causes instead of conducting experiments. This science has been around since the 18th century.
Paleontologists study mainly fossils to learn the history of the earth and evolution of mammals. They can sometimes work together with archeologists, who primarily study objects made by humans and human remains, since they study the evolution of humans as organisms.
Due to an increase in knowledge, paleontology has been broken down into several subdivisions, all studying the fossils of different organisms. There are also different kinds of fossils that paleontologists study, like trace fossils and body fossils.
Questions (:
What is stratigraphy and how does it relate to paleontology?
Name and briefly describe two subdivisions of paleontology.
What is mass extinction, when was the last mass extinction, and what became extinct after it?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As for your first question, stratigraphy is where geologists study layers of rock. These lsyers help paleontologists determine how old an artifact they are studying is.
ReplyDeleteAs for your second question, vertibrate paleontology and invertibrate paleontology are two subdivisions of the paleontology field. Vertibrate paleontology deals with the fossils of vertibrates, such as fish, mammals, and dinosours.
The answer to question 3 is a well-known event. The last major exintion in Earth's history was roughly 65 million years ago, when the dinosours went extinct. During this extinction event, 75% of species on Earth went extinct, and is commonly thought to have been caused by a meteorite impact on Earth. It is known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, and it paved the way for advanced mammals to develop.
1. Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, is the study of rock layers and stratification. This study relates to paleontology because of paleontologic stratigraphy which deals with fossils among rock layers.
ReplyDelete2.Among the many subdivsions of paleontology, two are paleozoology(ancient animals)and paleobotany(ancient plants).
3.Mass extinction is a sharp decrease in the number of species in a short period of time.The last mass extinction was the Cretaceous-Tertiary event roughly 65 million years ago and after it 85% of all species disappeared.
1) Stratigraphy is branch of geology, which studies rock layers and layering, or stratification. It is used mainly in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rock. Paleontology is used with stratigraphy to date the rock layers that researchers find, using the layers as clues.
ReplyDelete2) Two subdivisions of paleontology are paleoncology, which is the study of the ecology and climate of the past, as revealed by both fossils and other methods.
Another is micropaleontology, which is the study of generally microscopic fossils, regardless of the group they belong too.
3)Mass extinction is a large decrease in a number of species in a short time. The last mass extinction was about 65 million years ago during the cretaceous-tertiary period. The dinosaurs became extinct after this mass extinction.