Paleontology

From EvoWiki

Paleontology is the science concerned with the study of fossils. These can be fossils of the bodies of organisms or other fossils, such as tracks or feces.

Paleontology can be divided into many subdisciplines, including:

• Invertebrate paleontology
• Vertebrate paleontology
• Paleornithology
• Paleoecology
• Paleobotany
• Ichnology (Study of tracks, burrows etc)
• Taphonomy (Study of processes occuring to organisms after their death)

The discipline overlaps with biology (particularly zoology and botany) and geology.

[edit] Paleontology and Evolution

Fossils were first identified as ancient, and sometimes extinct lifeforms in the ninteenth century. The "fossil record", studied by paleontologists, shows much of the history of life on earth as it contains the ancestors of modern species. The fossil record also shows us patterns in the earth's history, such as extinction events and migrations.

See also: List of paleontologists, List of paleontology topics.