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Paleontology

Paleontology is the study of prehistoric life and an organism's interaction with other organisms and the environment. It is a science that attempts to explain causes, rather than to conduct experiments to observe effects, and is often based on fossil evidence. Questions here have to do with anything that pertains to paleontology.

3,044 Questions

Is it impossible to date a fossil with any certainty?

Well, it depends on how much detail you want. Carbon-dating is actually very accurate to within a few thousand years. This sounds like a long time to us, but when you are talking about a fossil that is millions of years old, a few thousand years is nothing. Of course, you can't say that a fossil has been in the ground since 1:27pm, Monday 5th June, 34,050,389 BC, but considering the time scales involved, we can date fossils pretty accurately.

The lack of transitional forms of organisms in the fossil record would be?

This question makes no sense, because there are plenty of transitonal fossils.

So I'm just going to list some.

Cladoselache

tristychius

ctenacanthus

paleospinax

spathobatis

Protospinax

Acanthodians

cheirolepis

mimia

Canobius

Aeduella

Parasemionotus

Oreochima

leptolepis

Osteolepis

Eusthenopteron

Sterropterygion

tiktaalik

panderichthys

Elpistostege

Obruchevichthys

Hynerpeton

Acanthostega

Ichthyostega

Pholidogaster

Pteroplax

Dendrerpeton acadianum

Archegosaurus decheni

Eryops megacephalus

Trematops

Amphibamus lyelli

Doleserpeton annectens

vieraella

Proterogyrinus

Limnosclis

Tseajaia

Solenodonsaurus

Hylonomus

Paleothyris

Captorhinus

Petrolacosaurus

Araeoscelis

Apsisaurus

Claudiosaurus

Planocephalosaurus

Protorosaurus

Prolacerta

Proterosuchus

Hyperodapedon

Trilophosaurus

Coelophysis

Deinonychus

Oviraptor

Lisboasaurus

Archeopteryx

Sinornis

Ambiortus

Hesperornis

Ichthyornis

Paleothyris

Protoclersydrops

Clepsydrops

Archaeothyris

Varanops

Haptodus

Dimetrodon

Sphenacodon

Biarmosuchia

Procynosuchus

Dvinia

Thrinaxodon

Cynognathus

Diademodon

Proelesodon

Probainognathus

Exaeretodon

Oligokyphus

Kayentatherium

Pachygenelus

Diarthrognathus

Adelobasileus

Sinoconodon

Kuehneotherium

Eozostrodon

Morganucodon

Haldanodon

Peramus

Endotherium

Kielantherium

Aegialodon

Steropodon

Vincelestes

Pariadens

Kennalestes

Cimolestes

Procerberus

Gypsonictops

Palaechthon

Purgatorius

Cantius

Pelycodus

Amphipithecus

Pondaungia

Parapithecus

Propliopithecus

Aegyptopithecus

Proconsul

Limnopithecus

Dryopithecus

Pakicetus

Nalacetus

Ichthyolestes

Gandakasia

Ambulocetus

Himalayacetus

Attockicetus

Remingtonocetus

Dalanistes

Kutchicetus

Andrewsiphius

Indocetus

Qaisracetus

Takreacetus

Artiocetus

Babiacetus

Protocetus

Pappocetus

Eocetus

Georgiacetus

Natchitochia

Dorudon

Ancalacetus

Zygorhiza

Saghacetus

Chrysocetus

Gaviacetus

Pontogeneus

Basilosaurus

Basiloterus

Sahelanthropus tchadensis

Orrorin tugenensis

Ardipthecus ramidus

Ardipithecus kadabba

Australopithecus afarensis

Australopithecus africanus

Australopithecus anamensis

Australopithecus garhi

Australopithecus aethiopicus

Australopithecus boisei

Australopithecus robustus

Australopithecus bahreghazali

Homo habilis

Homo rudolfensis

Homo erectus

Just to name a few :)

(I might have spelled one or two incorrectly)

Astronauts were able to conduct experiments when working in this?

Astronauts were able to conduct experiments in space. The unique microgravity environment allows for studies on various topics such as biology, physics, and materials science that cannot be easily replicated on Earth. Conducting experiments in space provides valuable insights into how different processes and phenomena behave in microgravity conditions.

Why are root hair cells good at absorbing water?

They develop a cytoplasmic hair-like elongation which increases its surface area for more absorption. It also has a large number of mitochondria which provides energy needed for the active uptake of minerals.

Why is the theory about the mammals eating dinosaur eggs not as strong as the theory of the dinosaurs meteorite extinction theory?

The main reason is that many different organisms went extinct along with the dinosaurs, both on land and in the sea. In all, about 65% of all species on Earth went extinct. Furthermore, many groups of organism disappear from the fossil record very suddenly. This evidence suggests that a cataclysmic event devastated numerous ecosystems around the world.

What caused the end of the Archean Eon?

Nothing at all. Paeleontologists chose a time where significant numbers of hard-shelled animal fossils first appeared in rocks.

It was initially believed that these were evidence of the first life on earth. As such it was decided by stratigraphers that this was a sensible point in time to create a boundary between the pre-cambrian and the newly named eon (which we are still in) - the phanerozoic, which literally means "new life".

What is sporoderm?

Sporoderm is the outermost protective wall around the pollen grain or microspore.

It is made up of many layers. The two main layers are Exine and Intine. Exine is outer while Intine is inner layer of sporoderm.

How did the sandwitch get its name?

The sandwich is named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who is said to have ordered his food to be served between two slices of bread so he could eat while playing cards. This way of serving food became popular and eventually led to the creation of the sandwich.

What are three ways fossils can be preserved?

There's only one way that they can be formed over millions of years. An animal dies, it soon is compressed with heat/pressure and turns to sediment. The only other way is if you want to make a false fossil. Just use plaster.

Accualy, no. fossils can be formed by....

1. sediment piling on the substance and creating a mold

2. an orginism may be incased in ice, which counts as a fossil

3. mud, bogs, and mucky water may presurve an orginism

4. heat and pressure makes a metamorphic rock, and only sedimentary rock can weild fossils

HOPE I HELPED ^^ IF I DID CHECK OUT JEALOUSNOTAHATER ON YOUTUBE, SUBSCRIBE, RATE, AND COMMENT TOO.

I kept his answer so you could see how wrong he is lol :)

oh, they can also be incased in amber, a sticky substance that ozzes out of trees to protect them from paricites

What is the three theory of the formation of the solar system?

The three theories of the formation of the solar system are the nebular theory, the planetesimal hypothesis, and the gravitational instability theory. The nebular theory proposes that the solar system formed from a rotating disk of dust and gas, while the planetesimal hypothesis suggests that small, solid bodies collided and accreted to form planets. The gravitational instability theory proposes that clumps of material in a protoplanetary disk collapsed under their gravity to form planets.

What do intrusions and extrusions do?

Extrusive rocks are... extruded... onto the surface as the lava that we all think of. It cools fairly quickly, into rocks with fairly small crystals (might need a magnifying lens to see them). The exact chemistry of the parent magma will determine the type of rock. Oceanic volcanoes are generally basaltic (mafic or ultramafic), continental are generally granitic (felsic or intermediate). They're put down in "relatively thin" layers.

Intrusive rocks cool for thousands of years beneath the surface in huge plutons or batholyths. This allows them to grow very large crystals (easily seen by the unaided eye). These intrusive rocks are almost always granitic-type rock.

What might have caused the mass extinction at the end of the paleozoic era?

The mass extinction, known as the Permian extinction, affected both plants and animals on land and in the seas. Scientists do not know what catastrophic events caused the mass extinction, many kinds of organisms suddenly became extinct, as much as 90% of Marine species may have died out.

What is the first step to take when conducting a scientific investigation?

The first step in conducting a scientific investigation is to define the problem or research question that you want to address. This involves clearly stating the objective of the study and identifying what you want to learn or discover through your research.

Is the geological column evidence for macroevolution?

Some creationists use this argument as "evidence" against evolution.

However, the flaw in their argument is that fossils do occur, they are in order, they are separated by a large time difference, and they are transitional.

The argument is commonly called the "missing link" problem, and when Darwin first developed his ideas, it actually was. He explicitly recognised it as such, and came up with several ways it would either deny or help support his theory (such as by finding rabbits in the PreCambrian era, or by the presence of missing links, which were later found). However, in the 140 years since then, we have uncovered thousands of fossilized species, each of which is a tranistional form in the evolution of several other species.

The best example is that of our own ancestry; several species have been discovered, each getting closer and closer to human as we know it, and at the same time, further from the simple ape-like mammals we began as. All of this happened - according to the geological timeframe - over a period of several million years.

How did the continents move during each of the eras?

During the Paleozoic Era, the continents were mostly joined together as a supercontinent called Pangaea. In the Mesozoic Era, Pangaea began to break apart, leading to the formation of the modern continents. Throughout the Cenozoic Era, the continents continued to move to their current positions due to the process of plate tectonics.

Which conditions are best for fossil formation?

Probably the best condition for fossil creation/preservation would be aqueous catastrophism(ie... flood), stratum deposited in rapid succession. Quick coverage of plant or life form would/do present terrific fossils.

The answer of 'Quick freezing' is not so likely. I can't think of anywhere there would suddenly be 'flash freezing' upon our planet. Life forms would have a chance to move away from such conditions of cold and plants would die out. Although death within a cold temperature area would lend to good preservation of a life form.

"Quick Freezing"

What types of rocks are used in radiometric dating?

From a granite, a common mineral used for radiometric dating is the biotite mica component. For this mineral is among the last to form - as it forms at the lowest temperature compared to the other components of granite.

This mineral contains potassium, 40K, which may be dated by the Potassium-Argon method. By radioactive decay, a small portion of the 40K decays to Argon. (The remainder of the potassium decays to a Calcium.)

This Ar component is held in the mineral crystal, and by measuring the quantities of K and Ar, the age of the biotite is determined. [to an accuracy of about 1%.] For none of the Ar would be entrained in the previous molten state.

All the K in your body is also susceptible to this decay!

Early organisms in the Precambrian era converted what to oxygen?

Early organisms in the Precambrian era converted carbon dioxide to oxygen through photosynthesis. This process eventually led to the increase in atmospheric oxygen levels, paving the way for the evolution of more complex life forms.

What is the difference between relative-age dating and absolute-age dating?

The difference between relative dating and absolute dating is that relative dating is a method of sequencing events in the order in which they happened. Absolute dating is a method of estimating the age of a rock sample in years via radiometric techniques.
Short Answer:

The term relative dating is distinguished from absolute dating to make it clear that one does not get a specific estimate of the age of an object from relative dating, but one does get such an estimate of true age from absolute dating. There are several techniques employed in both sets of methods. Radiometric dating is one type of absolute dating.

Long Answer:

Sciences such as geology, Paleontology and archeology are very interested in identifying the age of objects found and these scientists sometimes use both relative dating or absolute dating to characterize the age of the objects they study.

Before radiometric dating (or other methods of absolute dating like counting tree rings) it was difficult to determine the actual age of an object. Radiometric dating, based on known rates of decay of radioactive isotopes in objects, allows a specific age of an object to be determined to some degree of accuracy.

Relative dating is a scientific process of evaluation used to determine the relative order of past events, but does not determine the absolute age of an object. The circumstances of the object may allow one to say that one object is older than another without being able to assign a particular age to the objects. Very often historical evidence is found in layers and older layers are further down that the top layers.

For example:

If an archaeologist is studying past civilizations, the archaeologist may be able to say that in a particular location the ruins of one civilization were found to have been built on another and so the layers unearthed in an excavation convey the sequence of historical occupations without revealing the actual dates. However, carbon dating is an absolute dating technique that can give an estimate of the actual age of an artifact and thus an estimate of the age of other objects in the same layer. Carbon dating is one example of radiometric dating.

Similarly, relative dating is done by paleontologists who find layers of fossils. By deducing which fossils are formed in the sequence of time, the periods when the particular fossilized entities existed can be arranged in order without the actual dates of when the fossils were laid down. The radiometric techniques that give absolute dating estimates are based on radioactive decay of elements such as uranium.

For geologists, it is similar. Looking at how rock formations are structured, a geologist may be able to say which rock was developed in which layer in a particular order but not be able to determine that actual geologic age of the layers. Geologists also have radiometric methods for absolute dating based on radioactive decay of certain elements.

The largest extinction the world has ever known occurred at the end of which period?

The largest extinction event known is the Permian-Triassic Extinction Event, 250 million years ago. It is nicknamed "The Great Dying" in reference to how 96% of all known marine animals and 70% of all known terrestrial vertebrates at the time went extinct due to climatic changes because of volcanic eruptions and the formation of Pangaea.

Who may Era are there?

There are various eras in history, including the Paleolithic era, Neolithic era, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Industrial Revolution, and Modern era. Each era is characterized by distinct social, cultural, and technological developments.

If earth did not rotate how would air at the equator move?

Without Earth's rotation, the air at the equator would move from high to low pressure in a straight line towards the poles. This is because air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, creating a simple north-south airflow pattern.

What does KT mass extinction mean?

The mass extinction that is believed to have eliminated larger dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Smaller dinosours survived, their descendants are today's reptiles. The mass extinction is believed to have been caused by an asteroid that collided with Earth. For more information, read the Wikipedia article on "Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event", or search for this term on your favorite search engine.

Why do shadows in the southern half of Australia point south at midday?

In the southern half of Australia, shadows point south at midday because the sun is positioned in the northern part of the sky. The angle of sunlight creates shadows that extend in the opposite direction, which is south in this case. This phenomenon occurs due to the tilt of Earth's axis, causing the sun's path to be more direct in the Southern Hemisphere.

What type of fossil is a frozen fossil?

A preserved fossil is an organism or Animal that has been PERFECTLY PRESERVED for lots of years, or however old it may be. For example, a wooly mammoth frozen in the ice for millions of years would be known as a preserved fossil.
There are 2 different types of fossil preservation- preservation with alteration and without. With alteration also has different types. The type of organism you are looking for depends on the how it was preserved.