From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Palaeontology or paleontology is the study of fossils of living things, and their phylogeny (evolutionary relationships).[1] It depends on basic sciences such as zoology, botany and historical geology. The term palaeobiology implies that the study will include the palaeoecology of the groups in question.
A fossil is any kind of life that is more than ten thousand years old and preserved in any form that we can study today.[2] The fossil record is always incomplete, and later discoveries may extend the known survival of a group. See Lazarus taxon.
Some palaeontologists study fossils of microorganisms, living things that are too small to see without a microscope, while other palaeontologists study fossils of giant dinosaurs.
Vertebrate palaeontology: the palaeontology of vertebrate animals
Invertebrate palaeontology: the palaeontology of invertebrate animals