Paleontology is not just about dinosaurs, but is the study of life from past geological ages based on the examination of fossil remains. A fossil is any trace of life from prehistoric eras. Though most animals or plants live and die without leaving any sort of record, once in a while conditions exist for their remains to become fossilized. It’s the paleontologist’s task to find those fossils and decipher them.
Fossils are usually formed when an animal’s skeleton or plant is covered with layers of sediment and so they’re most like to be found in sedimentary rocks. Fossils are rarely found in igneous rocks that flow as lava out of volcanos. They’re also rarely found in metamorphic rocks, which have been changed and transformed by eons of heat and pressure. Fossils are also rare in rocks made of boulders or pebbles, since the bones are pulverized.
Knowing this, paleontologist find lots of fossils in fine grained sandstones that were laid down between 440 and 345 million years ago, especially in Old Red Sandstone found in the northeastern part of North America and northwest Europe, as well as limestones, dolomites and chalk, which is made of fossilized shells of plankton. Peat and coal are made up of the remains of dead terrestrial plants.
The best places for paleontologists to find fossils are places are where these rocks are exposed and that’s usually in deserts, mountains, hills and cliffs. Paleontologists may know that these rocks are most likely to have fossils but finding fossils themselves is a hit and miss thing, so they narrow their searches to certain types of fossils, like land vertebrates that lived in France during the Late Cretaceous period. Paleontologists consult geological maps to find out where fossil bearing rock can be found. Even if they believe that they might find something in a certain area, the time and money it costs to launch an expedition is only worth it if good enough fossils have already been found at the spot.
When the paleontologists are finally at the site, they can then begin to look for fossils. This involves long hours of slogging through blasting sun, heat and dust and coming back with nothing at the end of the day. Then, after a long time of fruitless searching, a bit of bone might be uncovered.
After this meager piece of evidence has been discovered, the overlying rock has to be removed to expose the fossilized skeleton. The bones then have to be prepared for transport by wrapping in wet tissue paper and sheets of plaster of Paris soaked burlap. This acts as a sort of cast to protect the fossil. The paleontologist must also make meticulous records about each specimen.
When the fossil is back at the lab of a university or museum, the plaster cast is removed and the fossil bone is carefully pulled out. This can sometimes be done with a hammer and chisel or with steel needles. Sometimes the paleontologist uses a chemical solvent on the mineral cement that holds the sediment together. Now and then this reveals amazingly preserved bones, but most of the time it doesn’t. Also, it’s rare to find a complete skeleton, so paleontologists have to recreate missing parts. This might be easy if there’s a more complete skeleton of another animal that can guide them. However, if the partial skeleton has never been seen before it might be very difficult to recreate it. Paleontologists have found bones that are so rare that they still, years later, have no idea how to begin to recreate the whole skeleton.
If a whole skeleton does manage to be recreated, the paleontologist can tell from the size and shape of the bones how old the animal was when it died and how it lived. They can also tell from rough spots or depressions on the bones where muscles could have been attached. Sometimes the skeleton can be compared with living creatures to deduce how the fossilized animal’s hide fit on its frame and what colors it could have been.
Paleontologists can also tell much from an animal’s teeth. Carnivores have sharp, cutting teeth, insectivores tend to have sharp, little teeth and herbivores tend to have blunt teeth with grinding surfaces for vegetation. All of this information has to be noted and logged.
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