Paleozoology
Encyclopedia
Paleozoology, also spelled as palaeozoology (Greek
: παλαιόν, paleon "old" and ζῷον, zoon "animal"), is the branch of paleontology
or paleobiology
dealing with the recovery and identification of multicellular animal
remains from geological (or even archeological) contexts, and the use of these fossil
s in the reconstruction of prehistoric environment
s and ancient ecosystem
s.
Definitive, macroscopic remains of these metazoans are found in the fossil record from the Ediacaran
period of the Neoproterozoic
era onwards, although they do not become common until the Late Devonian
period in the latter half of the Paleozoic
era.
Perhaps the best known macrofossil
s group is the dinosaur
s. Other popularly known animal-derived macrofossils include trilobite
s, crustacean
s, echinoderms, brachiopod
s, mollusks, bony fishes, shark
s, Vertebrate
teeth
, and shells of numerous invertebrate
groups. This is because hard organic parts, such as bones, teeth, and shells resist decay, and are the most commonly preserved and found animal fossils. Exclusively soft-bodied animals
-- such as jellyfish
, flatworm
s, nematode
s, and insect
s -- are consequently rarely fossilized, as these groups do not produce hard organic parts.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: παλαιόν, paleon "old" and ζῷον, zoon "animal"), is the branch of paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
or paleobiology
Paleobiology
Paleobiology is a growing and comparatively new discipline which combines the methods and findings of the natural science biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology...
dealing with the recovery and identification of multicellular animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
remains from geological (or even archeological) contexts, and the use of these fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s in the reconstruction of prehistoric environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
s and ancient ecosystem
Paleoecology
Paleoecology uses data from fossils and subfossils to reconstruct the ecosystems of the past. It involves the study of fossil organisms and their associated remains, including their life cycle, living interactions, natural environment, and manner of death and burial to reconstruct the...
s.
Definitive, macroscopic remains of these metazoans are found in the fossil record from the Ediacaran
Ediacaran
The Ediacaran Period , named after the Ediacara Hills of South Australia, is the last geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era and of the Proterozoic Eon, immediately preceding the Cambrian Period, the first period of the Paleozoic Era and of the Phanerozoic Eon...
period of the Neoproterozoic
Neoproterozoic
The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time from 1,000 to 542.0 ± 1.0 million years ago. The terminal Era of the formal Proterozoic Eon , it is further subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran Periods...
era onwards, although they do not become common until the Late Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
period in the latter half of the Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
era.
Perhaps the best known macrofossil
Macrofossil
Macrofossils are preserved organic remains large enough to be visible without a microscope. Most fossils discussed in the article Fossil are macrofossils.-Macrofossil contrasted with Microfossil:...
s group is the dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s. Other popularly known animal-derived macrofossils include trilobite
Trilobite
Trilobites are a well-known fossil group of extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period , and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before...
s, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, echinoderms, brachiopod
Brachiopod
Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection...
s, mollusks, bony fishes, shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s, Vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
teeth
Tooth
Teeth are small, calcified, whitish structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates that are used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or for defensive purposes. The roots of teeth are embedded in the Mandible bone or the Maxillary bone and are...
, and shells of numerous invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
groups. This is because hard organic parts, such as bones, teeth, and shells resist decay, and are the most commonly preserved and found animal fossils. Exclusively soft-bodied animals
Soft-bodied organisms
The term "soft-bodied organism" is used to describe animals without skeleton, roughly corresponding to the group Vermes as proposed by Carl von Linné. All animals have muscles, but since muscles can only pull, never push, a number of animals have developed hard parts that the muscles can pull on,...
-- such as jellyfish
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
, flatworm
Flatworm
The flatworms, known in scientific literature as Platyhelminthes or Plathelminthes are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrate animals...
s, nematode
Nematode
The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...
s, and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s -- are consequently rarely fossilized, as these groups do not produce hard organic parts.
See also
- Animalia, taxonomic kingdom of
- FossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s - History of invertebrate paleozoologyHistory of invertebrate paleozoologyThe history of invertebrate paleozoology differs from the history of paleontology in that the former usually emphasizes paleobiology and the paleoecology of extinct marine invertebrates, while the latter typically emphasizes the earth sciences and the sedimentary rock remains of terrestrial...
- Index fossilIndex fossilIndex fossils are fossils used to define and identify geologic periods . They work on the premise that, although different sediments may look different depending on the conditions under which they were laid down, they may include the remains of the same species of fossil...
s -- a.k.a. guide fossils - InvertebrateInvertebrateAn invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s - Invertebrate paleontologyInvertebrate paleontologyInvertebrate paleontology is sometimes described as Invertebrate paleozoology or Invertebrate paleobiology....
covers most animal phyla - MacrofossilMacrofossilMacrofossils are preserved organic remains large enough to be visible without a microscope. Most fossils discussed in the article Fossil are macrofossils.-Macrofossil contrasted with Microfossil:...
s -- easily visible fossil evidence - Metazoa -- animal kingdom
- Microfossils -- microscopic fossil evidence
- MicropaleontologyMicropaleontologyMicropaleontology is the branch of paleontology that studies microfossils.-Microfossils:...
- PaleobiologyPaleobiologyPaleobiology is a growing and comparatively new discipline which combines the methods and findings of the natural science biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology...
-- biology and paleontology - PaleobotanyPaleobotanyPaleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...
- Taxonomy of commonly fossilised invertebratesTaxonomy of commonly fossilised invertebratesAlthough the phylogenetic classification of sub-vertebrate animals remains a work-in-progress, the following taxonomy attempts to be useful by combining both traditional and new paleozoological terminology....
- Trace fossilTrace fossilTrace fossils, also called ichnofossils , are geological records of biological activity. Trace fossils may be impressions made on the substrate by an organism: for example, burrows, borings , urolites , footprints and feeding marks, and root cavities...
s -- indirect evidence of prehistoric life - VertebrateVertebrateVertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s - Vertebrate paleontologyVertebrate paleontologyVertebrate paleontology is a large subfield to paleontology seeking to discover the behavior, reproduction and appearance of extinct animals with vertebrae or a notochord, through the study of their fossilized remains...
covers the subphylum Vertebrata - ZoologyZoologyZoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...