The science of paleontology is the study of fossilized remains and other evidence of ancient life preserved in rocks. Paleontologists, the scientists involved in paleontology, study organisms ranging from tiny bacteria to giant vertebrate animals like dinosaurs. There are numerous subdivisions of paleontology, each covering an important topic that allows geologists at GSA to better understand the history of life on Earth and ancient environments over time. A few categories of paleontology are briefly described below.
Invertebrate paleontology – the study of animals that lack internal skeletons and backbones, but that may possess external skeletons or shells. Examples of invertebrate fossil animals: trilobites, ammonites, oysters, shrimp, and insects.
Vertebrate paleontology – the study of animals that possess internal skeletons and backbones. Examples of vertebrate fossil animals: dinosaurs, mammoths, lizards, sharks, turtles, and birds.
Paleobotany – the study of the remains of plants and pollen grains. Examples of fossil plants: ferns, trees, and flowers.
Micropaleontology – the study of tiny fossil organisms that once lived in either land or water environments. Examples of microfossils: foraminifera, otoliths, and nannoplankton.
Ichnology – the study of preserved tracks or behavior of fossil organisms. Examples of trace fossils: dinosaur footprints, burrows, nests, and coprolites (fossil feces).
Why do we need to study fossils? Paleontology has a number of practical applications that are important to our society, ranging from energy production, to identifying ancient environments, to understanding relationships of living organisms, to forecasting the impact of future climate change.