What is palaeontology?
Q: What is palaeontology?
A: Palaeontology, also known as paleontology, is the study of fossils of living things and their evolutionary relationships.
Q: What are the basic sciences that palaeontology relies on?
A: Palaeontology relies on basic sciences such as zoology, botany, and historical geology.
Q: What does the term palaeobiology imply?
A: The term palaeobiology implies that the study of fossils will include the palaeoecology of the groups in question.
Q: What is studied in palaeozoology?
A: In palaeozoology, the evolution of those phyla with fossil records is studied.
Q: What is studied in palaeobotany?
A: In palaeobotany, fossil plants are studied.
Q: What information does historical geology provide to palaeontology?
A: In historical geology, the formation, sequence, and dating of rock strata give information about past environments.
Q: What is a fossil and what is the fossil record?
A: 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. The fossil record is always incomplete, and later discoveries may extend the known survival of a group.
