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Dinosaur Fossils
Scientists know a lot about dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures
because they have found fossils.
On this page, you can find more information about fossils:
Fossils are preserved remains or traces of animals, plants and other
organisms. They are generally found in rocks.
Dinosaur Fossils Embedded in Rock
Photographic Print
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Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks that form from the deposits
of sand and mud.
When an animal or plant dies, its body can get buried into
sand or mud. Then, over ages (millions of years), the sand or mud gets
compacted, and eventually turns to rock. Minerals can also leach into
the animal's body, helping to preserve it.
Similarly, just as animals' bodies and plants can be preserved by this
process of fossilization, so too can animals' nests, burrows, footprints,
dung, etc.
Of course, most animals and plants
that die are not preserved in this way. Likewise most nests, burrows, footprints,
dung, etc., are also not preserved.
It is far more likely that they are destroyed - for example, bodies
can be eaten by scavengers or rot away, footprints can be washed away, and
so forth. It is only rarely, when all the circumstances happen to be just right,
that a fossil is formed.
There are two kinds of fossils:
- Fossilized Body Parts
These are fossils formed from parts of an animal
such as:
Since skin and soft tissues usually decay before being fossilized,
the most common parts of animals to be preserved in this way are the
toughest parts of the animal, especially teeth, and to a lesser extent bones.
- Trace Fossils
Traces fossils (which technically known as "ichnofossils")
are fossils
which show the living activities
of animals.
Such fossils can include (for example):
From time to time, fossils in the ground are revealed by erosion - the wind
or rain erodes rock, revealing fossils contained within. It is therefore
likely than mankind has encountered fossils, including dinosaur fossils
since ancient, perhaps even prehistoric times.
The first modern scientific description of a dinosaur fossil was written
by
William Buckland.
Buckland wrote a paper in 1824 that was entitled: "Notice on the Megalosaurus or Great
Fossil Lizard of Stonesfield".
Since then, many other
scientists
have contributed to finding, researching,
dinosaur fossils.
Many scientists
(and quite a few amateur fossil-hunters too) have found fossils of
dinosaurs and
other prehistoric animals.
Man Digging For Fossils
Photographic Print
Eisenstaedt,...
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Some of the most famous fossil hunters include:
- William Buckland
(1784-1856)
who wrote the first scientific description of a dinosaur.
- Mary Anning
(1799-1847)
was a
fossil hunter who lived in Lyme Regis,
England.
Anning was responsible for the discovery of the fossilized s
skeleton of an
Ichthyosaur (the skeleton is now in
London's
Natural History Museum)
in 1811,
as well as
a Plesiosaur in 1821,
and a Pterodactyl in 1828.
- Edward D. Cope
(1840-1897) was an American paleontologist who
discovered over a thousand species of extinct vertebrates.
His exploration and research took place principally in
Texas
and
Wyoming.
- Lawrence Lambe
(1849 to 1934)
was one of Canada's
greatest paleontologists. He discovered and named many
types of dinosaurs,
and also studied other prehistoric animals.
- Othniel C. Marsh
(1831-1899) was a professor of paleontology at Yale.
He discovered the first
American
Pterodactyl fossils, and was first to scientifically
describe many different dinosaurs,
including
Apatosaurus
and
Allosaurus.
- Henry Fairfield Osborn
(1857-1935)
was an American paleontologist who was the
president of the
American Museum of Natural History, and also a professor
at Columbia University,
Osborn described and named
Tyrannosaurus Rex
in
1905,
the first fossils of the animal have been discovered by
Barnum Brown in
1902.
Osborn also did important theoretical work, and proposed
the theory of Adaptive
Radiation, in which animals and plants evolve into several species
by spreading and adapting to new areas and ecological niches.
- Barnum Brown (1879-1968)
was perhaps the greatest dinosaur hunter of the
20th century -
many people remarked on his uncanny ability to sniff out
dinosaur fossils. Brown began by
working as an assistant to
Henry Fairfield Osborn
in 1897, and during this career
discovered numerous species of dinosaurs and other animals.
His most famous discovery was the first
Tyrannosaurus Rex
ever found, in
1902
in Montana.
Related Information & Resources
See Also
Fossil Pictures and Postersby AllPosters
Books about Fossils
By Judith Williams
Enslow Elementary
Library Binding (24 pages; 1)
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By Pei-ji Chen
Academic Press
Hardcover (208 pages)
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No other single volume reference to the Jehol site and its fossils exists and nowhere is there such a collection of fine photos of the fossils concerned. This book has pieced together the most up-to-date information on the Jehol Biota, a place that has shown the world some of the most astonishing fossil finds including the first complete skeleton of Archaeopteryx in 1861, four-winged dinosaurs- many feathered ones, the first beaked bird, the first plants with flowers and fruits, and thousands of species of invertebrates. Authors shed new light on a number of interesting theoretical issues in evolutionary biology today, such as the origin and early evolution of some major taxonomic groups.
The first two chapters give an inviting introduction to the Jehol Biota in terms of its history of study, its main components, its scientific importance, its geographical, geological and biostratigraphic framework, and its renowned fossil discoveries. Each of the remaining chapters deals with a particular organismal group of the Biota written by leading experts. The book is lavishly illustrated with nearly 280 illustrations, which include 200 photographs that show the diversity of the taxa and beauty of their preservation. The colored life restorations, elegantly done by some of China's most celebrated scientific illustrators, give a kiss of life to the dead bones. Although targeted primarily at an educated public, the book is also an invaluable source of information for students and professionals in paleontology, geology, evolutionary biology and science education in general.
* Authoritative introduction to an exciting, classic Mesozoic site home to many of the world's most important and best preserved fossils
* Clear informative text accessible to the professional and lay reader alike
* Over 200 high quality photographs of a wide range of extraordinary fossils
* Beautiful colour paintings depicting reconstructed animals and plants in lifelike landscapes
* Lavish, large format, high quality production |
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By Niles Eldredge
Roberts Rinehart Publishers
Paperback (112 pages; 1)
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A fun and fact-filled activity book about discovering and collecting fossils, the history of the Earth, and the record of life we find on its surface. |
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By Frank A. Garcia
Stackpole Books
Paperback (212 pages)
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160 drawings 6 x 9 Complete beginners guide to fossil collecting Includes lesser-studied vertebrate fossils Detailed illustrations for identification and comparison Earlier life forms are buried all over the earths surfacein oceans, on mountain slopes, in our backyards. Discovering Fossils provides an essential background on where to search for fossils, how to scan for the right textures and shapes, and how to properly extract and protect ones findsa perfect reference for new collectors young and old. Includes practical advice on what to wear and which tools to carry as well as an illustrated identification section of common fossil finds. Frank A. Garcia is responsible for more than 30 previously undiscovered species of prehistoric animals. He lives in Ruskin, Florida. Donald S. Miller is a fossil collector, writer, and proprietor of Millers Fossils in Wilmington, Delaware. Artist, author, and fossil collector Jasper Burns lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. |
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By Shelley Emling
Palgrave Macmillan
Released: 2009-10-13
Hardcover (256 pages)
 | List Price: $27.00
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In 1811, when she was only twelve years old, Mary Anning discovered the first dinosaur skeleton--of an ichthyosaur--while fossil hunting on the cliffs of Lyme Regis. Mary, the child of a poor family, became a fossil hunter, selling her discoveries and attracting the attention of fossil collectors and eventually the scientific world. Until Mary's discovery, it was widely believed that animals did not become extinct. But the bizarre nature of the fossils Mary found made it impossible to ignore the truth, sparking the conversation about evolution carried on by scientists from Charles Darwin to Stephen Jay Gould. |
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By Charlotte Lewis Brown
HarperCollins
Released: 2007-10-02
Paperback (32 pages; 1)
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After the age of the dinosaurs, strange and powerful mammals ruled the earth. . . . |
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By Mark Jaffe
Three Rivers Press
Released: 2001-03-20
Paperback (432 pages)
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It was an age of counterfeit giants, corrupt politicians, and intrepid pioneers. It was a time of scientific ferment. The second half of the 19th century — the so-called Gilded Age — was a time when Americans were exploring the West and building a nation which stretched from coast to coast. It was also when scientists began finding dinosaur fossils across the western half of the nation.
Could the answer to the history of life and the proof of evolution be found in these bones? That was the question two young American paleontologists — Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh — set out to answer. But what began as a friendly contest quickly turned into a bitter rivalry that would spill over into American science and politics and rage relentlessly for nearly three decades.
Despite their Gilded Age celebrity, the names of Cope and Marsh have disappeared into the recesses of the library and archive. In The Gilded Dinosaur, Mark Jaffe exhumes from those archives the notes, journals, and letters of these two great opponents to reanimate and retell one of the most fierce rivalries in the history of science. |
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By Katherine Rogers
Mountain Press Publishing Company
Released: 1999-07-01
Paperback (290 pages)
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Science meets the great outdoors in this personal perspective of the Sternbergs, who formed the world's first family-run fossil-hunting business. Updated and revised, this new edition includes a chapter on the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, which opened in Hays, Kansas, in March 1999. |
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