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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
Trace 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 Posters
by AllPosters
Here are some Fossil pictures and posters:
(Disclosure: Products details and descriptions provided by AllPosters. Our company may receive a payment if you purchase products from them after following a link from this website).
The Earliest Bird, Archaeopteryx, Fossil Skeleton with Feathers
9" X 12"
Photographic Print
Artist: Jason Edwards.
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Fossil Shells II
16" X 12"
Premium Poster
Artist: Nicole Katano.
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Fossil Insect, Dragonfly, Early Cretaceous, Brazil
16" X 12"
Premium Poster
Artist: John Cancalosi.
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Skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex
12" X 16"
Photographic Print
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Fossil Elm-Like Leaf (Eucommia Serrata), Palaeocene Epoch, 55-65 M.Y.A., Alberta, Canada
16" X 12"
Photographic Print
Artist: Ken Lucas.
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Australia, Land Of Living Fossils Map 1979
12" X 16"
Premium Poster
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Fossil Fish, Jurassic Period, Soinhofen, Germany
16" X 12"
Photographic Print
Artist: Ken Lucas.
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Ammonite (Promicroceras Planicosta) 186 M.Y.A., Early Jurassic, England
16" X 12"
Photographic Print
Artist: Ken Lucas.
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Ammonite Fossil (Arietites Buckland), Jurassic Period, 150 M.Y.A. Nancy, France
16" X 12"
Photographic Print
Artist: Ken Lucas.
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Cretaceous Lambeosaurus Dinosaur Fossil
12" X 9"
Photographic Print
Artist: Kevin Schafer.
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The Progress of Evolution from Amoebas to You and Me as Displayed by the Fossil Record
9" X 12"
Giclee Print
Artist: A. Dusmenil.
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Fish Fossil, Diplomystus Dentatus, from the Eocene Period, Australia
12" X 9"
Photographic Print
Artist: Jason Edwards.
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Books about Fossils
Here are some books from Amazon.com:
Disclosure: Products details and descriptions provided by Amazon.com. Our company may receive a payment if you purchase products from them after following a link from this website.
By Dr. G. Thomas Sharp
Icon Publishing Group
Released: 2010-05-01
Kindle Edition
 | List Price: $9.99*
*(As of 18:13 Pacific 3 Feb 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
It is interesting to note that absolutely no transitional forms have been found in the fossil record connecting any of the major groups of living creatures before or since Darwin for which “peer reviewed” support can be offered. Most fossils appear very similar to their living counterpart. It is as if they were created yesterday. Rocks, Fossils and Dinosaurs isa fresh look at this age-old controversy, written in a nontechnical way. |
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By Scott D. Sampson
University of California Press
Paperback (352 pages)
 | List Price: $19.95*
Lowest New Price: $12.76*
Lowest Used Price: $13.50*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
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Click Here | Product Description:
This captivating book, laced with evocative anecdotes from the field, gives the first holistic, up-to-date overview of dinosaurs and their world for a wide audience of readers. Situating these fascinating animals in a broad ecological and evolutionary context, leading dinosaur expert Scott D. Sampson fills us in on the exhilarating discoveries of the past twenty-five years, the most active period in the history of dinosaur paleontology, during which more "new" species were named than in all prior history. With these discoveries--and the most recent controversies--in mind, Sampson reconstructs the odyssey of the dinosaurs from their humble origins on the supercontinent Pangaea, to their reign as the largest animals the planet has ever known, and finally to their abrupt demise. Much more than the story of who ate whom way back when, Dinosaur Odyssey places dinosaurs in an expansive web of relationships with other organisms and demonstrates how they provide a powerful lens through which to observe the entire natural world. Addressing topics such as extinction, global warming, and energy flow, Dinosaur Odyssey finds that the dinosaurs' story is, in fact, a major chapter in our own story. |
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By Frank A. Garcia
Stackpole Books
Paperback (224 pages)
 | List Price: $19.95*
Lowest New Price: $11.22*
Lowest Used Price: $3.90*
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Click Here | Product Description:
Complete beginner's guide, with vertebrate and invertebrate fossil descriptions. |
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By Niles Eldredge & Gregory Eldredge
Roberts Rinehart
Paperback (112 pages)
 | List Price: $12.95*
Lowest New Price: $6.99*
Lowest Used Price: $3.49*
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Click Here | - ISBN13: 9781570984174
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Product Description:
A fun and fact-filled activity book about discovering and collecting, about the history of the Earth, and the record of life we find on its surface, children will revel in this guide to over 50 sites where they can find something Paleozoic. Also included are a dozen amazing science activities and a complete guide to fossil hunting. Ages 5-8 |
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By Rebecca Jean Olien
Capstone Press
Paperback (24 pages)
 | List Price: $5.95*
Lowest New Price: $1.95*
Lowest Used Price: $3.16*
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Click Here | Product Description:
In graphic novel format, text and illustrations explain how fossils teach us about the dinosaurs. |
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By Elizabeth Carpenter
Workman Publishing Company
Paperback (80 pages)
 | List Price: $11.95*
Lowest New Price: $7.05*
Lowest Used Price: $3.35*
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Click Here | Product Description:
They’re ginormous! A marriage of two things kids love—dinosaurs and mazes—DinoMazes is a one-of-a-kind collection of 31 super-sized, colossal fossil mazes. It is hours and hours of fun that spans hundreds of millions of years.
Created by Elizabeth Carpenter, Mazeology founder and author of the award-winning Mummy Mazes, DinoMazes features several new mazes and redrawn original mazes.
Work your way through the skeletons of a Stegosaurus, Velociraptor, T. Rex, Triceratops, plus giant sloths and a saber-toothed tiger. Discover the earliest known turtle, Proganochelys—unable to retract its head, it grew fierce spikes on its neck—and Acanthostega, an ancient “fish” with feet instead of fins. The dazzling illustrated mazes are challenging—start at a tail, find your way through the rib cage, and exit at the mouth. Interspersed are miniature speed mazes—how fast can you get through the Styracosaurus head? Each maze comes with sidebars and captions about the animal, including meaning of the name, when the creature lived, and its lifestyle and habitat |
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By Adrienne Mayor
Princeton University Press
Paperback (400 pages)
 | List Price: $18.95*
Lowest New Price: $11.72*
Lowest Used Price: $11.94*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 18:13 Pacific 3 Feb 2012 More Info)
Click Here | - ISBN13: 9780691150130
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Product Description:
Griffins, Cyclopes, Monsters, and Giants--these fabulous creatures of classical mythology continue to live in the modern imagination through the vivid accounts that have come down to us from the ancient Greeks and Romans. But what if these beings were more than merely fictions? What if monstrous creatures once roamed the earth in the very places where their legends first arose? This is the arresting and original thesis that Adrienne Mayor explores in The First Fossil Hunters. Through careful research and meticulous documentation, she convincingly shows that many of the giants and monsters of myth did have a basis in fact--in the enormous bones of long-extinct species that were once abundant in the lands of the Greeks and Romans. As Mayor shows, the Greeks and Romans were well aware that a different breed of creatures once inhabited their lands. They frequently encountered the fossilized bones of these primeval beings, and they developed sophisticated concepts to explain the fossil evidence, concepts that were expressed in mythological stories. The legend of the gold-guarding griffin, for example, sprang from tales first told by Scythian gold-miners, who, passing through the Gobi Desert at the foot of the Altai Mountains, encountered the skeletons of Protoceratops and other dinosaurs that littered the ground. Like their modern counterparts, the ancient fossil hunters collected and measured impressive petrified remains and displayed them in temples and museums; they attempted to reconstruct the appearance of these prehistoric creatures and to explain their extinction. Long thought to be fantasy, the remarkably detailed and perceptive Greek and Roman accounts of giant bone finds were actually based on solid paleontological facts. By reading these neglected narratives for the first time in the light of modern scientific discoveries, Adrienne Mayor illuminates a lost world of ancient paleontology.
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By Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Random House Books for Young Readers
Released: 1999-12-17
Paperback (48 pages)
 | List Price: $3.99*
Lowest New Price: $2.94*
Lowest Used Price: $0.01*
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Click Here | Product Description:
Jeff’s Uncle Roy runs a museum. That means he’s always zooming off to strange places to find ruins and treasure. But Jeff has never gone along—until now. They’re headed to the Sahara desert to search for dinosaur fossils. And Jeff knows he’ll find the bones of the biggest meat-eater ever!
“The subject’s popularity, and Bogan’s colorful cartoon-style illustrations will attract beginning readers.”—Booklist
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