The word "fossil" is derived from the Latin word "fossilis" literally meaning "obtained by digging."
Xenophanes, who died ca. 490 BC, found fish fossils and concluded that the land where they were found must have been underwater at some time. He was the first person known to have used fossils as evidence for a theory of the history of the Earth.
Scientists announced in 2016 that the Isua Greenstone Belt, Greenland, contains the world's oldest fossils that formed approximately 3.7 billion years ago.
In 2017, scientists announced the discovery of microfossils within rocks dated between 3.77 and 4.28 billion years old from Northern Quebec, Canada, making them the oldest fossils of life on Earth.
The extinct reptile Nyasasaurus is described as the possible oldest known dinosaur from 243-million-year old fossils discovered in Tanzania.
On April 4, 1796 the French zoologist Georges Cuvier delivered his first paleontological lecture at École Centrale du Pantheon of the National Museum of Natural History on living and fossil remains of elephants and related species, founding the science of Paleontology.
Thomas Jefferson studied and classified fossils at a time when the investigations of these objects was in it's infancy.
The tongue twister "she sells seashells by the seashore" is likely about a real girl named Mary Anning (1799-1847). She was one of the very first people to discover a massive dinosaur fossil, which she did at the age of 12 while looking for seashells to sell by the seashore.
In 1912 amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson claimed that he had discovered the "missing link" between ape and man at Piltdown, East Sussex, England. A collection of fossilized skull remains, for years they were believed to belong to a human ancestor from 500,000 years ago. On November 21, 1953, the Piltdown Man skull was revealed to be a hoax. (The jaw was that of an orangutan, which had been deliberately combined with the cranium of a fully developed, though small-brained, modern human).
The most expensive fossil ever sold at auction is "Apex," a Stegosaurus skeleton, which fetched $44.6 million at Sotheby's on July 17, 2024. The remarkable specimen was the largest and most complete Stegosaurus fossil ever discovered, measuring 11 feet tall and 27 feet long. It was unearthed in 2022 in Colorado's Morrison Formation and is about 70% intact, making it an exceptional find. The buyer, billionaire Kenneth Griffin, expressed plans to loan the fossil to museums or research institutions, ensuring its availability for public viewing and study.
Xenophanes, who died ca. 490 BC, found fish fossils and concluded that the land where they were found must have been underwater at some time. He was the first person known to have used fossils as evidence for a theory of the history of the Earth.
Scientists announced in 2016 that the Isua Greenstone Belt, Greenland, contains the world's oldest fossils that formed approximately 3.7 billion years ago.
In 2017, scientists announced the discovery of microfossils within rocks dated between 3.77 and 4.28 billion years old from Northern Quebec, Canada, making them the oldest fossils of life on Earth.
The extinct reptile Nyasasaurus is described as the possible oldest known dinosaur from 243-million-year old fossils discovered in Tanzania.
On April 4, 1796 the French zoologist Georges Cuvier delivered his first paleontological lecture at École Centrale du Pantheon of the National Museum of Natural History on living and fossil remains of elephants and related species, founding the science of Paleontology.
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| Cuvier with a fish fossil. By http://wellcomeimages.org Wikipedia Commons |
Thomas Jefferson studied and classified fossils at a time when the investigations of these objects was in it's infancy.
The tongue twister "she sells seashells by the seashore" is likely about a real girl named Mary Anning (1799-1847). She was one of the very first people to discover a massive dinosaur fossil, which she did at the age of 12 while looking for seashells to sell by the seashore.
In 1912 amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson claimed that he had discovered the "missing link" between ape and man at Piltdown, East Sussex, England. A collection of fossilized skull remains, for years they were believed to belong to a human ancestor from 500,000 years ago. On November 21, 1953, the Piltdown Man skull was revealed to be a hoax. (The jaw was that of an orangutan, which had been deliberately combined with the cranium of a fully developed, though small-brained, modern human).
The most expensive fossil ever sold at auction is "Apex," a Stegosaurus skeleton, which fetched $44.6 million at Sotheby's on July 17, 2024. The remarkable specimen was the largest and most complete Stegosaurus fossil ever discovered, measuring 11 feet tall and 27 feet long. It was unearthed in 2022 in Colorado's Morrison Formation and is about 70% intact, making it an exceptional find. The buyer, billionaire Kenneth Griffin, expressed plans to loan the fossil to museums or research institutions, ensuring its availability for public viewing and study.
Out of all the species that ever lived throughout all of Earth’s history, less than one percent have fossilized. Even fewer are discovered by humans. Most of life’s history will be forever unknown
The first fossil in space was a Maiasaura dinosaur fossil taken on a space shuttle mission in 1985.
The ginkgo tree is considered a living fossil because the only species relative we know of is from fossil records.
The first fossil in space was a Maiasaura dinosaur fossil taken on a space shuttle mission in 1985.
The ginkgo tree is considered a living fossil because the only species relative we know of is from fossil records.
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