We cover topics in paleontology to answer common questions about the field to educate and inspire readers of all ages to understand the prehistoric world.
Amateur and professional paleontologists alike are bound to own a fossil or two in their lifetime. Some people stop there while others create huge collections. Some fossils in private collections might be personally collected by the owner, but a lot of the time these fossils were bought and sold. Who decides who can sell fossils and how much they should … Continue Reading
When reading about paleontology or fossils, you are sure to stumble across the words ‘index fossil’ at some point. But what is an index fossil, and why do we have them? Why are some fossils given this title but not others? There are a few factors that decide whether a fossil can be used as an index fossil or not. … Continue Reading
The geologic time scale, sometimes called the GTS, is a standard representation of time. It goes back to the earliest evidence of Earth’s creation and describes up to the modern day. It is divided into smaller units of time called eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. These stack inside each other to form the entire scale. Why do we have … Continue Reading
We’ve all seen the meme suggesting that since plastics are made from oil, toy dinosaurs are made from real dinosaurs. Pretty ironic, right? The belief that plastic dinosaurs came from the remains of ancient ones is amusing, but are plastic dinosaurs made from real ones? While it’s true that plastics include petroleum products such as crude oil, natural gas, and … Continue Reading
In the movie Jurassic Park, the guests take a detour and discover a sick Triceratops. This scene leads to the iconic “that’s one big pile of shit” comment, as our tourists search the area for clues. Dr. Sattler makes a key discovery that the movie never explains. She points out some West Indian Lilac (Tetrazyiga bicolor) near the dinosaur dung … Continue Reading
T. rex receives the most attention for being a massive dinosaur with short arms. It’s not the only dinosaur like this. While some dinosaurs such as Deinocheirus were known for their extremely long arms, some dinosaurs had even shorter arms than T. rex. It’s a question that researchers tackled as it may provide clues that will help us understand more … Continue Reading
As any dinosaur nerd can tell you, the non-avian dinosaurs all died at the end of the Cretaceous when an asteroid struck the Earth around 66 million years ago. There are countless media references to this devastating extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. But what about the crocodiles? Why did crocodiles survive the dinosaur extinction? The asteroid impact drove many … Continue Reading
Some of the most well-known groups of prehistoric animals from the Mesozoic Era are the so-called aquatic dinosaurs, and for good reason: they’re large, fearsome, apex predators. So how did aquatic dinosaurs die out? Some of these creatures have even starred in the recent Jurassic World franchise, further enhancing their fame. The oversized Mosasaurus from Jurassic World elevated the notoriety … Continue Reading
Most people have seen depictions of Tyrannosaurus a thousand times: they’re fearsome, likely hungry given their invariably open mouths, and covered in lizard-like scales. Some artists, however, take a different approach. These deviants show the beloved T. rex covered in feathers. While most people reject change for simply psychological reasons, others may wonder if they’ve been wrong all these years. … Continue Reading
When reading about dinosaurs or visiting a museum you may have wondered: how do scientists determine the age of fossils? Are they millions of years old? How do scientists know that, for example, Tyrannosaurus rex lived about 66 million years ago? Are these estimates verifiable? So, how do scientists determine the age of a fossil? Scientists use two general techniques … Continue Reading