Paleontology

Dinosaurs were a diverse group of reptiles that dominated terrestrial ecosystems for over 150 million years during the Mesozoic Era. Studied through the lens of paleontology, our knowledge of these creatures is built upon fossil evidence—from massive skeletons to preserved footprints—which reveals an incredible variety of forms, including the colossal sauropods, the fearsome theropods like *Tyrannosaurus rex*, and the armored ankylosaurs. While most dinosaur lineages went extinct in a cataclysmic event approximately 66 million years ago, one group survived and evolved into modern birds, providing a direct biological link between these ancient animals and present-day life.

Invertebrate paleontology is the scientific study of the fossilized remains of ancient animals that lacked a backbone, a group that constitutes the vast majority of animal life throughout Earth's history. This subdiscipline of paleontology focuses on a diverse array of organisms including mollusks, arthropods like the iconic trilobites, corals, and echinoderms, analyzing their preserved hard parts such as shells, carapaces, and skeletons. By examining these fossils within their geological context, researchers reconstruct the evolutionary relationships, ancient ecosystems (paleoecology), and biological forms of these creatures, often using their widespread and abundant fossils as critical tools for dating rock layers and understanding past environmental conditions.

Vertebrate paleontology is the subfield of paleontology that focuses on the history of animals with backbones, applying principles from biology to understand their evolution and extinction. Researchers in this discipline analyze fossil evidence—such as bones, teeth, eggs, and trackways—to reconstruct the anatomy, behavior, and ecology of a vast range of past life, from the earliest fish and amphibians to dinosaurs, birds, and ancient mammals, including human ancestors. This work provides a deep-time perspective on major evolutionary transitions and reveals how vertebrates have responded to environmental changes over millions of years.

Paleontology is the scientific study of the history of life on Earth as revealed by the fossil record. A discipline that bridges biology and geology, it involves the discovery and analysis of fossils—the preserved remains, imprints, or traces of organisms from past geological ages—to understand the evolution, anatomy, and ecology of ancient life. By examining this evidence, paleontologists reconstruct ancient ecosystems and piece together the evolutionary relationships between extinct and modern species, providing a deep-time perspective on the development of life.