Paleobiology
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paleobiology is a branch of science which studies animals buried in rock (called fossils). It combines biology with paleontology. There are several branches of paleobiology:
- Paleobotany-Study of ancient plants
- Paleozoology
- Micropaleobiology
- Paleobiochemistry
- Paleoecology-Uses fossils to learn about how the environment was long ago
- Taphonomy
- Paleoichnology
- Stratigraphic paleobiology
- Evolutionary developmental paleobiology-Studies how animals changed over time
[edit] History
Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás started paleobiology in the late 19th century while working at the University of Vienna. He tried to learn how the animals lived, rather than merely put together their bones, as many scientists were doing at the time.