Page 109 - The Restless Earth Fossils
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10 Fossils
M o
macroscopic creatures, 43 Opabinia, 57
mammal fossils, 74, 75 The Origin of Species (Darwin), 17,
Mantell, Gideon, 17, 19 41, 78
Mantell, Mary, 17, 19 original horizontality, principle of, 14
The Map That Changed the World ossicles, 25
(Winchester), 41 ostracods, 43
Marsh, Othniel Charles, 60 oxygen, 30, 52
Masiakasaurus, 76 P
Mason, Roger, 54 pachycephalsaurs, 75
mass extinction events, 52, Paleontological Research Institute
63–64 (PRI), 67
mastodons, identifying, 8 paleontologists
Mayor, Adrienne, 10 described, 7
McPhee, John, 38 memory devices used by, 49
Megalonyx Jeffersoni, 18 recording and extracting methods
Mesozoic Era used by, 72–74
common name, 47 See also specific individuals
dinosaurs during, 58–60 Paleozoic Era
evolution during, 58 common name, 47
extinction at boundary with evolution during, 55
Paleozoic, 52, 64 extinction at boundary with
meteors, evidence of impact, 63 Mesozoic, 52, 64
Meyer, Herbert W., 27 important fossil sites, 55–58
microfossils, 43 Parachute Creek Atlas Project, 63
Micrographia (Hooke), 12–14 Paramylodon, 25
microscopic life, 43, 47, 52 Parker, Steve, 72
minerals, role of, 29–32 Permian Period, 52
mitochondrial DNA, 88 permineralization, 29–32
mnemonic devices, example of, 49 petrification, 12, 28–32
molds, 32 Petrified Forest, Arizona, 28–30
Mongolia, 10–11 Peytoia, 56, 57
Morris, Simon Conway, 56 Phanerozoic Eon, 47, 49
Morrison Formation (North photosynthesis, 52
America), 34, 58–59, 60, 71, 75 plants
mudstone formations, 34, 71 evolution of flowering, 58, 61
mummification, natural Morrison Formation fossils of, 59
described, 24–25 orchids, 19
of dinosaurs, 30–31, 75 of Paleozoic era, 55
myths, 8–9, 10 species-specific spores and pollen
grains, 43
N plastic forces of Earth, 12
“Nariokotome boy,” 84 Poinar, George, Jr., 25
National Geographic (magazine), Poinar, Roberta, 25
34 pond scum, 52
natural selection, 17, 78, 87 The Practical Paleontologist (Parker),
Neander Valley, Germany, 81 72
Neandertals, 81, 87 Precambrian Era, 52, 54
Noah’s floods, 9 preservation
Nothdurft, William, 69 in amber, 25
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