Paleontology - Middle School

Study these paleontology terms and bone up on dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. You'll also unearth information about the fossil record, early primates, the geologic time scale, and more.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. adaptive radiation
    the development of many different forms from an originally homogeneous group of organisms as they fill different ecological niches
  2. amber
    a hard yellowish to brownish translucent fossil resin
  3. ammonite
    an extinct mollusk or its fossilized shell
  4. amphibian
    cold-blooded vertebrate living on land but breeding in water
  5. australopithecine
    any of several extinct humanlike bipedal primates with relatively small brains of the genus Australopithecus; from 1 to 4 million years ago
  6. bipedalism
    the attribute of having or walking on two feet
  7. Cambrian
    the geologic period from about 541 to 485 million years ago
  8. Carboniferous
    from 345 million to 280 million years ago
  9. Cenozoic
    the current geologic era, starting about 66 million years ago
  10. climate
    the weather in some location averaged over a period of time
  11. coprolite
    fossil excrement; petrified dung
  12. Cretaceous
    the geologic period from about 145 to 66 million years ago
  13. Devonian
    relating to the period from about 419 to 359 million years ago
  14. dinosaur
    an extinct terrestrial reptile of the Mesozoic era
  15. ectotherm
    an animal whose body temperature varies based on its surroundings
  16. eon
    the longest unit of geological time
  17. epoch
    a unit of geological time that is divided into ages
  18. era
    a major division of geological time
  19. evolution
    sequence of events involved in the development of a species
  20. fossil
    the remains of a plant or animal from a past geological age
  21. fossilization
    the process by which an organism is preserved in rock
  22. genus
    taxonomic group containing one or more species
  23. geologic time
    the time of the physical formation and development of the earth (especially prior to human history)
  24. half-life
    the time required for something to fall to half its initial value (in particular, the time for half the atoms in a radioactive substance to disintegrate)
  25. Holocene
    relating to the epoch from about 11,700 years ago to the present
  26. hominid
    a member of a family of primate mammals that includes humans
  27. Homo erectus
    extinct species of primitive hominid with upright stature but small brain
  28. Homo habilis
    extinct species of upright East African hominid having some advanced humanlike characteristics
  29. Homo sapiens
    the only surviving hominid
  30. ice age
    a period when glaciers cover much of the Earth's surface
  31. index fossil
    a fossil known to have lived in a particular geologic age that can be used to date the rock layer in which it is found
  32. invertebrate
    any animal lacking a backbone or notochord
  33. Jurassic
    the geologic period from about 201 to 145 million years ago
  34. mammal
    a warm-blooded vertebrate having the skin covered with hair
  35. mammoth
    extinct elephant widely distributed in the Pleistocene
  36. matrix
    fine-grained rock in which fossils or crystals are embedded
  37. Mesozoic
    the geologic era from about 252 to 66 million years ago
  38. microfossil
    a very tiny impression left by an organism from a past geological age
  39. micropaleontology
    the paleontology of microfossils
  40. mineral
    a solid inorganic substance occurring in nature
  41. Miocene
    relating to the epoch from about 23 to 5.3 million years ago
  42. Neanderthal
    extinct robust human of Middle Paleolithic in Europe and western Asia
  43. Oligocene
    relating to the epoch from about 34 to 23 million years ago
  44. Ordovician
    relating to the period from about 485 to 444 million years ago
  45. organism
    a living thing that can act or function independently
  46. paleoanthropology
    the scientific study of human fossils
  47. paleobiology
    a branch of paleontology that deals with the origin and growth and structure of fossil animals and plants as living organisms
  48. paleobotany
    the study of fossil plants
  49. Paleocene
    relating to the epoch from about 66 to 56 million years ago
  50. paleontologist
    a specialist in fossil organisms and related remains
  51. paleontology
    the earth science that studies fossil organisms
  52. Paleozoic
    the geologic era from about 541 to 252 million years ago
  53. paleozoology
    the study of fossil animals
  54. Pangaea
    (plate tectonics) a hypothetical continent including all the landmass of the earth prior to the Triassic period when it split into Laurasia and Gondwanaland
  55. period
    a unit of geological time when a system of rocks formed
  56. Permian
    the geologic period from about 299 to 252 million years ago
  57. petrification
    the process of turning some plant material into stone
  58. petrify
    change into stone
  59. Phanerozoic
    relating to the eon from about 541 million years ago to the present
  60. Pleistocene
    relating to the epoch from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago
  61. Pliocene
    relating to the epoch from about 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago
  62. Precambrian
    the vast span of time from about 4.6 billion to 541 million years ago
  63. predator
    any animal that lives by preying on other animals
  64. prey
    animal hunted or caught for food
  65. primate
    any mammal of the group including monkeys, apes, and humans
  66. primitive
    characteristic of an earlier ancestral type
  67. radioactive decay
    the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance along with the emission of ionizing radiation
  68. radiocarbon dating
    an analysis used to determine the age of organic materials
  69. sabertooth
    any of many extinct cats of the Old and New Worlds having long swordlike upper canine teeth; from the Oligocene through the Pleistocene
  70. sedimentary
    formed by or containing the accumulation of deposited matter
  71. Silurian
    relating to the period from about 444 to 419 million years ago
  72. species
    taxonomic group whose members can interbreed
  73. stratum
    one of several parallel layers of material
  74. superposition
    (geology) the principle that in a series of stratified sedimentary rocks the lowest stratum is the oldest
  75. supraorbital ridge
    a ridge on the frontal bone above the eye socket
  76. tar pit
    a natural accumulation of bitumens at the surface of the earth; often acts as a trap for animals whose bones are thus preserved
  77. taxonomy
    a classification of organisms based on similarities
  78. Tertiary
    relating to the period from about 66 to 2.6 million years ago
  79. Triassic
    the geologic period from about 252 to 201 million years ago
  80. trilobite
    an extinct arthropod with a three-part exoskeleton
  81. vertebrate
    animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton
  82. vertebrate paleontology
    the paleontology of vertebrates
  83. woolly mammoth
    very hairy mammoth common in colder portions of the northern hemisphere
Created on Tue Feb 21 16:19:45 EST 2017 (updated Tue Apr 18 15:17:34 EDT 2017)

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