archeologia: Fossil

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

A fossil (from Classical Latin fossilis, lit. 'obtained by digging') is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the fossil record. Though the fossil record is incomplete, numerous studies have demonstrated that there is enough information available to give a good understanding of the pattern of diversification of life on Earth, and it can fill gaps in our understanding of the sequence of evolution on earth. Paleontology includes the study of fossils:…

Evidence: 31 • authority: 72

Brontotheres (lit. 'thunder beasts'), also called titanotheres (lit. 'titanic beasts'), are an extinct group of perissodactyl (odd-toed ungulate) mammals belonging to the family Brontotheriidae. Brontotheres are traditionally interpreted as relatives of horses, though high-level perissodactyl relationships are not well understood. Brontotheres lived during the Eocene epoch and their fossils have mainly been found in Asia and North America, with some fossils also found in Eastern Europe. Early brontotheres were small animals, but later brontotheres grew to become among the largest land mammals of the Eocene. The first brontothere fossils known to science were found in South Dakota in the mid…

Evidence: 31 • authority: 80

Figure 3: Distribution of the considered papers over the last years.