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The Nature of the Fossil Record

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2017

Susan Kidwell  and
J. John Sepkoski Jr.
Susan Kidwell
Affiliation:
Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago 5734 South Ellis Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60637
J. John Sepkoski Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago 5734 South Ellis Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60637
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Extract

The term “fossil record” is used in two ways: either the totality of fossils preserved in all rocks or the sum of human knowledge of those fossils. In either case, the term carries the connotation also of the geologic context of the fossils–their distribution in time and space and their relationship to the enclosing rock. One of the primary scientific interests in the fossil record is learning about the history of life and the processes of large-scale transformation, or evolution, in the forms, diversities, and biological interactions of life.

Type
Organizing the Data
Information
The Paleontological Society Special Publications , Volume 9: Evolution: Investigating the Evidence , 1999 , pp. 61 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 by The Paleontological Society 

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References

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