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Ammonites, amonitowate (Ammonoidea) - the extinct podgromada of Cephalopoda, and the antendants of contemporary squids and octopuses. They had a hard, usually flat-spirally bent shell. They likely fed on crustaceans and fish. Majority of ammonites was between ten and twenty cm long, although approximately 2 m long specimens have also been found. An ammonite shell was divided into chambers: living and gas, thanks to which, as it may be concluded, most of these animals were able to swim freely and hunt their prey. An unusal diversity of the structure of the whole seashell and its separate parts in case of various species of ammonites shows that these animals were well adopted to the diversity of the marine environments.
The name ˊammonitesˊ originates from the name of an ancient Egyptian god, Ammon, which was depicted with bent horns, the shape of which resembled that of the seashells of these animals. They lived from the early Devon to the end of the Cretaceous.
Archosaurus - the name Archosaurus originates from the Greek words: archos and sauros, which mean ˊdominant lizardˊ. The archosaurus lived in the late Perm, about 251 mln years ago, on the territory of contemporary Europe, including Poland.
Asteroid - (gr. asteroeidés – stellar) – a small-size (between several metres and sometimes more than 1000 km) celestial body, travelling around the central star (in our Solar System, the Sun), possessing the solid rock or ice surface, very frequently – above all in case of smaller and not very heavy asteroids – of irregular shape, frequently bearing traces of collisions with other similar objects.
Belemnites - (Belemnitida, , Gr. belemnon – missile, arrow) – the order of extinct marine cephalopods. Belemnites lived from the Carbonite to the end of the Cretaceous. They were predators; they cuaght small marine animals, among others, fish, and consumed them with the jaws, which were similar to a beak. They were excellently adopted to their predatory lifestyle, moved quickly and swiftly, frequently in groups of between 10 and 20 specimens. It is considered that they were the most competent swimmers among all cephalopods.
Amber - (jantar, amber, elektrum (Latin), elektron (Greek)) – a fossil resin of coniferous, and, in rarer case, resinous leafy trees. About 60 kinds (species) are known. The oldest of them come from the Devonian formations (they were found in Canada); the youngest, essentially not included into the group of ambers, are found in South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Dinosaur - (Dinosauria – Gr. δεινός deinos – terrible, mighty + σαῦρος sauros – lizard ) – a group of archosaurs (primate reptiles), which had dominated the ecosystems of the Earth for more than 160 million years, having appeared in the late Triassic about 230 million years ago. At the end of the Cretaceous, about 65 million years ago, the disastrous extinction ended their domination on lands of all continents.
Fossilization - the sum of processes which were undergone by dead organisms or their parts, or the traces of their activity (e.g. footprints), while transforming into the fossil state. The most favourable conditions for fossilization to be commenced are in the water environment; the best chances of fossilization are those of organisms with hard skeleton (external or internal). The basic condition for fossilization is rapid covering the remains of dead organisms by a sediments, which eliminates oxygen impact (oxygen causes a rapid decomposition of an organism), protects from padlinożercami and mechanical damage, and also makes it possible for chemical or mineralogical changes to occur. In the process of hardening the sediments, the remains are frequently deformed. It is rare for organisms to retain their state without any damage. It occurs in particular conditions, e.g. as a result of freezing.
Reptile-pelvis dinosaurs (Saurischia) – the order of dinosaurs, in which case the structure of the pelvis was similar to that found in case of contemporary reptiles, where both pubis bones are turned downwards and forwards, whilst ischium bones downwards and backwards. Among them, there were carnivorous and herbivorous forms as well, bipedals and quadrupeds. They are known from all continents from the period between the late Triassic and the late Cretaceous. Among theropods, there were the largest predatory land animals, and among sauropods the largest herbivorous animals which have ever lived on Earth.
Ichtiosaures (Ichtiosauria, Gr. ichtio – fish + sauros – a lizard) – the order of marine reptiles, which appeared in the middle Triassic, and were most diverse in the Jurassic. In the late Cretaceous, they started to be phased out by mosasaurs, to ultimately become extinct in the late Cretaceous about 25 m years before the great Cretaceous extinction. They had been dominating the oceans for 135 million years.
Jurassic - the second period of the Mesozoic era. It lasted from 200 to 145 million years ago. The name originates from the Jura mountains, located in France and Switzerland. It is divided into three epochs:
- Late Jurassic (stages: Tithonian, Kimmerigdian, Oxfordian)
- Middle Jurassic (stages: Callovian, Bathonian, Bajocian, Aalenian)
- Early Jurassic (stages: Toarcian, Pliensbachian, Sinemurian, Hettangian)
Duck-billed dinosaurs - Hadrosaurs ( Hadrosauridae) - so-called duck-billed dinosaurs; a family of bird-pelvis dinosaurs. They lived in the late Cretaceous on the area of both Americas and Eurasia. Their features included ˊduck beaksˊ, with hundreds of teeth (so-called tooth batteries), which made it possible to chew even hard food, e.g. such as conifer-needle. They also possessed typical comb-shaped osseous formations on the head, thanks to which they could make very loud appendices in order to attract a partner or communicate with other specimens in the herd. They are divided into two sub-families:
- flat-headed hadrosaurs (Hadrosaurinae)
- helmet-crested lambeosaurs (Lambeosaurinae)
Comet - a small celestial body, moving in a planetary system, which, for a short time, appears in the vicinity of its central star. The heat of the star makes a coma, e.g. gas cloud, form around the comet.
Cretaceous, the - the last period of the Mesozoic era, lasting for about 80 million years (from 145.5 ± 4.0 to 65.5 ± 0.3, mln years ago). The Cretaceous is divided into two epochs:
- late Cretaceous (stages: Maastrichtian, Campanian, Santon, Cognac, Turonian, Cenomanian)
- early Cretaceous (stages: Albian, Aptian, Barremian, Hatuerivian, Valanginian, Beriasian)
Eutheria - (Eutheria synonym: Placentalia) – a strain of theria; also called higher mammals. All contemporary mammals belong to this unit. First of them (eomaia) appeared 125 mln years ago. Eutheria have developed the placenta, which ensures the contact between the organism of mother and the foetus in the course of its development, making the foetus independent of external environment. Pregnancy lasts from fewer than ten months to about 2 years. A newborn specimen is significantly larger than in case of marsupials, and in some cases immediately after the birth it is capable of performing unaided movement.
Calcium necrosis - a kind of sedimental rock of chemical origin (chemical rock). It is formed as a result of extraction of calcium carbonate (calcium necrosis) or silica (silica necrosis) out of spring water under the influence of dramatic changes of pressure or temperature. It is white, yellowish or grey in colour; its structure is significantly porous. In Poland, it is found the Carpathians and in the vicinity of Krzeszowice.
Mosasaurs (Mosasauridae) – a family of huge, snake-like carnivorous marine reptiles, living in the late Cretaceous. They reached the length of maximum 17.5.The enormous head was equipped with huge jaws with plenty of sharp teeth, and measured in the case of the largest specimens nearly 2 m (with teeth about 10 cm long). The jaws could be open as wide as about 1 m. Żuchwa was loosely hung on hinges of the crane with a movable joint on each side (behind the teeth). They had streamlined bodies, limbs transformed into wide flippers and a long, powerful tail, the wave-shaped movements of which constituted the force setting the animal in motion – an eel moves in a similar manner, and steering is ensured by four webbed limbs. Thanks to this loose connection, they could swallow enormous prey. They fed on fish, turtles, molluscs and crustaceans.
Mesozoic - this is the era which started since the great extinction at the end of the Perm and finished by the extinction of gigantic reptiles, known as the K-T extinciton event. The Mesozoic era lasted for 170 million years. It is divided into three periods: the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.
Print ̶ a type of fossils, being a negative of the external surface of soft and hard body parts surfaces of organisms, hard parts of fossils or their moulds, preserved in rock.
The fossils most frequently found in this are those of plants, and other frequent examples are skorupki molluscs, brachiopods the colonies of graptolites, and less frequently the bucklers of anthropods and echinodorms. In the form of prints, one may also meet some of the traces of animal movement on the surface of the sediment (e.g. footprints of dinosaurs).
Mould - a type of fossil, being preserved in rock, negatywem of the external surface of the hard and soft body parts of organisms, hard parts of fossils or their moulds. This form of prints is most frequent in case of plant fossils or the traces of animal movement on the surface (e.g. the traces of dinosaurs).
Depeding on the kind of filling, we differentiate:
- internal molds – the fillings of empty spaces after soft parts or body cavities, formed prior to the etching external (protecting) hard elements, such as shells of molluscs (particularly ammonites, snails and mussels). Internal molds follow the pattern of the morphology of internal surfaces of hard parts of organisms,
- external molds – the fillings of empty spaces, formed after etching hard elements,
following the pattern of the external morphology of these elements,
preserved in the form of prints.
Paleonthology - a science concerned with the research of fossils, i.e. the remains of organisms which once inhabited the Earth. Fossils are found only in sedimental rockes or in insignificantly changed metamorphic rocks. In magma rocks, the remains of ancient organisms would have been destroyed utterly due to the impact of high temperatures. The best preserved specimens of fossils may be found in finely-granulated sedimental rocks. Sometimes, only a small fragment skorupy or a single tooth, in other cases, the entire body of a ancient animal, as it was in case of mammoths, preserved in the permafrost of Siberia and Alasca.
Paleonthology is divided into paleozoology, which is a science devoted to the ancient animal life, and paleobotanics,concerned with fossil plants. Another part of it micropaleonthology , a science studying small fossils (smaller than 1-2 mm).
Perm, the - a period of the Paleozoic era, lasting for about 48 million years (from 299.0 ± 0.8 to 251.0 ± 0.4 million years ago). The Perm is younger than the Carboniferous, and older than the Triassic. It is divided into three epochs: the Cisuralian, Guadalupian and Lopingian
Plesiosaurs (Plesiosauria) - the order of extinct water reptiles from the superorder Sauropterygia (lizard flippers). Plesjosaurs lived on Earth in the period between 220 and 65 millions years ago, thus between the Triassic and the Cretaceuos.
Bird-pelvis dinosaurs - (Ornithischia) – the order of dinosaurs, in the case of which the structure of pelvis was similar to that found in case of birds, where part of the pubic bone is located in a slanted manner and reaches backwards, parallel to the ischium, i.e. differently than in case of other reptiles. All were solely herbivorous (both bipedals and quadrupedals). In the mandible, there was an uneven predentary bone, laterally flattened teeth with thickened fundations of crown, adopted for chewing food. The structure of the jaws shows that they had muscular cheeks, serving for storing the collected plant food. They are known from all continents from the period between the late Triassic and the end of the Cretaceous.
Pterodactyles - (Pterodactyloidea) – one of the two suborders of pterosaurs (Pterosauria). They lived from the late Cretaceous to the end of this period. Their features were short tails, elongated necks and wide wings. This groups included greatly varied animals, in terms of size – both the largest flying animals in the history, Quetzalcoatlus of the late Cretaceous, the wingspan of which was 12-14 m, and Pterodactylus, reaching only 50-75 cm.
Pterosaurs - flying reptiles (Pterosauria, Gr. pteron – wing + sauros – lizard) – the order of flying reptiles from the subphylum of archosaurs, living from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 65 mln years ago), closely related to dinosaurs.
Horned dinosaurs - a group of herbivorous bird-pelvis dinosaurs; they lived in the period of the Cretaceous; their length was1.5-9 m; their huge head with typical horns, spikes and osseous coat at the back; 3 families: psitakosaurs (bipedal, most primitive, often hornless, maximum 1.5 m long), protoceratopses (bipedal and quadrupedal, lenght maximum 3 m) and ceratopsidae (the largest, similar to rhinoceroses, one of the last dinosaurs to die out).
Fossils - these are the remains of organisms or the traces of their activity preserved in the fossil state. Among fossils, we differentiate: structural fossils and trace fossils, and ichnofossils. Both a huge skeleton of a dinosaur and a tiny organism visible through a microscope may equally well be a fossil. [ more]
Ichnofossil (ichnofosylium) - a fossilized trace of the activity of an animals (e.g. feeding, burrowing in sediments, excrements).
Theropods - a suborder of dinosaurs from the order of reptile-pelvis dinosaurs (Saurischia); the name (ˊtheropodˊ) means ˊfoot of the beastˊ. All were bipedal and carnivorous (predators and scavengers). They moved in a semi-straightened position. They had long and muscular hindlegs with the crus longer than the thigh, thanks to which they could run quickly. Their hindlegs were by 2/3 longer than the forelegs and had maximum three toes. Their forelegs, shorter than hindlegs, and equipped with grasping fingers (the number of them was reduced: 1-4) with claws. They also had a long tail, which made it easier for them to chase a victim quickly. Large eyes indicate that their eyesight was very good. Teeth, sharp and dagger-like, laterraly flattened, with serrated edges. Some had lost their teeth for the favour of an osseous beak, surrounded by a horned surface. Some of the theropods were feathered. Their size was different, from the species as tiny as a chicken to giant ones (between 10 and 20 m).
Marsupials (Marsupialia) - land lower mammals; a group, including about 330 species of various outside apperance and life style, and also different food preferences, both predatory and insectivorous, herbivorous and omnivorous. The smallest of marsupials are as big as small mouse, whilst the largest fossil species were as big as a rhinoceros; in turn, the largest contemporary marsupials in an erected position are taller than mand. Marsupials are known from the for fossil record from the Cretaceous layers.
Triassic, the - the oldest period of the Mesozoic era. It lasted from 251 to 200 million years ago. It is divided in three groups:
- Upper Triassic (stages: Rhaetian, Nornian, Carnian)
- Middle Triassic (stages: Ladinian, Anisian)
- Lower Triassic (stages: Olenekian, Induan)
Sauropods - (Sauropoda) – the suborder or infraorder of dinosaurs from the order of reptile-pelvis dinosaur (Saurischia). These were the largest land animals ever. They were all herbivorous, and they fed on was the soft parts of trees, e.g. leaves, which they could reach thanks to an extremely long neck; most of these reptiles were also able to stand on the hindlegs. Sauropods had small heads on very long necks, and as counterbalance for the necks, long tails. Their teeth were blunted, post- or spade-shaped, most frequently rare and with wide spaces between them. These animals tended to move quite slowly on four legs, pillar-like, five-toed legs with significantly shortened toes, with blunt claws, found only on the first toe of the forelegs and the first, second and third toes of the hindlegs. Their nostrils were transferred far backwards, sometimes very close to the eyes, often, however, far behind them (like in the case of brachiosaurs). Some of the later sauropods (e.g. titanousaurs) had partly armoured bodies. They occurred from the early Jurassic to the end of the Cretaceous on all continents, apart from the Antarctic.
Sauropterygs(Sauropterygia)lizard flippers) ̶ the superorder of extinct marine reptiles. The members of the Sauropterygia group had streamlined bodies and four limbs, transformed into webbed limbs. They were well adopted to living in the water and existed in the Mesozoic era.
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