古生物学术语表
古生物学和恐龙科学的基本术语和定义。
Modern Paleontology
15 术语与当代古生物学研究前沿技术和概念相关的术语。
3D Photogrammetry
Creating precise three-dimensional digital models of fossils from photographs taken at multiple angles. Photogrammetry enables …
Finite Element Analysis
A computational engineering method applied to fossil bones to model how forces were distributed during …
Ancient DNA
Genetic material recovered from fossil or sub-fossil specimens. Ancient DNA degrades rapidly at ambient temperatures; …
Bayesian Phylogenetics
A statistical approach to phylogenetic inference that incorporates prior probabilities and produces probability distributions over …
Cladistic Analysis
A method of classification that groups organisms based on shared derived characters. Cladistic analysis of …
Synchrotron Scanning
High-energy X-ray imaging at particle accelerator facilities that reveals microscopic structures inside fossils non-destructively. Synchrotron …
Collagen Preservation
The survival of original protein fragments in fossilized bone. Collagen sequences have been recovered from …
Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence
A technique using ultraviolet or violet lasers to reveal soft-tissue outlines and feather impressions in …
Molecular Phylogenetics
Reconstructing evolutionary trees using molecular sequence data rather than or in addition to morphology. Applied …
Crown Group
The clade comprising the living members of a group, their last common ancestor, and all …
Digital Endocast
A virtual model of the brain and inner ear made from CT scans of the …
Ghost Lineage
A lineage inferred to have existed from phylogenetic evidence but lacking fossil documentation. Ghost lineages …
Lazarus Taxon
A taxon that appears in the fossil record, disappears for a significant interval, then reappears. …
Parsimony
The principle of preferring the evolutionary tree that requires the fewest evolutionary changes to explain …
Stem Group
All fossil relatives of a living group that fall outside the crown group. Non-avian dinosaurs …