Question 2 of 21

What is the name for people who study fossils to draw conclusions about prehistoric life?

... A paleontologist is a scientist who studies fossils to learn about the forms of life that existed in former geologic periods.

Question 3 of 21

What is a fossil?

... A fossil is the remains or evidence of any creature or plant that once lived on the Earth.

Question 4 of 21

How long does it take for a fossil to form?

... Fossilization begins when an organism is covered with sediment that protects it from weathering and decay. Over millions of years, the bones are preserved beneath layers and layers of sediment, which become solid rock.

Question 5 of 21

What is the prehistoric period, almost 250 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth?

... During the Mesozoic Era, 248 million years ago, dinosaurs dominated the Earth, small furry animals appeared, birds began to fly, and flowering plants bloomed.

Question 6 of 21

Why is the ginkgo tree an important fossil?

... Although dinosaurs and other plant life became extinct, the ginkgo biloba tree survived and thus is called a living fossil.

Question 7 of 21

Why haven't scientists discovered as many bird fossils as other species?

... Bird bones are so fragile they cannot survive the fossilization process.

Question 8 of 21

How are new dinosaur fossils named?

... Sometimes the dinosaur is given a name that describes something unusual about it, some are named after the location where they are found, and some are named after their behavior, their size, or in honor of a person. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature must approve the name.

Question 9 of 21

What strange fact did a bird fossil discovered in South America reveal?

... The specimen, called Pelagornis chilensis, lived 5 to 10 million years ago, with a wingspan measuring 17 feet (5.2 meters) and bony teeth along its long slender beak.

Question 10 of 21

What is the name for an organism with few modern relatives that is alive today in essentially the same form as its ancient ancestors?

... A living fossil is an organism alive today that is virtually identical to an organism discovered as a fossil.

Question 11 of 21

What did a fossilized leaf discovered in Germany with the bite marks of an ant reveal?

... Scientists announced the discovery of a 48 million-year-old fossilized leaf infected by an ant, which had been under the control of a parasitic fungus.

Question 12 of 21

What is unique about Beelzebufo, a frog fossil discovered in Madagascar?

... The beach-ball sized amphibian called Beelzebufo or "devil frog" is estimated to weigh about 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) and measures 16 inches (41 centimeters) high.

Question 13 of 21

What theory did frog fossils found in Madagascar provide evidence for?

... While Beelzebufo was discovered in Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, its closest relatives live in South America, providing evidence for the theory that the continents were once connected.

Question 14 of 21

What strange thing have whale fossils told scientists?

... Early whale fossil discoveries revealed the ancestors of whales once had hind legs even after they moved to the sea.

Question 15 of 21

What fossil discovery told paleontologists that some dinosaurs could fly?

... The 2003 discovery of several four-winged dinosaurs named Anchiornis huxleyi forced the scientists to take a fresh look at other feathered dinosaurs, and they determined the feathers were, in fact, used for flight.

Question 16 of 21

How do scientists know the colors of ancient birds?

... They study the microscopic pigment sacs on the fossils and compare them to those of living birds.

Question 17 of 21

When did mini-dinosaurs roam the earth?

... Fossils recently unearthed in Canada reveal that there were also little dinosaurs running around the forest floor during the Jurassic Period.

Question 18 of 21

Why was the discovery of small dinosaur fossils in Canada so important?

... Being low to the ground, the little creatures played a different role in the ecosystem than that of their giant relatives. The mini-dinosaurs also provide clues into migration patterns of the creatures from South America, through North America to Asia.

Question 19 of 21

How many horns did the Kosmoceratops skeleton discovered in Utah bear?

... The strange-looking Kosmoceratops had a nose horn, two long, spiky side eye horns, as well as one on each cheekbone, and 10 across the top of its head, adding up to 15 horns total.

Question 20 of 21

Why is the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah so rich with fossils?

... A warm, shallow sea flooded much of central North America, dividing the continent into two land masses. Laramidia in the west was swampy and lush, and therefore inhabited by many herbivores, including armoured ankylosaurs, duck-billed hadrosaurs and dome-headed pachycephalosaurs, as well as carnivorous predators such as tyrannosaurs.

Question 21 of 21

What do the multiple horns found on some dinosaur fossils tell scientists?

... While these dinosaurs may look scary, and may have been intimidating to their rivals, their fancy headdresses were probably very appealing to dinosaurs of the opposite sex.

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