palaeontology
Britishnoun
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the study of fossils to determine the structure and evolution of extinct animals and plants and the age and conditions of deposition of the rock strata in which they are found See also palaeobotany palaeozoology
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another name for palaeozoology
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of palaeontology
C19: from palaeo- + onto- + -logy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The research, published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, suggests that New Zealand's wildlife was already undergoing dramatic changes long before human settlement.
From Science Daily • Jun. 23, 2026
Lead author Corinne Mensforth, a PhD candidate from the Flinders Palaeontology Lab, says the fossil is especially valuable because it preserves the internal bones of the skull.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
These natural events led to repeated waves of extinction and the emergence of new species long before humans arrived, according to research published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026
From them, Dr Flannery and his team discovered evidence of three species previously unknown to science, findings which were published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology on Monday.
From BBC • May 27, 2024
Palaeontology also claimed his attention, and he described in 1831 and later years a number of Cephalopods, Brachiopods and Cystidea, and pointed out their stratigraphical importance.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
