Fossils & Geologic Time, CAV-ELE

Geologic time is the extensive interval of time occupied by the geologic history of Earth. Formal geologic time begins at the start of the Archean Eon (4.0 billion to 2.5 billion years ago) and continues to the present day.
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Fossils & Geologic Time Encyclopedia Articles By Title

cave bear
cave bear, either of two extinct bear species, Ursus spelaeus and U. deningeri, notable for their habit of inhabiting......
Cedaria
Cedaria, genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) that is a useful index fossil for Cambrian rocks and time (about......
Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Era, third of the major eras of Earth’s history, beginning about 66 million years ago and extending to......
Cephalaspis
Cephalaspis, extinct genus of very primitive, jawless, fishlike vertebrates found in Lower Devonian rocks (the......
Ceratites
Ceratites, extinct genus of cephalopods (whose modern members include the octopus, the squid, and the nautilus)......
ceratopsian
ceratopsian, any of a group of plant-eating dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period (146 million to 66 million years......
Ceratosaurus
Ceratosaurus, (genus Ceratosaurus), large carnivorous dinosaurs whose fossils date from the Late Jurassic Period......
Ceraurus
Ceraurus, genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) found as fossils in rocks of Ordovician period (505 to 438 million......
Chalicotherium
Chalicotherium, genus of extinct perissodactyls, the order including the horse and rhinoceros. Fossil remains of......
Cheirolepis
Cheirolepis, extinct genus of primitive fishes whose fossils are found in European and North American rocks of......
Chengjiang fossil site
Chengjiang fossil site, formation in China containing fossils dating to the Terreneuvian Epoch of the Cambrian......
Chondrosteiformes
Chondrosteiformes, an extinct order of ray-finned saltwater fishes (class Actinopterygii) comprising a single family......
Chonetes
Chonetes, genus of extinct brachiopods, or lamp shells, found as fossils in marine rocks of Silurian to Permian......
Cladoselache
Cladoselache, genus of extinct sharks, known from fossilized remains in Upper Devonian rocks (formed 385–359 million......
Clidastes
Clidastes, (genus Clidastes), extinct ancient marine lizards belonging to a family of reptiles called mosasaurs.......
Climacograptus
Climacograptus, genus of graptolites, extinct colonial animals related to the primitive chordates, found as fossils......
Climatius
Climatius, genus of extinct, primitive jawed vertebrates common as fossils in Devonian rocks in Europe and North......
Clonograptus
Clonograptus, genus of graptolites (extinct, small floating colonial animals related to the primitive chordates),......
coal ball
coal ball, a lump of petrified plant matter, frequently spheroid, found in coal seams of the Upper Carboniferous......
Coal Measures
Coal Measures, major division of Upper Carboniferous rocks and time in Great Britain (the Upper Carboniferous Period......
coccolith
coccolith, minute calcium carbonate platelet or ring secreted by certain organisms (coccolithophores, classed either......
Coelophysis
Coelophysis, (genus Coelophysis), small carnivorous dinosaurs found as fossils from the Late Triassic Period (228......
Composita
Composita, genus of extinct brachiopods, or lamp shells, found as fossils in marine rocks of the Carboniferous......
Compsognathus
Compsognathus, (genus Compsognathus), very small predaceous dinosaurs that lived in Europe during the Late Jurassic......
Conchidium
Conchidium, genus of extinct brachiopods, or lamp shells, that is a valuable index fossil in marine rocks of the......
Condylarthra
Condylarthra, extinct group of mammals that includes the ancestral forms of later, more-advanced ungulates (hoofed......
Confuciusornis
Confuciusornis, genus of extinct crow-sized birds that lived during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (roughly......
conodont
conodont, minute toothlike fossil composed of the mineral apatite (calcium phosphate); conodonts are among the......
Constellaria
Constellaria, genus of extinct bryozoans (small colonial animals that produce a skeletal framework of calcium carbonate)......
Conybeare, William Daniel
William Daniel Conybeare was an English geologist and paleontologist, known for his classic work on the stratigraphy......
Cope, Edward Drinker
Edward Drinker Cope was a paleontologist who discovered approximately a thousand species of extinct vertebrates......
coprolite
coprolite, the fossilized excrement of animals. The English geologist William Buckland coined the term in 1835......
Cordaitales
Cordaitales, an order of coniferophytes (phylum, sometimes division, Coniferophyta), fossil plants dominant during......
Cordaites
Cordaites, extinct genus of seed plants with leathery, strap-shaped leaves from the Pennsylvanian Subperiod (318......
Coryphodon
Coryphodon, genus of extinct primitive hoofed mammals known from Late Paleocene and Early Eocene deposits (those......
Coutchiching Series
Coutchiching Series, division of rocks in the region of northern Minnesota and Ontario radiometrically dated to......
Creodonta
Creodonta, order of extinct carnivorous mammals first found as fossils in North American deposits of the Paleocene......
Crepicephalus
Crepicephalus, genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) useful as an index fossil for Upper Cambrian rocks in North......
Cretaceous Period
Cretaceous Period, in geologic time, the last of the three periods of the Mesozoic Era. The Cretaceous began 145.0......
Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon, population of early Homo sapiens dating from the Upper Paleolithic Period (c. 40,000 to c. 10,000 years......
Cryogenian Period
Cryogenian Period, second of three periods of the Neoproterozoic Era of geologic time, extending from approximately......
Cryptoblastus
Cryptoblastus, extinct genus of blastoids, a primitive group of echinoderms related to the modern sea lilies, found......
Cryptolithus
Cryptolithus, genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) found as fossils in Europe and North America in the Ordovician......
Cryptostomata
Cryptostomata, order of bryozoans (small colonial animals) found as fossils in rocks of Ordovician to Permian age......
Cushman, Joseph Augustine
Joseph Augustine Cushman was a U.S. paleontologist known for his work on paleoecology as shown by Foraminifera......
Cuvier, Georges
Georges Cuvier was a French zoologist and statesman, who established the sciences of comparative anatomy and paleontology.......
Cyathocrinites
Cyathocrinites, extinct genus of crinoids, or sea lilies, found as fossils in Silurian to Permian marine rocks......
Cycadeoidea
Cycadeoidea, a genus of extinct seed plants that was common worldwide during the Early Cretaceous Epoch (145 million......
Cycadeoidophyta
Cycadeoidophyta, an extinct division of plants with certain features in common with cycads (division Pinophyta)......
Cynognathus
Cynognathus, genus of extinct advanced therapsids (mammals and their relatives) found as fossils in Lower Triassic......
Cystiphyllum
Cystiphyllum, extinct genus of solitary corals found as fossils in Silurian and Devonian marine rocks (the Silurian......
cystoid
cystoid, any member of an extinct class (Cystoidea) of primitive echinoderms (animals with a hard, calcareous external......
Dalradian Series
Dalradian Series, sequence of highly folded and metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic rocks of late Precambrian......
Daonella
Daonella, genus of extinct pelecypods (clams) useful as a guide, or index, fossil in Triassic rocks. The shell......
Darwin, Charles
Charles Darwin English naturalist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundation......
Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie
Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton was a French naturalist who was a pioneer in the fields of comparative anatomy and paleontology.......
Davidson, Thomas
Thomas Davidson was a Scottish naturalist and paleontologist who became known as an authority on lamp shells, a......
Davis, Margaret Bryan
Margaret Bryan Davis American paleoecologist best known for her pioneering work in the science of palynology (the......
Dawson, Sir John William
Sir John William Dawson was a Canadian geologist who made numerous contributions to paleobotany and extended the......
De Geer, Gerhard Jakob, Friherre
Gerhard, Baron De Geer was a Swedish geologist, originator of the varve-counting method used in geochronology.......
Deinonychus
Deinonychus, (genus Deinonychus), long-clawed carnivorous dinosaurs that flourished in western North America during......
Deiphon
Deiphon, genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) easily recognized in fossil form in Silurian rocks in North America......
Deltatheridium
Deltatheridium, a genus of extinct mammals found as fossils in rocks from Upper Cretaceous times (about 100–65.5......
Denisova Cave
Denisova Cave, site of paleoanthropological excavations in the Anui River valley roughly 60 miles (100 km) south......
Denisovan
Denisovan, member of a group of archaic humans who emerged about 370,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch......
denticle
denticle, part of a conodont, a small toothlike fossil found in marine rocks representative of a long span of geologic......
Diadectes
Diadectes, extinct genus of tetrapods closely related to the first amniotes (mammals, birds, reptiles, and their......
Diarthrognathus
Diarthrognathus, genus of extinct, advanced mammal-like reptiles found as fossils in Early Jurassic terrestrial......
Dictyoclostus
Dictyoclostus, genus of extinct brachiopods, or lamp shells, that were common invertebrate forms in the shallow......
Didymograptus
Didymograptus, genus of graptolites (an extinct group of colonial animals related to primitive chordates) found......
Dielasma
Dielasma, genus of extinct brachiopods, or lamp shells, that occur as fossils in rocks deposited in marine environments......
Dikelocephalus
Dikelocephalus, genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) that is a useful guide fossil for the Late Cambrian rocks......
Dilong
Dilong, (Dilong paradoxus), genus of small feathered theropod dinosaurs known from rock deposits of the Yixian......
Dimetrodon
Dimetrodon, (genus Dimetrodon), extinct relative of primitive mammals that is characterized by a large, upright,......
Dimorphodon
Dimorphodon, (genus Dimorphodon), primitive flying reptiles found as fossils in European deposits from the Early......
Dinichthys
Dinichthys, extinct genus of arthrodires, i.e., primitive, armoured, fishlike animals known as placoderms that......
Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument, desert area in northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah, U.S., set aside in 1915......
Dinosaur Provincial Park
Dinosaur Provincial Park, public park located in the badlands of southeastern Alberta, Canada. The nearly 29-square-mile......
dinosauromorph
dinosauromorph, any of a group of archosaurian reptiles that includes dinosaurs and all other reptiles bearing......
Diplodocus
Diplodocus, (genus Diplodocus), gigantic dinosaurs found in North America as fossils from the Late Jurassic Period......
Diplograptus
Diplograptus, genus of graptolites, small, extinct colonial marine animals thought to be related to the primitive......
Diplovertebron
Diplovertebron, genus of extinct amphibians of North America and Europe known from fossils in Late Carboniferous......
Diprotodon
Diprotodon, extinct genus of marsupial classified in the suborder Vombatiformes and considered to be the largest......
Dipterus
Dipterus, genus of very primitive lungfish, among the earliest known, found as fossils in European and North American......
dire wolf
dire wolf, (Aenocyon dirus), canine that existed during the Pleistocene Epoch (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago).......
Docodon
Docodon, extinct genus of mammals originally known only from fossilized teeth. The dentition patterns of the cusps......
Dreadnoughtus
Dreadnoughtus, a genus of large sauropod dinosaurs, the largest land animal that ever lived. It had a total length......
dromaeosaur
dromaeosaur, (family Dromaeosauridae), any of a group of small to medium-sized carnivorous dinosaurs that flourished......
Dryopithecus
Dryopithecus, genus of extinct ape that is representative of early members of the lineage that includes humans......
Echinosphaerites
Echinosphaerites, genus of cystoids, an extinct group related to the sea lily and starfish, found as fossils in......
Edaphosaurus
Edaphosaurus, (genus Edaphosaurus), primitive herbivorous relative of mammals that is found in fossil deposits......
Ediacara fauna
Ediacara fauna, unique assemblage of soft-bodied organisms preserved worldwide as fossil impressions in sandstone......
Ediacaran Period
Ediacaran Period, uppermost division of the Proterozoic Eon of Precambrian time and latest of the three periods......
Ehrenberg, Christian Gottfried
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg was a German biologist, microscopist, scientific explorer, and a founder of micropaleontology—the......
Ehringsdorf remains
Ehringsdorf remains, human fossils found between 1908 and 1925 near Weimar, Germany. The most complete fossils......
Eiseley, Loren
Loren Eiseley was an American anthropologist, educator, and author who wrote about anthropology for the lay person......
elephant bird
elephant bird, (family Aepyornithidae), any of several species of extinct giant flightless birds classified in......

Fossils & Geologic Time Encyclopedia Articles By Title