Ebook: Introducing Geology

The Science of Fossils. The fascination of fossils -- A chancy business: the preservation of fossils -- From the field to the laboratory: how to collect, curate and study fossils -- Code of conduct for fossil collectors -- Taxonomy: how to classify and identify fossils -- Uses of fossils -- Fossil Lagerstatten: exceptional preservation of fossils -- Early ideas on the nature and significance of fossils -- Fossil Groups. Algae and vascular plants -- Unicellular animals: Foraminifera and radiolarians -- Sponges -- Cnidaria -- Bryozoans -- Molluscs -- Brachiopoda -- Echinodermata -- Arthropods -- Graptolites -- Conodonts -- Fishes -- Tetrapods and amphibians -- Reptiles -- Birds -- Mammals -- Hominids and hominins -- Trace fossils.;Illustrated with photographs and explanatory diagrams this text provides an introduction to the science of palaeontology. The book is divided into two parts. The first explains what a fossil is; how fossils came to be preserved; how they are classified; and what information they can tell scientists about the rocks in which they are found. The second part introduces the major fossil groups taking a systematic view from algae and plants, through the numerous examples of invertebrate animals, to the vertebrates and finally to man's ancestors.