
Paleontology is the scientific study of the biologic past through the fossil remains of prehistoric animals and plants. There are three main branches of paleontology: vertebrate paleontology, which is the study of the fossils of extinct mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, and amphibians; invertebrate paleontology, which is concerned with fossils of animals without backbones (mollusks, for example); and paleobotany, which deals with the study of fossil plants.
For information on paleontology as a career, you can write to the following sources that distribute material on the subject:
Paleontological Research Institution
1259 Trumansburg Road
Ithaca, New York 14850
Department of Paleobiology
MRC:NHB 121
10th & Constitution N.W.
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C. 20560
Additional information on geology careers can be obtained from the American Geological Institute, 4220 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
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