Paleontologist Explains How Fossils Are Defined

Paleontologist Roger Benson of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City explained how fossils are defined. He specifically notes how fossils differ from skeletons, how fossils don’t necessarily have to be whole skeletons, and how fossils aren’t always associated with dinosaurs. Benson also talks about how unearthing fossils gives scientists a greater lens into the the past.

From golden amber to ancient DNA, the fossil record of Earth stretches back hundreds of millions of years (even billions, for the earliest organisms)….Roger Benson explains how a fossil is different from a skeleton, and shows many of the types of fossils that have helped paleontologists to understand the history of life on our planet.