Re: how do fossil records help our understanding of evolution?

Hi Sara,

Due to the vast scope of your question, I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to give you anything like a comprehensive answer. In fact all I can really do is to point you towards some sources of information you may not be familiar with. Since the late '80s a variety of new methods have been introduced into evolutionary biology from the field of molecular biology. These methods attempt to reconstruct the evolutionary history of organisms by comparing the DNA of living organisms. Since most fossils contain little or no DNA, fossils were rather neglected in the closing years of the 20th century. More recently however, fossils seem to have been making something of a come-back. This is due partly to the realisation that molecular methods are not going to answer all of the outstanding questions in evolutionary biology. The resurgence of fossils has also been fuelled by a number of remarkable recent finds such as the extraordinary feathered dinosaurs of China and several other dinosaurs such as Unenlagia, as well as important fossil snakes, birds, whales, hominids and not forgetting fossil plants.

Perhaps the best place to start finding out more about all of this is the talk.origins archive which contains lots of excellent articles on evolutionary biology and palaeontology. Of particular interest are the articles on Archaeopteryx, transitional vertebrate fossils and fossil hominids. There are also several articles on the social and historical aspects of evolution. If you want to delve a bit deeper then many of the universities have made parts of their course materials available online. A lot of these sites can be quite technical but two of the more accessible ones can be found on the web sites of the University of California and Tufts University. For the very latest developments in evolutionary biology check out the Evolution Update pages. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a more thorough answer but I'm sure you'll learn a lot more from these web sites. If you have any more specific questions then please feel free to send them to the MadSci Network, and we'll do our best to answer them.

Good luck!

Rob Cruickshank

Dan Berger adds:
Don't forget the MadSci Evolution FAQ!