Glossary B
Basal
1. Situated at or forming the base. 2. Specifically placed at the base or \\\"trunk\\\" of a phylogenetic tree. 3. In general, being the earliest or ancestral form of a lineage.
Basal group
A group that is outside a more derived clade
Basicranium
The underside of the skull not including the palate; the base of the braincase and the back of the throat. This region is made up of irregularly shaped bones whose names end in \\\"sphenoid\\\" and which are generally fused together into a solid unit.
The base of the skull
Battery
A distinctive tooth pattern in which a large number of small, slender individual teeth are wedged very tightly together along the length of the jaw, with multiple teeth stacked in one tooth position.
Bifid
Split
Binomial nomenclature
The traditional system for giving scientific names to organisms, developed by Linnaeus, in which the name of an organism is made up of two words, the genus name and the species name; e.g., Oviraptor mongoliensis.
Bioapatite
Apatite (a phosphate mineral) that has an organic source.
Biochronology
The study of the age of the earth based on the relative dating of rocks and geological events, by the use of fossil evidence.
Bioclimatology
The study of the way in which climate relates to and effects the activities and characteristics of plants and animals.
Biodiversity
The taxonomic or ecological variety of species at a given time or in a given area.
Biodynamics / Biodynamic
The study of the factors that effect or cause the metabolism of organisms. Thus, biodynamic.
Biogenic
1. Resulting from the actions of living organisms. 2. Necessary for life and life processes.
Biogeochemistry
The study of the interrelationship between plant and animal life and the chemical makeup of the earth.
Biogeography / Biogeographer
The study of the location and distribution of animal and plant life in earth\\\'s environment. Thus, biogeographer.
Biomass
1. The total estimated weight or body mass of all the organisms in a given habitat or site.
2. The complete body tissue of one individual aninal.
Biomechanics
1. The science or activity of examining organisms in the context of mechanical laws and principles.
2. Specifically, an analysis of the motion of the body of a given organism.
Biometrics / Biometry
The statistical study of issues or events in biology; a mathematical analysis of biological data. Also, biometry.
Biomineralization
The process in which animal or plant material becomes converted to mineral material.
Biorhythms
The collective array of internal conditions and processes (e.g., temperature, diet) that effects the growth and metabolism of an organism.
Biostratigraphy
The study of the distribution or fossils in distinct layers of rock.
Bioturbation
The disturbance of the soil surface or subsurface by living organisms; e.g., the extension of plant roots or the burrowing of moles, gophers, and the like.
Biozone
1. The time period in which a given species has existed or did exist. 2. An area that includes all the strata deposited during the period of time that a given taxon lived.
Bipedality
The fact or ability of walking on two legs rather than four.
Bivariate
Describing a variable condition that occurs simultanesously with another variable; usually depicted in a graph.
Body fossil
A fossil consisting of an actual body part or parts of an organism, as opposed to a mark left by the activity of the organism.
Bonebed / Bone bed
A sedimentary layer having a significant concentration of fossil bones, bone fragments, and other such organic remains.
Boss
A raised ridge or rounded body part; e.g., such a part on the front central area of an animal\\\'s facial horns, above the eyes and nose.
BP / bp
An abbreviation for \\\"before present\\\", i.e., before the present time.
Brachiopods
Shelled sea creatures that look a little like clams and oysters but are not closely related.
Braincase
The portion of the skull that encloses and protects the brain.
Breccia
A coarse-grained rock, composed of angular, broken rock fragments held together by a mineral cement or a fine-grained matrix.
Browsers
Those animals that feed on high folliage (shrubs and trees)
Bryophyte
A member of the Bryophyta, the large group of plants lacking vascular tissues and true roots, stems, and leaves; i.e., mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.
Burla
Strips of hessian sacking soaked in plaster-of-Paris and used to bandaga fossils in the fieldGlossary
1. Situated at or forming the base. 2. Specifically placed at the base or \\\"trunk\\\" of a phylogenetic tree. 3. In general, being the earliest or ancestral form of a lineage.
Basal group
A group that is outside a more derived clade
Basicranium
The underside of the skull not including the palate; the base of the braincase and the back of the throat. This region is made up of irregularly shaped bones whose names end in \\\"sphenoid\\\" and which are generally fused together into a solid unit.
The base of the skull
Battery
A distinctive tooth pattern in which a large number of small, slender individual teeth are wedged very tightly together along the length of the jaw, with multiple teeth stacked in one tooth position.
Bifid
Split
Binomial nomenclature
The traditional system for giving scientific names to organisms, developed by Linnaeus, in which the name of an organism is made up of two words, the genus name and the species name; e.g., Oviraptor mongoliensis.
Bioapatite
Apatite (a phosphate mineral) that has an organic source.
Biochronology
The study of the age of the earth based on the relative dating of rocks and geological events, by the use of fossil evidence.
Bioclimatology
The study of the way in which climate relates to and effects the activities and characteristics of plants and animals.
Biodiversity
The taxonomic or ecological variety of species at a given time or in a given area.
Biodynamics / Biodynamic
The study of the factors that effect or cause the metabolism of organisms. Thus, biodynamic.
Biogenic
1. Resulting from the actions of living organisms. 2. Necessary for life and life processes.
Biogeochemistry
The study of the interrelationship between plant and animal life and the chemical makeup of the earth.
Biogeography / Biogeographer
The study of the location and distribution of animal and plant life in earth\\\'s environment. Thus, biogeographer.
Biomass
1. The total estimated weight or body mass of all the organisms in a given habitat or site.
2. The complete body tissue of one individual aninal.
Biomechanics
1. The science or activity of examining organisms in the context of mechanical laws and principles.
2. Specifically, an analysis of the motion of the body of a given organism.
Biometrics / Biometry
The statistical study of issues or events in biology; a mathematical analysis of biological data. Also, biometry.
Biomineralization
The process in which animal or plant material becomes converted to mineral material.
Biorhythms
The collective array of internal conditions and processes (e.g., temperature, diet) that effects the growth and metabolism of an organism.
Biostratigraphy
The study of the distribution or fossils in distinct layers of rock.
Bioturbation
The disturbance of the soil surface or subsurface by living organisms; e.g., the extension of plant roots or the burrowing of moles, gophers, and the like.
Biozone
1. The time period in which a given species has existed or did exist. 2. An area that includes all the strata deposited during the period of time that a given taxon lived.
Bipedality
The fact or ability of walking on two legs rather than four.
Bivariate
Describing a variable condition that occurs simultanesously with another variable; usually depicted in a graph.
Body fossil
A fossil consisting of an actual body part or parts of an organism, as opposed to a mark left by the activity of the organism.
Bonebed / Bone bed
A sedimentary layer having a significant concentration of fossil bones, bone fragments, and other such organic remains.
Boss
A raised ridge or rounded body part; e.g., such a part on the front central area of an animal\\\'s facial horns, above the eyes and nose.
BP / bp
An abbreviation for \\\"before present\\\", i.e., before the present time.
Brachiopods
Shelled sea creatures that look a little like clams and oysters but are not closely related.
Braincase
The portion of the skull that encloses and protects the brain.
Breccia
A coarse-grained rock, composed of angular, broken rock fragments held together by a mineral cement or a fine-grained matrix.
Browsers
Those animals that feed on high folliage (shrubs and trees)
Bryophyte
A member of the Bryophyta, the large group of plants lacking vascular tissues and true roots, stems, and leaves; i.e., mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.
Burla
Strips of hessian sacking soaked in plaster-of-Paris and used to bandaga fossils in the fieldGlossary