Science: Geology: Earth Systems, Fossilization

Introduction to Geology: Walter Alvarez introduces geology and discusses how the physical features of Earth can tell us about its history.

Apatosaurus Fossilization is the process of bones hardening into rock. When a animal dies it's body rots away and the only thing that's left is it's bones. After a while soil starts to cover up the bones.  The sediment in the soil hardens on the bones and the bones become rock. These bones are called fossils,scientists who study fossils are called paleontologists they go on digs to uncover the bones and when they get back they study them. Wikipedia: Fossils Wikipedia: Paleontology Burke: Paleontology

View Ray Troll's Strata Column - StrataColumnRayTroll.jpg (JPEG Image, 1851x1915 pixels) View a fossil amber insect gallery - Check out the amber fossil insect photos.

Science: Zoology: Primeval Creatures

Meet the Primeval creatures.
Rex is a Coelurosauravus (sounds like color-o-saura-vus), a flying reptile from the Permian period, about 250 million years ago. Coelurosauravus is the first known flying vertebrate. Extensions from his rib bones allowed him to glide.

Science: CryptoZoology: Monsterpedia

Check out the Monster Quest Monsterpedia.

Watch a video about cryptozoology.

Science: Zoology: Ancient Sea Turtles

Sea turtles breathe air, but they can breathe underwater when they need to. Sea turtles have immunity to jellyfish sting and eat even the deadly box jellyfish. There are seven living species of sea turtle (leatherback, loggerhead, green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley, and Australian flatback), all of which came into existence in the late Cretaceous period between 60 and 100 million years ago. All existing sea turtle species are endangered.

Fossil records trace the existence of sea turtles to about 200 million years ago. Archelon is the name given to a 70-million-year-old fossil marine turtle.

Read more at All About Reptiles.

Science: CrytpoZoology: Kongamato pterosaur

Read about Kongamato sightings.

Science: CryptoZoology: Dragons and Dinosaurs

We often use the terms dragons and dinosaurs synonymously. Maia, you love stories and information about both, although you do differentiate between dragons that we find in mythological resources and dinosaurs in scientific resources.

At 2 years old, in 2005, we visited the Chinasaurs exhibit in Minneapolis, and that experience had an impact on you. Within a couple of months you could identify and pronounce long names for at least 20 dinosaurs. To present, each time we visit the library we come home with at least one book about dinosaurs or dragons.

Maia, you usually prefer the look of the European dragon to the Asian dragon, possibly for the reason that the European interpretation more resembles standing dinosaurs. However, you sometimes pretend to "float" like a wingless Asian dragon while hanging over a swing.

In Latin, the term draco means snake or serpent. Snakes belong in the reptile group, like dinos. You first guessed that they belonged with amphibians, probably because of the legend of La Gargouille, a water dragon.

Dragons in various mythology may breathe or spit fire, acid, or ice. You have pointed out that according to one of your storybooks, some dragons breathe bubbles, rainbows, or clouds. Dragons may have feathers or scales. You've said you prefer scales, although Saphira has feathers. Dragons may or may not have wings. You've pointed out that Chinese dragons float. Dragons come in many sizes from the size of a flea or butterfly to the size of a large dinosaur. Early European depictions described bear-sized dragons.

Asian dragons generally appear benevolent (well-meaning) and European dragons generally appear malevolent (ill-meaning). You've said that you believe dragons mean well.

Learn more:
Dinos and Dragons
Dragon Theme Page
D.R.A.G.O.N.S.
The Four Dragons

Science: Zoology: Nautilus

The word nautilus is Greek for "sailor." It's the common name of a marine cephalopod family. Cephalopod is Greek for "head-feet," which refers to mollusks with a head and tentacles like squid and ammonites.


Nautilus have up to 90 tentacles (without suckers) arranged in circles. They are the only living cephalopod with a shell. The shell uses countershading camouflage, which is darker on top and lighter on the bottom.

Nautilus are sometimes called "living fossils." The species has existed relatively unchanged for 500 million years.


The nautilus is a predator of shrimp and small fish. They are found only in the Indo-Pacific ocean on steep slopes of coral reefs.