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Invertebrate paleontology (also spelledinvertebrate palaeontology) is sometimes described asinvertebrate paleozoology orinvertebrate paleobiology.Whether it is considered to be a subfield ofpaleontology,paleozoology, orpaleobiology, this discipline is thescientific study ofprehistoricinvertebrates by analyzing invertebratefossils in thegeologic record.

Byinvertebrates are meant thenon-vertebrate creatures of thekingdomAnimalia (orMetazoa) in thebioticdomain ofEukaryota. Byphyletic definition, thesemany-celled,sub-vertebrate animals lack avertebral column,spinal column,vertebrae,backbone, or long, full-lengthnotochord—in contrast to thevertebrates in the one phylum ofChordata.

Relatedly, invertebrates have never had acartilaginous orboney internalskeleton, with itsskeletal supports,gill slits,ribs andjaws. Finally, throughoutgeologic time, invertebrates have remained non-craniate creatures; that is, they never developed acranium,nerve-chordbrain,skull, or hard protectivebraincase (unlike many vertebrates).

In the many decades sinceJean-Baptiste de Lamarck, a pioneeringbiologist andevolutionist, first conceptualized and coined the category "Invertebrata" (between 1793 and 1801) and the term "Biology" (in 1802),zoology has come to recognize that thenon-vertebrate category is not ascientifically valid,monophyletictaxon.Evolutionary biology anddevelopmental biology (a.k.a. "evo-devo") now consider the term "Invertebrata" to be bothpolyphyletic andparaphyletic. Nevertheless, mostearth science departments continue to employ this term; andpaleontologists find it both useful and practical in evaluatingfossil invertebrates and—consequently—invertebrate evolution.

However, there is one contemporary caveat:Paleobiologists andmicrobiologists in the 21st century no longerclassifyone-celled "animal-like"microbeseither asinvertebratesor asanimals.For example, the commonlyfossilizedforaminifera ("forams") andradiolarians—zooplankton both formerly grouped under either an animal phylum or animal sub-kingdom calledProtozoa ("first animals")—are now placed in the kingdom or super-kingdomProtista orProtoctista (and thus calledprotists orprotoctists).

Thus moderninvertebrate paleontologists deal largely with fossils of this more strictly definedAnimalKingdom (exceptingPhylumChordata), Phylum Chordata being the exclusive focus ofvertebrate paleontology.Protist fossils are then the main focus ofmicropaleontology, while plant fossils are the chief focuspaleobotany. Together these four represent the traditional taxonomic divisions ofpaleontologic study.

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When it comes to the fossil record,soft-bodied andminuscule invertebrates—such ashydras,jellies,flatworms,hairworms,nematodes,ribbon worms,rotifers androundworms—are infrequentlyfossilized. As a result,paleontologists and otherfossil hunters must often rely ontrace fossils,microfossils, orchemofossil residue when scouting for these prehistoric creatures.

Hard-bodied andlarge invertebrates are much more commonly preserved; typically as sizeablemacrofossils. These invertebrates are more frequently preserved because their hard parts fossilise more readily—for example,shell,armor, plates,tests,exoskeleton,jaws orteeth. In invertebrates, these parts are composed ofsilica (silicon dioxide),calcite oraragonite (both forms ofcalcium carbonate),chitin (aprotein often infused withtricalcium phosphate), orkeratin (an even-more complexprotein), rather than the vertebratebone (hydroxyapatite) orcartilage offishes and land-dwellingtetrapods.

Thechitinous jaws ofannelids (such as the marinescolecodonts) are sometimes preserved as fossils; while manyarthropods andinarticulatebrachiopods have easily fossilized hard parts ofcalcite,chitin, orkeratin. The most common and often-found macrofossils are the very hardcalcareous shells ofarticulatebrachiopods (that is, the everyday "lampshells") and ofmollusks (such as the omnipresentclams,snails,mussels andoysters). On the other hand, shell-lessslugs and non-tubiferousworms (for instance,earthworms) lack hard parts and therefore such organisms are poorly represented in the fossil record.

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Although these books arenot footnoted in this article, the following are well-illustrated, well-organized—and often well-worn—guides to invertebrate (and sometimes other) fossils:

• Paolo Arduini (1987),Simon and Schuster's Guide to Fossils (Old Tappan, New Jersey:Fireside), 320 pages.ISBN 0-671-63132-2.
• James R. Beerbower (1968).Search for the Past: An Introduction to Paleontology (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:Prentice-Hall), 512 pages.
• R. S. Boardman and others (1985).Fossil Invertebrates.
• British Museum of Natural History (1969).British Palaeozoic Fossils (London, England: British Museum of Natural History).
• Euan N. K. Clarkson (1998).Invertebrate Palaeontology and Evolution (London, England:Allen and Unwin), 468 pages.ISBN 978-0-632-05238-7.
• Peter Doyle (1996),Understanding Fossils: An Introduction to Invertebrate Paleontology (Hoboken, New Jersey:John Wiley & Sons), 426 pages.ISBN 0-471-96351-8.
• Carroll Lane Fenton andMildred Adams Fenton (1958); updated by Patricia Vickers Rich and Thomas Hewitt Rich (1997).The Fossil Book: A Record of Prehistoric Life (Garden City, New York:Doubleday andCourier Dover Publishing), from 482 to 760 pages.ISBN 0-486-29371-8.
• W. R. Hamilton and others (1974).A Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Fossils (London, England:Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd.), 320 pages.
• W. B. Harland (1967).The Fossil Record (London, England:Geological Society of London), 827 pages.
• V. Lehmann and G. Hillmer (1983).Fossil Invertebrates (Cambridge, England:Cambridge University Press).
• Harold L. Levin (1998),Ancient Invertebrates and Their Living Relatives (Boston:Prentice-Hall), 358 pages.ISBN 978-0-13-748955-8.
• William H. Matthews III (1962).Fossils: An Introduction to Prehistoric Life (New York:Barnes & Noble), 337 pages.
• Helmut Mayr (1992).A Guide to Fossils (New York:Longman, Harlow).
• Raymond C. Moore and others (1952).Invertebrate Fossils (New York:McGraw-Hill), 776 pages.ISBN 0-07-043020-9.
• J. W. Murray, editor (1985).Atlas of Invertebrate Macrofossils (Princeton:Princeton University Press), 256 pages.
• Douglas Palmer (2004),Fossils (London, England:Dorling Kindersley).
• Frank H. T. Rhodes and others (1962).Fossils: A Guide to Prehistoric Life (New York:Golden Nature Guide), 242 pages.
• Henry Woodburn Shimer andRobert Rakes Shrock (1944/1983).Index Fossils of North America (Cambridge, Massachusetts:Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press), 837 pages.
• Robert Rakes Shrock and W. H. Twenhofel (1953).Invertebrate Paleontology (New York: McGraw-Hill).
• Ronald Singer (2000),Encyclopedia of Paleontology (London, England:Routledge), 1,467 pages.ISBN 1-884964-96-6.
• Ida Thompson (1982/2004).National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fossils (New York:Alfred A. Knopf), 846 pages.
• James W. Valentine (2004),On the Origins of Phyla (Chicago: University of Chicago Press). 608 pages.ISBN 0-226-84548-6. A discussion focusing on invertebrates during the Paleozoic era.
• Cyril Walker andDavid Ward (2002).Smithsonian Handbook of Fossils (London, England: Dorling Kindersley), 320 pages.

• A colorful, illustrated taxonomy of extinctand living invertebrate Metazoa by theUniversity of California Museum of Paleontology.
• The invertebrate fossil record illustrated colorfully for Metazoa provided by the U.C. Museum of Paleontology.
• Educational and colorful introduction to the three domains of the Tree of Life – as well as to the topic of "Understanding Evolution" – sponsored by the U.C. Museum of Paleontology.
• An introduction to fossilsArchived 2009-09-30 at theWayback Machine byThe Paleontology Portal, a project of four American institutions funded by theNational Science Foundation.
• The introduction toinvertebrate fossils provided by The Paleontology Portal.
• Thousands of online pictures of invertebrate fossils. sponsored by thePeabody Museum atYale University.
• The taxonomy of the Metazoa Kingdom of animals provided byThe Tree of Life Project.
• Home site of the many volumes of theTreatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, a site sponsored by bothThe Paleontological Institute at theUniversity of Kansas and theGeological Society of America.

• Invertebrate paleozoology

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