User:Abyssal/Portal:Permian

The Permian Portal Introduction Selected article on the Permian world and its legacies Syringopora. Corals are marine invertebrates in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. A coral "head" is a colony of myriad genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is a spineless animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in length. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening. An exoskeleton is excreted near the base. Over many generations, the colony thus creates a large skeleton that is characteristic of the species. Individual heads grow by asexual reproduction of polyps. Corals also breed sexually by spawning: polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously over a period of one to several nights around a full moon. Although some corals can catch small fish and plankton, using stinging cells on their tentacles, like those in sea anemone and jellyfish, most corals obtain the majority of their energy and nutrients from photosynthetic unicellular algae that live within the coral's tissue called zooxanthella. Such corals require sunlight and grow in clear, shallow water. Corals can be major contributors to the physical structure of the coral reefs that develop in tropical and subtropical waters, such as the enormous Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Other corals do not have associated algae and can live in much deeper water. (see more...) Did you know? Skeletal mount of Scutosaurus. ... that the group Pareiasauromorpha includes parareptiles that lived from 271 to 252 million years ago?" ... that fossils of the temnospondyl amphibian Kourerpeton were notoriously discovered in the window of a barber's shop in Arizona? ... that although it was first classified as a reptile, the extinct genus Batropetes (restoration pictured) is now known to be a microsaur amphibian? ... that the largest known ovules produced by any non-flowering seed-plant came from the Medullosales (fossilized leaves pictured), an order of extinct seed ferns? ...that the extinct crocodile-like Prionosuchus is the largest amphibian known to have existed? Need help? Do you have a question about Abyssal/Portal:Permian that you can't find the answer to? Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk. Selected image Life restoration of Mesosaurus. Photo credit: Nobu Tamura Selected article on the Permian in human science, culture and economics A skeletal mount of Edaphosaurus. Paleontology or palaeontology (/ˌpeɪliɒnˈtɒlədʒi, ˌpæli-, -ən-/) is the scientific study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). As a "historical science" it attempts to explain causes rather than conduct experiments to observe effects. Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier's work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term itself originates from Greek: παλαιός (palaios) meaning "old, ancient," ὄν, ὀντ- (on, ont-), meaning "being, creature" and λόγος (logos), meaning "speech, thought, study". Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including biochemistry, mathematics and engineering. Use of all these techniques has enabled paleontologists to discover much of the evolutionary history of life, almost all the way back to when Earth became capable of supporting life, about 3,800 million years ago. As knowledge has increased, paleontology has developed specialized sub-divisions, some of which focus on different types of fossil organisms while others study ecology and environmental history, such as ancient climates. Body fossils and trace fossils are the principal types of evidence about ancient life, and geochemical evidence has helped to decipher the evolution of life before there were organisms large enough to leave fossils. (see more...) Geochronology Epochs - Cisuralian - Guadalupian - Lopingian Ages - Asselian - Sakmarian - Artinskian - Kungurian - Roadian - Wordian - Capitanian -Wuchiapingian - Changhsingian Events - Hunter-Bowen orogeny - Permian–Triassic extinction event Geography - Pangaea - Panthalassa Animals - Ammonoids - Blattopterans - Dicynodonts - Dinocephalians - Fusulinids - Gorgonopsians - Lepospondyls - Pareiasaurs - Pelycosaurs - Temnospondyls - Trilobites Plants - Conifers - Cycads - Ginkgos - Seed ferns Stratigraphic units - Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma Researchers - Edward Drinker Cope Culture - Animal Armageddon - The Day The Earth Nearly Died - List of creatures in the Walking with... series - Walking with Monsters Subcategories Permian Permian Africa Permian Antarctica Permian Asia Permian Europe Permian North America Permian Oceania Permian South America Permian geochronology Permian events Permian geology Permian life Permian paleogeography Permian stubs Quality Content Featured Permian articles - Amphibian Good Permian articles - Dimetrodon - Temnospondyli Things you can do Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Stubs : Permian stubs Current Permian FACs - none currently Related content Time Earth sciences Paleontology Extinct and Endangered Species Paleozoic Cambrian Ordovician Silurian Devonian Carboniferous Permian Mesozoic Associated Wikimedia The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject: Commons Free media repository Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals Wikidata Free knowledge base Wikinews Free-content news Wikiquote Collection of quotations Wikisource Free-content library Wikiversity Free learning tools Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus ¤ Category:Geologic time portals