Fun with Science Club®


			Does this piece of the evolutionary puzzle fit? Carrie Straight 05.25.01 Paleontologists, the scientists who study fossil remains to learn about life in past times, discovered the evolution of different types of animals from the dinosaurs through fossils found all over the globe. The evolution of birds is still a mystery, because the fossil record is not complete. One fossil, called Archaeorapter, was supposed to be one of the missing links. This fossil supposedly found in China (where paleontologists find many good fossils) was a fake. Someone had put together bones from at least 2 different animals to make this half-bird, half-dinosaur fossil. Some scientists got together to figure out how this fossil was made. The fossil appeared to be broken into many different pieces. The scientists took computer assisted x-rays of the fossil. The x-rays would help the scientists figure out whether the pieces really fit together. By measuring the different pieces, the cracks, and where bones crossed from one broken piece to another, the scientists discovered that the bird-part of the skeleton was not attached to the dinosaur skeleton. Once the cheaters who made this fake fossil put the main two parts of the skeletons in a position that looked somewhat natural, they filled in all the open spaces with extra pieces of stone. Sadly, this practice of making fossils or making up data sometimes occurs in science. Most scientists do not cheat, however, because they know that thiskind of cheating eliminates chances for discovery of the real way that things are. New and improved techniques help paleontologists find fakes.


			Rowe, Timothy, Richard A. Ketcham, Cambria denison, Matthew Colbert, Xing Xu, Philip J. Currie. 2001. The Archaeorapter forgery. Nature 410: 539-540.