Why are fossils so important to scientists?

Answer 1

Many of the found fossils of Archeopteryx have the impressions of what appears to be feathers. This established a possible relationship between birds and dinosaurs. Because of the Archeopteryx fossil, scientists were able to theorize that birds evolved from, and therefore are the direct descendants of some dinosaurs.

Answer 2

Archaeopteryx is a Jurassic fossil bird that shares both bird and reptile features; it is widely accepted as the earliest and most primitive known bird. Fossils show the presence of wings and feathers, as in birds, but also teeth (which modern birds do not have), claws on the wings, and a long, lizard-like tail, with tail vertebrate, such as with reptiles (Mayr 2001). The description of the first intact specimen in 1861 (two years after Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species), set off a firestorm of debate about evolution and the role of transitional fossils that endures to this day.

Over the years, ten specimens of Archaeopteryx have been found, all in a limestone deposit near Solnhofen, Germany. The fine-grained limestone, which preserves detailed casts of features not often fossilized, is used by artists and printers for lithographic plates, thus the species name Archaeopteryx lithographica. These fossils are attributed to the Upper (or Late) Jurassic period, about 145 million years ago.

As a fossil that fills a large gap between reptiles and birds, Archaeopteryx has been referred to as a missing link(Mayr 2001). At one point, it was also widely considered a direct ancestor of modern birds, but many current paleontologists view it now as a side branch. There are divergent theories on whether birds arose from archosaurian reptiles in the late Triassic, more than 200 million years ago, or from theropod dinosaurs in the more recent Cretaceous, about 80-110 million years ago. The two camps, understandably, view differently where Archaeopteryx fits in the scheme between reptiles, or dinosaurs, and modern birds.

Since its timely discovery in 1860 and description the next year, shortly after Darwin predicted such transitional fossils in The Origin of Species, Archaeopteryx has been presented as evidence for Darwin's theory of descent with modification. As such it has gained a great deal of notoriety, not only in scientific discourse but also in textbooks and the public media. Nonetheless, despite the significance attributed to this species, Archaeopteryx does not significantly illuminate possible transitions between reptiles/dinosaurs and birds, since it appears in the fossil record fully formed, with a lack of any transitional forms between reptiles or dinosaurs and itself. The history surrounding Archaeopteryx does reveal, however, much about the process of science, with competing theories espoused by different camps, and at times a tendency to espouse seemingly definitive conclusions beyond that of the known facts.

That's Why This is so important to the scientists..

Answer 3

It's not really that important to the theory of evolution but it is a good illustration of transitional forms. Coming to light just after the publication of the Origin was a big deal then, but we have many transitional forms these days.

Answer 4

Fossils are very important to scientist, because they tell alot about our history. Such as what types of animals lived along time ago, and how big they were.