• Question from:Peter

Hello
I have 3 questions

1.  If we collect all the excavated sites (fossil digs)  from the world in one place do we have atleast 1% unearthed teritory  from all the  surface of the earth(the 7 continents + islands) ? Of course , no one will be able to answer with 100% accuracy  but at least comparatively.So how much free teritory remain?

2. I red that we have about 250 million fossils fond since Darwin`s time, but isn`t this very small number vs 3.5 billion years? About only a  4-7 thousand years we have allready 7 billion people on earth but for 3.5by we have only 250m fossils (humans anmilas )total - this even don`t have 1/3 of 1 billion?I`m totaly awere that fossilisation is a rear event but... we still have million upon million of years and we shoud have much more  fossils till date.

3. I cand find the option how to register  in   askabiologist.org.uk. Can you hel me with this one?

Thank you in advance !

Peter

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  • University of Bristol
  • Posts: 4,230

at different times you have posted under the names Igor Imovich, Alberto, and others. It would helpful if you restrict yourself to just one name from now on.

As to your third question registration is limited to the experts who staff and contribute to the site.

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  • At home in Ruardean, Gloucestershire, England
  • Posts: 942

Much less than 1% of the Earth's surface has been excavated; but fossil deposits cover much more than 1% of the Earth's surface. There just isn't the manpower to excavate all of it (plus much of it is inconveniently covered with forests, cities, etc.)

The same reason explains the number of fossils that have been found -- a number that you seem to think is small). For most of the 4-7 thousand years of modern civilisation, no-one was collecting fossils. For most of the last few hundred years, only a couple of hundred people have been collecting them. It's only in the last few decades that that has really changed -- and, sure enough, the rate of fossil discovery has gone through the roof.

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  • University of Bristol
  • Posts: 4,230

my curiosity piqued by the post, a number of sites I looked at quote a figure of about 1 in a million dinosaur skeletons have been fossilised and thus survived.

Now I think of it I can't begin to imagine how that figure was arrived at since the denominator by definition isn't known! Are there any hard facts or sensible estimates relating to this issue Mike?

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  • At home in Ruardean, Gloucestershire, England
  • Posts: 942

I have no idea how you would postulate such a thing. Do you have a reference?

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  • University of Bristol
  • Posts: 4,230

me neither - they were just statements on a couple of sites I found with nothing to back them up (hence my question!).

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  • At home in Ruardean, Gloucestershire, England
  • Posts: 942

Then I think all we can say about this is: [citation needed]

:-)