How has the fossil record changed over time?
1 Answer
The fossil record itself hasn't really changed that much over recorded historical periods, but we are discovering more of it or re-interpreting it.
Explanation:
The fossil record is, broadly speaking, very incomplete and we probably only see a small fraction of life forms that existed in any given geological time period. Most of the fossil record that we can examine is found in outcrops and exposures in mountains, river valleys, deserts and similar locations where the rocks are exposed.
Most of the easily accessible fossil locations have been extensively worked over the last few hundred years, and scientists are now travelling to more remote locations to find new fossils (e.g remote regions of China like the Gobi desert or the high Arctic regions).
However, known fossil sites can still produce new discoveries as weathering and erosion expose new fossils. Also, many palaeontologists are starting to explore museums around the world for fossils that were collected decades ago and were never studied - or if they were studied, are now being re-interpreted.
Re-interpretation of existing fossils is also a major part of how our understanding of the fossil records continues to evolve over time.
