Related topics: fossil
Skeleton
hideIn biology, a skeleton is a rigid framework that provides protection and structure in many types of animal, particularly those of the phylum Chordata and of the superphylum Ecdysozoa. Exoskeletons are external, as is typical of many invertebrates; they enclose the soft tissues and organs of the body. Exoskeletons may undergo periodic moulting as the animal grows. Endoskeletons are internal, as is typical of many vertebrates; they are usually surrounded by skin and musculature, though they often enclose vital organs. Endoskeletons are attachment points for musculature and act as leverage for movement, and in many animals contain marrow, which produces blood cells. Skeletons may or may not be mineralized - human skeletons are calcified, while shark skeletons are cartilaginous - and may be jointed for flexibility and motility or rigid for structural strength.
The average adult human skeleton has around 206 bones. These bones meet at joints, the majority of which are freely movable. The skeleton also contains cartilage for elasticity. Ligaments are strong strips of fibrous connective tissue that hold bones together at joints, thereby stabilizing the skeleton during movement.
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News tagged with skeleton
Ancient Pacific islanders brought to light
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A find of 60 headless skeletons summer 2009 may reveal the identity of the people who first inhabited the Pacific Ocean archipelago Vanuatu 3000 years ago.
Science's breakthrough of the year: Uncovering 'Ardi'
Dec 17, 2009 |
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The research that brought to light the fossils of Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia, has topped Science's list of this year's most significant s ...
World's first skeletal mount of Paluxysaurus jonesi reveals new biology
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Early Cretaceous sauropod Paluxysaurus jonesi weighed 20 tons, was 60 feet long and had a neck 26 feet long, according to scientists who prepared the world's first full skeletal mount ...
U of A students reaffirm the work of a 1920s paleontologist
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Three University of Alberta paleontology graduate students blew the dust off an 85-year-old dinosaur find to discover the original researcher had it right and a 1970s revision of his work was wrong.
Bones of T. rex to make museum debut in Oregon
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 11, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex will make its museum debut at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry along the banks of the Willamette River.
Early carnivorous dinosaurs crossed continents
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Did the first dinosaurs wander across continents or stay put where they first evolved? The first dinosaurs evolved 230 million years ago when the continents were assembled into one landmass called Pangea. ...
Scientists: New dinosaur species found in SAfrica
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 11, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Scientists say they've discovered a new dinosaur species in South Africa that may help explain how the creatures evolved into the largest animals on land.
The terrible teens of T. rex
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 02, 2009 |
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We all know adolescents get testy from time to time. Thank goodness we don't have young tyrannosaurs running around the neighborhood.
The skeleton: Size matters
Oct 27, 2009 |
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Vertebrates have in common a skeleton made of segments, the vertebrae. During development of the embryo, each segment is added in a time dependent manner, from the head-end to the tail-end: the first segments to be added ...
Baby mammoth preserved in frozen soil heads to Chicago
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 04, 2009 |
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Sucked to her death in a muddy river bed, a baby woolly mammoth spent 40,000 years frozen in the Siberian permafrost where her body was so perfectly preserved traces of her mother's milk remained in her belly.
Before 'Lucy,' there was 'Ardi': Oldest hominid skeleton provides new evidence for human evolution (w/ Video)
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 01, 2009 |
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In a special issue of Science, an international team of scientists has for the first time thoroughly described Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiop ...
Scientists Find Obesity Alone Does Not Cause Arthritis in Animals
Sep 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The link between obesity and osteoarthritis may be more than just the wear and tear on the skeleton caused by added weight.
New species discovered on whale skeletons
Sep 21, 2009 |
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When a whale dies, it sinks to the seafloor and becomes food for an entire ecosystem. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered previously unknown species that feed only on dead ...
Caistor skeleton mystifies archaeologists
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Sep 15, 2009 |
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A skeleton, found at one of the most important, but least understood, Roman sites in Britain is puzzling experts from The University of Nottingham.
T. rex for sale: Dinosaur fossil on block in Vegas
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Sep 04, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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(AP) -- Museums and high-rolling natural history buffs will get a crack at buying a fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex next month at a Las Vegas Strip auction.
