My favorite fossils

As we know, science and history are the harbingers of doom for religion. Without the superstition born of ignorance, religions are unable to guilt, terrorize or tempt the masses. One of my favorite sciences is paleontology because of the fascinating variety of life over the past millennia. Here are some examples of my favorite fossils:

 

Stromatolites - 

 

Some of our oldest fossils, stromatolites are mats of cyanobacteria that lived long before any of the multi-celled organisms that we usually think of when we imagine fossils.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Stromatolites.jpg

 

Aglaspis eatoni - 

 

This arthropod is an ancient relative of the modern horseshoe crab.

 

Adriosaurus -

 

This ancient reptile possessed rudimentary front and working hind legs.

 

http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/view.php?tid=2&did=26511

 

Tiktaalik-

 

This ancient creature demonstrates the transition from water to land and has features of both fish and amphibians.

 

http://media.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2006/apr/fossil/tiktaalik_240.jpg

 

Archaeopteryx -

 

This ancient bird shares many features with the raptor type dinosaurs: conical teeth, a long tail, and three fingers.

http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilpictures-wpd/Archaeopteryx/Archaeopteryx.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilpictures-wpd/Archaeopteryx/Archaeopteryx.htm&h=401&w=601&sz=102&tbnid=Qqwh58KhwVoJ::&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Darchaeopteryx&usg=__iBgbHYwh51Qn0hUO8N9DDJXBIjw=&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=7&ct=image&cd=1