paleo224
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paleo- (or palaeo-) prefIx meaning old, ancient, remote in the past.
paleobotany the study of the plant life of the geologic past.
Paleocene ~geological time scale.
paleoclimate climate in the geologic past.
paleocurrent ancient current that existed in the geologic past.
paleodepth the depth in the past.
paleoecology the study of the interrelationships between ancient organisms and
their environment.
Paleogene name given to the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene periods of the
Tertiary grouped together. ~geological time scale.
paleontology the study of fossils, ~micropaleontology.
Paleozoic ~geological time scale.
pancake ice ~ice.
Pangea (or Pangaea) the early super continent (from late Carboniferous to Triassic,
~geological time scale) from which present-day continents have originated
through fragmentation and continental displacement. This supercontinent was
surrounded by the super ocean Panthalassa and broke up into Laurasia to the
north and Gondwana to the south during Jurassic times.
Panthalassa the superocean surrounding Pangea.
Pantopoda ~Pycnogonida.
paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) a serious illness caused by eating shellfish, which
themselves have consumed toxin-producing microscopic organisms, usually the Dinoflagellata Gonyaulax catenella. The toxin is a potent nerve poison;
early symptoms of PSP are a tingling of the lips and tongue within minutes