What is a paleontologist and what do they do?

Paleontology is the scientific study of the life of the geologic past that involves the analysis of plant and animal fossils, including those of microscopic size, preserved in rocks. Likewise, a paleontologist is a scientist who studies fossils, which are preserved remains of organisms such as plants or animals. There are various classifications of paleontology. One type is Invertebrate Paleontology. Invertebrate Paleontology is the study of fossils from animals without backbones. . Another type is Vertebrate Paleontology, which is the study of fossils from animals with backbones.  There are also many types of fossils. There are trace fossils, fossilized traces of an animal or plant left behind; coprolite, fossilized feces; amber fossils, organisms trapped in amber); and true-form fossils, unaltered preservation of the actual animal part. A paleontologist plans, directs, and conducts fieldwork projects to search for and collect fossils. They search for exposed fossils and also dig around to see if there are any fossils under the surface of the ground. When fossils are found, paleontologists set up a site and use a variety of tools, such as chisels, hammers, and brushes, to carefully move fossils and search for remaining pieces. These digs can take hours to complete. Paleontologists have to be extremely careful when removing fossils since fossils are usually fragile. When dug up, fossils are put carefully in bags or casts to be transported to study in a lab. In a lab, the fossils are put back together, identified, analyzed, and, if a skeleton is found, reassembled. To find the age of the fossils paleontologists can take samples of the ground and carbon date them in a lab to estimate how old the fossils are. In general, paleontologists play a crucial role in our understanding of extinct animals and plants.