a branch of paleontology that deals with the origin and growth and structure of fossil animals and plants as living organisms

The science dealing with the fields of evolution, ecology and the subsequent taphonomy of extinct animals and plants. See Briggs and Crowther (1990).

Paleobiology (sometimes spelled palaeobiology) is a growing and comparatively new discipline which combines the methods and findings of the natural science biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology.