Final answer:
The branches of paleontology, such as paleobotany and vertebrate paleontology, focus on studying different types of fossils to understand ancient life and its evolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The branches of paleontology are specialized fields of biology that use fossils to study the history of life. Researchers in these branches meticulously analyze specimens to understand ancient organisms and the environments they inhabited. Micro-paleontology involves studying microscopic fossils, paleobotany focuses on extinct plants, invertebrate paleontology handles fossils of invertebrates, mainly from marine environments, and vertebrate paleontology concentrates on the fossils of vertebrates, including dinosaurs. Paleontologists sometimes work in natural history museums, where they contribute to the knowledge about extinct species and their development through time.