More than three hundred million years ago, vertebrate animals first ventured onto land. This book describes how some finned vertebrates acquired limbs, giving rise to over 25, 000 extant tetrapod species. It summarizes key concepts of modern paleontological research, including biological nomenclature, and paleontological and molecular dating.
Addresses the science of fossil insects by demonstrating their contribution to our knowledge of the paleoenvironmental and climatological record of the past 2.6 million years. This survey also reviews the fossil insect record from Quaternary deposits throughout the world, and points to rewarding areas for future research.
A concise introduction to the science of palaeontology in two parts. The first explains what a fossil is and how fossils came to be preserved. The second part introduces the major fossil groups taking a systematic view from algae and plants, through the numerous examples of invertebrate animals, to the vertebrates and finally to man's ancestors.
* Provides insights into the history of life on earth * Contains succinct summaries of 14 outstanding fossil Lagerstatten located in North America * Includes over 300 superb colour photographs and drawings * Useful appendices listing museums to visit, how to visit the sites and additional reading.
Presents a review of animal and plant fossil behavior in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. This title includes various subjects and time periods, and compares patterns of behavior and co-evolution. It discusses how to evaluate the rates of evolution of behavior and co-evolution at various taxonomic levels.
A window into the ancient Earth when the seas teemed with ammonites, corals, sponges, molluscs, crinoids and trilobites. The sheer abundance of their fossils reflects the existence of many invertebrates, with solid, decay-resistant shells. This book demonstrates how the fossil record can shed light on today's fauna.
This book, widely praised for its coverage and approach in describing and illustrating 14 well known fossil sites from around the world, is now full updated with 6 new chapters and many new colour illustrations. A beautifully illustrated study of fossil sites from different periods providing a picture of the evolution of ecosystems down the ages.
Whether the fossil record should be read at face value or whether it presents a distorted view of the history of life is an argument seemingly as old as many fossils themselves. This book presents a critical framework for assessing the fossil record, one based on a modern understanding of the principles of sediment accumulation.
Revised and updated to take account of the most recent advances, this edition includes material on scientific progress in the understanding of climate change and abrupt climatic events, of disturbance effects, of landscape change, and of the causes of lake salinity.
* Coverage of all fossil groups * Boxes showing case studies and topics of special interest * Numerous line drawings and photographs of fossils * The most up-to-date information on the tools and techniques used by paleobiologists. * End of chapter questions.
Ceratopsids, or horned dinosaurs, are a group of large-bodied, quadruped herbivores, which lived roughly 65-70 million years ago. This book presents research on the functional biology and behavior, systematics, paleoecology, and paleogeography of the horned dinosaurs, including descriptions of various species.
Provides an overview to modern trace fossil research and covers the essential aspects of modern ichnology. This book presents a review of the state of ichnology at the beginning of the 21st Century and summarizes the basic concepts and methods of modern trace fossil research.
Computational Paleontology explains how computation can play an important role in the field of paleontology. The text discusses how computers can save both time and money, are able to interpret mysterious events precisely and accurately, and have the capacity to visualize ancient life.
It is hard to imagine the study of human origins without the Leakey family. Three generations of Leakeys have scratched in the baked, unfriendly soil of East Africa to unearth fossil evidence of the earliest humans and their ancient ancestors. This biography tells the story of three generations of Leakeys.
Presents the history of the evolution of vertebrates. This work highlights discoveries including dinosaurs and Mesozoic birds from China. It features a chapter on how to study fossil vertebrates. It emphasizes on the cladistic framework with cladograms set apart from the body of the text and full lists of diagnostic characters.
The Quaternary covers the last 2.5 million years in Earth's history. Paleoecological studies using plant macrofossils, like bryophyte remains, have a role in the reconstruction of past hydrological changes in lakes and peatbogs. This book discusses research in regard to the paleoecology of peatlands, with a particular emphasis placed on Hungary.
A reference source to over 400 plant and animal fossils from around the globe and how to identify them, with over 1000 colour photographs and over 400 colour illustrations. This work serves as a guide to finding, classifying, dating, cleaning, collecting and understanding fossils, from the earliest ferns to the giants of the dinosaur world.
Over the years, paleontologists have made tremendous fossil discoveries, which includes an amazing diversity of fossil humans, suggesting we walked upright long before we acquired large brains. This work tackles subjects ranging from flood geology and rock dating to neo-Darwinism and macroevolution.
Offers a synthesis of the paleontological record of Venezuela, including the discoveries on stratigraphy, paleobotany, fossil invertebrates, and vertebrates. Providing a summary of the record of decapods, fishes, crocodiles, turtles, rodents, armadillos, and ungulates, this title contains information on the distribution and paleobiology of groups.
This fully revised fourth edition includes a complete update of the sections on evolution and the fossil record, and the evolution of the early metazoans. Additional work on the classification of the major phyla (in particular brachiopods and molluscs) has been incorporated.
Provides an historical account of the origin, rise, and importance of paleobiology, from the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1980s. This title examines the intellectual, disciplinary, and political dynamics involved in the ascendancy of paleobiology. It emphasizes the close relationship between paleobiology and other evolutionary disciplines.
Mary Anning (1799-1847) was one of the pioneers of the emerging science of geology - the first woman palaeontologist to make important discoveries. After her death, many of her discoveries were credited to the naturalists who had bought her specimens. This book reveals the little-known life of this extraordinary woman from undeserved obscurity.
Using the island of Kaua'i as an ecological prototype and drawing on the author's adventures in Madagascar, Mauritius, and other locales, this title examines the theories about the threats to endangered species, restoration of ecosystems, and how people can work together to repair environmental damage elsewhere on the planet.
Volume II offers new evidence on the geology, geochronology, ecology, ecomorphology and taphonomy of the Laetoli site. The set provides a comprehensive accounts of a fossil hominin site, offering important new insights into early stages of human evolution.
Intended for students and those interested in the history of life on our planet, this book explores the 'whys' of events that occurred. It takes a look at the evolution of the physical earth and the strong interactions between organisms and environment. It includes coverage on geography, climate, atmosphere, ocean, and land (a changing stage).
Alberta is well known for its fossil treasures. This work features 80 of the most noteworthy fossils, fossil locations, and fossil hunters from the most palaeontological of provinces. It also features various beasts - from Edmontosaurus to Tyrannosaurus Rex, and everything in-between.
Taking us back roughly 45 million years into the Eocene, this book offers a different perspective on our deepest evolutionary roots. It reconstructs our extended family tree, showing that the first anthropoids evolved millions of years earlier than was previously suspected and emerged in Asia rather than Africa.
Investigates on the dramatic ecological changes that began after the arrival of humans one thousand years ago, detailing not only the environmental degradation they introduced but also asking how and why this destruction occurred and, what might happen in the future.
Phylogenetic analysis and morphometrics have been developed by biologists into analytic tools for testing hypotheses about the relationships between groups of species. This book applies these tools to paleontological data. It is useful in evolutionary biology, paleontology, systematics, evolutionary development, theoretical biology, and more.
Covering new investigations of the geology, paleontology and paleoecology of the early hominin site of Laetoli in northern Tanzania, this volume describes newly discovered fossil hominins, and reviews the systematics and paleobiology of associated fauna.
Examining and interpreting fossil discoveries in China, paleontologists have arrived at a prevailing view: there is now incontrovertible evidence that birds represent the last living dinosaur. But is this conclusion beyond dispute? This book provides a comprehensive discussion of the avian and associated evidence found in China.
This book is a comprehensive, chronologically ordered review of China's vertebrate fossil record. It also presents a history of vertebrate paleontological studies in China and an entree to some important issues of systematics, evolutionary history, paleoecology, taphonomy, and functional anatomy best elucidated by China's fossils.
This text reviews the evidence concerning both the dinosaur extinctions and all the other major extinctions - of plant, animal, terrestrial, and marine life - in the history of life. All the extinction mechanisms are critically assessed, including meteorite impact.
The study of dinosaurs has been experiencing a remarkable renaissance over the past few decades. Scientific understanding of dinosaur anatomy, biology, and evolution has advanced to such a degree that paleontologists often know more about 100-million-year-old dinosaurs than many species of living organisms.
The study of dinosaurs has been experiencing a remarkable renaissance over the past few decades. Scientific understanding of dinosaur anatomy, biology, and evolution has advanced to such a degree that paleontologists often know more about 100-million-year-old dinosaurs than many species of living organisms.
Wood: perhaps no natural material has been used longer by man, and none seems more suited to human tastes and needs. This title tells a story that describes what wood is, explores how it is put together, and recounts the story of wood from its origin, giving us fresh insights into this familiar material all around us.
A practical guide to identifying, collecting and understanding all types of fossil. The introduction describes how fossils form and the history of ancient life, and the classification and distribution of fossils are described, giving essential background information for collectors.