Download or read book A Brief History of South American Metatherians written by Francisco Goin and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-10-16 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book summarizes major aspects of the evolution of South American metatherians, including their epistemologic, phylogenetic, biogeographic, faunal, tectonic, paleoclimatic, and metabolic contexts. A brief overview of the evolution of each major South American lineage ("Ameridelphia", Sparassodonta, Didelphimorphia, Paucituberculata, Microbiotheria, and Polydolopimorphia) is provided. It is argued that due to physiological constraints, metatherian evolution closely followed the conditions imposed by global temperatures. In general terms, during the Paleocene and the early Eocene multiple radiations of metatherian lineages occurred, with many adaptive types exploiting insectivorous, frugivorous, and omnivorous adaptive zones. In turn, a mixture of generalized and specialized types, the latter mainly exploiting carnivorous and granivorous-folivorous adaptive zones, characterized the second half of the Cenozoic. In both periods, climate was the critical driver of their radiation and turnovers.

Download or read book History of Cenozoic Mammals from South America written by Federico Agnolin and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book History of Terrestrial Mammals in South America written by Thomas Defler and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-12-19 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes a non-technical approach in covering the evolution of South American mammalian fauna throughout geological history, and discusses how South America has changed due to mammalian invasions. Unlike other works on the subject, this book attempts to answer several crucial questions that often go unmentioned together in one cohesive monograph. What was the fauna like before the American interchange? What were the origins of the now-extinct groups when northern species arrived and out-competed them? How did the modern mammalian fauna come into being with such disparate animal groups? This information is given from a historical perspective throughout the book's 15 chapters, and is presented in an easily graspable fashion by mostly avoiding technical language. The book is written for academics, scientists and scholars engaged in paleontology, zoology and evolutionary biology, but may also appeal to a larger audience of general readers interested in mammalian evolution. The book begins with an introduction, describing the tools necessary to interpret the evolutionary history of South American mammals in geological terms and some of the early people who helped found South American mammalian paleontology. Chapter 2 describes the Mesozoic first mammals of Gondwana and what we are learning about them, dominant before the K/T extinction event. Then chapters 3 through 8 cover the Cenozoic, or "Age of Mammals", highlighting the major mammalian groups of South America that replaced the earlier mammals of Gondwana. These groups include the marsupials, native ungulates, the xenarthrans (armadillos, anteaters, sloths), the caviomorphs (rodents), and the platyrrhine monkeys. Chapters 9 and 10 address the Antarctic La Meseta fossils and the Colombian La Venta fossil faunal assemblages. Chapter 11 discusses the neotropical mammals that invaded the Caribbean Islands, and illustrates the influence South America has had on adjacent faunas. Chapter 12 describes the origin of the Amazon River and the role it has played in the evolution of the mammals and other flora and fauna. Chapter 13 tells the story of the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI), and chapter 14 follows this up with a discussion of the Pleistocene mammal communities and their eventual extinction. Chapter 15 concludes the text by discussing the modern mammals of South America, and how despite the extensive Pleistocene extinctions there is still a lot of mammalian diversity in South America.

Download or read book Evolution of South American Mammalian Predators During the Cenozoic Paleobiogeographic and Paleoenvironmental Contingencies written by Francisco J. Prevosti and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-01-02 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book summarizes the evolution of carnivorous mammals in the Cenozoic of South America. It presents paleontological information on the two main mammalian carnivorous groups in South America; Metatheria and Eutheria. The topics include the origin, systematics, phylogeny, paleoecology and evolution of the Sparassodonta and Carnivora. The book is based on a wide variety of published sources from the last few decades.

Download or read book American and Australasian Marsupials written by Nilton C. Cáceres and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-06-30 with total page 1648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the evolution, biogeography, systematics, taxonomy, and ecology of New World and Australasian marsupials, greatly expanding the current knowledge base. There are roughly 140 species of New World marsupials, of which the opossum is the best known. Thanks to recent research, there is now an increasing amount of understanding about their evolution, biogeography, systematics, ecology, and conservation in the Americas, especially in South America. There are also some 270 marsupial species in the Australasian region, many of which have been subject to research only in recent years. Based on this information and the authors’ extensive research, this book provides comprehensive insights into the world's marsupials. It will appeal to academics and specialized researchers, students of zoology, paleontology, evolutionary biology, ecology, physiology and conservation as well as interested non-experts.

Download or read book Marsupial and Placental Mammal Species in Environmental Risk Assessment Strategies written by Marcelo L Larramendy and published by Royal Society of Chemistry. This book was released on 2022-06-24 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the expansion of human settlements and the environmental changes brought on by human activity and pollutants toxicology and risk assessment of mammal species is becoming increasingly of interest to toxicologists involved in environmental research. This book focuses specifically on environmental risk assessment in marsupial and placental mammals. Marsupial ecotoxicology is poorly understood in scientific research and as such environmental risk assessment in marsupials is an area of rapidly growing interest. This book will be an ideal companion to toxicologists and ecologists interested in risk assessment in the environments of mammals. Particularly those with an interest in the impact introduced by human activity. The book will also be of interest to those working in conservation biology, biological invasion, biocontrol and habitat management.

Download or read book Mesozoic Mammals from South America and Their Forerunners written by Guillermo W. Rougier and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-02-22 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book summarizes the most relevant published paleontological information, supplemented by our own original work, on the record of Mesozoic mammals’ evolution, their close ancestors and their immediate descendants. Mammals evolved in a systematically diverse world, amidst a dynamic geography that is at the root of the 6,500 species living today. Fossils of Mesozoic mammals, while rare and often incomplete, are key to understanding how mammals have evolved over more than 200 million years. Mesozoic mammals and their close relatives occur in a few dozen localities from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru spanning from the Mid- Triassic to the Late Cretaceous, with some lineages surviving the cataclysmic end of the Cretaceous period, into the Cenozoic of Argentina. There are roughly 25 recognized mammalian species distributed in several distinctive lineages, including australosphenidans, multituberculates, gondwanatherians, eutriconodonts, amphilestids and dryolestoids, among others. With its focus on diversity, systematics, phylogeny, and their impact on the evolution of mammals, there is no similar book currently available.

Download or read book Opossums written by Robert S. Voss and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2021-03-09 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive volume on opossums, a group of ecologically and scientifically important mammals, covering natural history, evolution, behavior, and biogeography. Opossums are the most diverse and ecologically important group of New World marsupials, although only the Virginia opossum is familiar to North American residents. In fact, many species of opossums are found in Neotropical rainforests, savannas, and other habitats, where they are key participants in food webs and other ecological relationships. One species, the short-tail opossum (Monodelphis domestica), has recently become a model organism for biomedical researchers. Eclipsed in the public imagination by their Australian relatives, opossums remained for many years a somewhat obscure group, of interest primarily to taxonomists and students of mammalian reproduction. While thousands of scientific articles have appeared in recent years on opossum systematics, morphology, behavior, physiology, genetics, and ecology, this important but widely scattered literature has never been effectively summarized—until now. In Opossums, the first book-length treatment of these fascinating organisms, recognized authorities Robert S. Voss and Sharon A. Jansa synthesize a wide range of available information about the diversity, comparative biology, and natural history of the opossum. Peering into every biological facet of the lives of these long-neglected mammals, the volume includes • introductory chapters explaining the paleontological and biogeographic context for opossum evolution • an overview of the extant fauna, which includes over 100 species in 18 genera • a section devoted to opossum phenotypes: morphology, physiology, and behavior • detailed information on opossum natural history, including habitats, diets, predators, and parasites • in-depth and novel interpretations of opossums' adaptive radiation in a phylogenetic context Intended for undergraduate biology majors, graduate students, and research professionals, this coherent and original portrait of opossums will be of particular interest to mammalogists, evolutionary biologists, and Neotropical field biologists as well as biomedical researchers working with Monodelphis domestica as a model organism.

Download or read book The Evolution of Dasyurid Marsupials written by Carey Krajewski and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2024-01-22 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The marsupial family Dasyuridae has a history of study extending from 18th century naturalists to the modern genomics era. The Evolution of Dasyurid Marsupials: Systematics and Family History tells the story of dasyurid evolution as it unfolded in the context of changing world views on biodiversity, biotic history and scientific methodology, from its roots in Enlightenment taxonomy to its transformation by the Darwinian and Hennigian revolutions, and then its maturation as statistical phylogenetics and phylogenomics. Research on dasyurids includes every major approach in animal systematics, including some for which few comparable examples exist. It extends beyond the recent consensus on species relationships to include the timing of diversification, historical biogeography and the evolution of key phenotypic traits. This book introduces readers to living and fossil dasyurids, the questions evolutionary biologists have asked about them, the inferential methods used to answer those questions and the implications of those answers for understanding the history of this fascinating marsupial family. It offers a comprehensive synthesis of dasyurid evolutionary biology for students, teachers and researchers in mammalian evolution and marsupial biology.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Geology written by and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2020-12-16 with total page 5634 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Encyclopedia of Geology, Second Edition presents in six volumes state-of-the-art reviews on the various aspects of geologic research, all of which have moved on considerably since the writing of the first edition. New areas of discussion include extinctions, origins of life, plate tectonics and its influence on faunal provinces, new types of mineral and hydrocarbon deposits, new methods of dating rocks, and geological processes. Users will find this to be a fundamental resource for teachers and students of geology, as well as researchers and non-geology professionals seeking up-to-date reviews of geologic research. Provides a comprehensive and accessible one-stop shop for information on the subject of geology, explaining methodologies and technical jargon used in the field Highlights connections between geology and other physical and biological sciences, tackling research problems that span multiple fields Fills a critical gap of information in a field that has seen significant progress in past years Presents an ideal reference for a wide range of scientists in earth and environmental areas of study

Download or read book A Prehistory of South America written by Jerry D. Moore and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2014-07-09 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Prehistory of South America is an overview of the ancient and historic native cultures of the entire continent of South America based on the most recent archaeological investigations. This accessible, clearly written text is designed to engage undergraduate and begining graduate studens in anthropology. For more than 12,000 years, South American cultures ranged from mobile hunters and gatherers to rulers and residents of colossal cities. In the process, native South American societies made advancements in agriculture and economic systems and created great works of art—in pottery, textiles, precious metals, and stone—that still awe the modern eye. Organized in broad chronological periods, A Prehistory of South America explores these diverse human achievements, emphasizing the many adaptations of peoples from a continent-wide perspective. Moore examines the archaeologies of societies across South America, from the arid deserts of the Pacific coast and the frigid Andean highlands to the humid lowlands of the Amazon Basin and the fjords of Patagonia and beyond. Illustrated in full color and suitable for an educated general reader interested in the Precolumbian peoples of South America, A Prehistory of South America is a long overdue addition to the literature on South American archaeology.

Download or read book Evolutionary Biogeography of the Andean Region written by Juan J. Morrone and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2018-07-11 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Key features: The first reference book to provide a comprehensive treatment of the biogreography of the Andean region Includes lists of the synonyms for each area and examples of the plant and animal taxa characterizing them. An extensive reference section serves as an entry point for more in-depth research on individual subjects Discusses the relationships between the areas, formulating hypotheses explaining the relationships of different biotas, based on track and cladistic biogeographic analyses Identifies cenocrons that were assembled in the different biotas Contains maps that illustrate the distribution of particular taxa, area cladograms and vegetation profiles This book presents a regionalization of the Andean region, based on an evolutionary biogeographic approach. Aimed at anyone wishing to understand biogeographic patterns of distribution of Andean plants and animals, the book provides a comprehensive treatment of three subregions, one transition zone, and 16 provinces. Lists of the synonyms and examples of taxa characterizing each area are given, and the relationships between the areas discussed, alongside hypotheses explaining the assembly of different biotas. Several maps illustrate the distribution of particular taxa, as well as area cladograms, diagrams and full-color vegetation profiles.

Download or read book Evolutionary History of the Marsupials and an Analysis of Osteological Characters written by Frederick S. Szalay and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines a variety of problems in the understanding of the evolutionary history of the marsupials. In reviewing the evidence from bones, the author presents much new information on both living and fossil groups of marsupials. All groups of marsupials are treated in detail, and in the final chapter their history in space and time and their palaeobiogeography are considered.

Download or read book Evolutionary History of Bats written by Gregg F. Gunnell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-29 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advances in morphological and molecular methods continue to uncover new information on the origin and evolution of bats. Presenting some of the most remarkable discoveries and research involving living and fossil bats, this book explores their evolutionary history from a range of perspectives. Phylogenetic studies based on both molecular and morphological data have established a framework of evolutionary relationships that provides a context for understanding many aspects of bat biology and diversification. In addition to detailed studies of the relationships and diversification of bats, the topics covered include the mechanisms and evolution of powered flight, evolution and enhancement of echolocation, feeding ecology, population genetic structure, ontogeny and growth of facial form, functional morphology and evolution of body size. The book also examines the fossil history of bats from their beginnings over 50 million years ago to their diversification into one of the most globally wide-spread orders of mammals living today.

Download or read book Dinosaurs of Darkness written by Thomas H. Rich and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A valuable volume detailing an underexplored region of the world of dinosaurs . . . essential reading for any dino-devotee.” —ForeWord Dinosaurs of Darkness opens a doorway to a fascinating former world, between 100 million and 120 million years ago, when Australia was far south of its present location and joined to Antarctica. Dinosaurs lived in this polar region. How were the polar dinosaurs discovered? What do we now know about them? Thomas H. Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich, who have played crucial roles in their discovery, describe how they and others collected the fossils indispensable to our knowledge of this realm and how painstaking laboratory work and analyses continue to unlock the secrets of the polar dinosaurs. This scientific adventure makes for a fascinating story: it begins with one destination in mind and ends at another, arrived at by a most roundabout route, down byways and back from dead ends. Dinosaurs of Darkness is a personal, absorbing account of the way scientific research is actually conducted and how hard—and rewarding—it is to mine the knowledge of this remarkable life of the past. The award-winning first edition has now been thoroughly updated with the latest discoveries and interpretations, along with over 100 new photographs and charts, many in color.

Download or read book The Great American Biotic Interchange written by Alberto Luis Cione and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-04-24 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: South American ecosystems suffered one of the greatest biogeographical events, after the establishment of the Panamian land bridge, called the “Great American Biotic Interchange” (GABI). This refers to the exchange, in several phases, of land mammals between the Americas; this event started during the late Miocene with the appearance of the Holartic Procyonidae (Huayquerian Age) in South America and continues today. The major phases of mammalian dispersal occurred from the Latest Pliocene (Marplatan Age) to the Late Pleistocene (Lujanian Age). The most important and richest localities of Late Miocene-Holocene fossil vertebrates of South America are those of the Pampean region of Argentina. There are also several Late Miocene and Pliocene localities in western Argentina and Bolivia. Other important fossils have been collected in localities of Pleistocene age outside Argentina: Tarija (Bolivia), karstic caves of Lagoa Santa and the recently explored caves of Tocantins (Brasil), Talara (Perú), La Carolina (Ecuador), Muaco (Venezuela), and Cueva del Milodon (Chile), among others. The book discusses basic information for interpreting the GABI such as taxonomic composition (incorporating the latest revisions) at classical and new localities for each stage addressing climate, environments, and time boundaries for each stage. It includes the chronology and dynamics of the GABI, the integration of South American mammalian faunas through time, the Quaternary mammalian extinctions and the composition of recent mammalian fauna of the continent.

Download or read book Predators with Pouches written by Menna Jones and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2003-04-30 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Predators with Pouches provides a unique synthesis of current knowledge of the world’s carnivorous marsupials—from Patagonia to New Guinea and North America to Tasmania. Written by 63 experts in each field, the book covers a comprehensive range of disciplines including evolution and systematics, reproductive biology, physiology, ecology, behaviour and conservation. Predators with Pouches reveals the relationships between the American didelphids and the Australian dasyurids, and explores the role of the marsupial fauna in the mammal community. It introduces the geologically oldest marsupials, from the Americas, and examines the fall from former diversity of the larger marsupial carnivores and their convergent evolution with placental forms. The book covers all aspects of carnivorous marsupials, including interesting features of life history, their unique reproduction, the physiological basis for early senescence in semelparous dasyurids, sex ratio variation and juvenile dispersal. It looks at gradients in nutrition—from omnivory to insectivory to carnivory—as well as distributional ecology, social structure and conservation dilemmas.