Download or read book Miocene Modernization of the North American Lizard Fauna written by Simon George Scarpetta and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Terrestrial ecosystems changed substantially during the Cenozoic era. The early Cenozoic was characterized by a warm and wet climate and ecosystems reminiscent of the modern tropics. Plant and animal communities similar to the modern biota were hypothesized to have appeared during the Miocene epoch. The phylogenetic, ecologic, and biogeographic assembly of the modern biota in North America and during the Miocene is well studied among fossil mammals and plants, but is not well documented in ectothermic vertebrates, such as lizards. I employed paleontological, biological, and geological data to address the formation of the modern lizard biota in North America, focusing on pleurodontan lizards (horned lizards, anoles, and relatives) and alligator lizards, which are prominent groups in modern ecosystems. My dissertation comprises three research foci: 1) Descriptions of fossil lizards, primarily from the Miocene but also from the Oligocene and Eocene, to evaluate paleodiversity, paleoecology, and paleobiogeography of focal lizard groups, 2) divergence time estimation using published genetic data and fossil calibrations to temporally constrain the evolution of focal lizard groups, and 3) exploration of fossil identification methodologies, especially fossil diagnoses made in the context of alternative phylogenetic hypotheses. I found one relatively modern lizard fauna from the middle Miocene of Wyoming that corroborates the records of terrestrial plants and mammals. However, I also described fossil occurrences that defy biogeographical (e.g., Abronia from the middle Miocene of California) and ecological (e.g., Uma from the late Miocene of California) expectations based on the biology of living lizards. The fields of historical biogeography and paleoecology draw heavily from the modern biota to make inferences into the past, but I suggest caution in that practice, because the distributions and ecological tolerances of organisms change through time. In the process of diagnosing and identifying a new fossil lizard (Kopidosaurus), I found that attention to phylogenetic hypotheses derived from molecular datasets altered the inferred phylogenetic position of the new taxon. Phylogenetic analyses are a popular avenue among paleontologists for fossil diagnosis, and neglecting alternative phylogenetic hypotheses can hinder fossil diagnosis and all downstream hypotheses that are contingent on accurate fossil diagnosis
Download or read book Horned Lizards written by Wade C. Sherbrooke and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This staple-bound volume is published by the Southwest Parks and Monuments Association and is Number 31 in their Popular Series. It contains descriptions and 75+ photos and illustrations. "Over the centuries these creatures have influenced the art and mythology of the prehistoric and historic Indians of the Southwest."
Download or read book Bulletin of the Florida State Museum written by and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Lizards written by Eric R. Pianka and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003-09-24 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an overview of the diversity of lizards and their major adaptive features. The authors discuss the latest research findings and provide new hypotheses about lizard diversity.
Download or read book Ecology and Natural History of Desert Lizards written by Eric R. Pianka and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-14 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eric Pianka offers a synthesis of his life's work on the comparative ecology of lizard assemblages in the Great Basin. Mojave and Sonoran deserts of western North America, the Kalahari semi-desert of southern Africa, and the Great Victoria desert of Western Australia. Originally published in 1986. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Download or read book Introduction to Horned Lizards of North America written by Wade C. Sherbrooke and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003-05-08 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: * Features detailed species accounts; gives information on horned lizard biology, ecology, and evolution; and describes the role of these fascinating reptiles in mythology, culture, and art * Covers the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and includes all species of horned lizards
Download or read book Fossil Lizards of North America written by Charles W. Gilmore and published by . This book was released on 1978-06-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Later Eocene uintan Lizards from the Greater San Diego Area California written by Richard Allen Schatzinger and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany written by and published by . This book was released on 1963 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Tulane Studies in Zoology written by Tulane University and published by . This book was released on 1963 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Conservation Biology of Tortoises written by IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group and published by IUCN. This book was released on 1989 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ancient Landscapes of Western North America written by Ronald C. Blakey and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Allow yourself to be taken back into deep geologic time when strange creatures roamed the Earth and Western North America looked completely unlike the modern landscape. Volcanic islands stretched from Mexico to Alaska, most of the Pacific Rim didn’t exist yet, at least not as widespread dry land; terranes drifted from across the Pacific to dock on Western Americas’ shores creating mountains and more volcanic activity. Landscapes were transposed north or south by thousands of kilometers along huge fault systems. Follow these events through paleogeographic maps that look like satellite views of ancient Earth. Accompanying text takes the reader into the science behind these maps and the geologic history that they portray. The maps and text unfold the complex geologic history of the region as never seen before. Winner of the 2021 John D. Haun Landmark Publication Award, AAPG-Rocky Mountain Section
Download or read book Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands written by George R. Zug and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2013-06-28 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pacific is not only the world’s largest body of water; its vast expanse also includes an extraordinary number and diversity of oceanic islands, from Palau and the Marianas east of the Philippines to Cocos Island and the Galápagos west of the Americas. The isolation of these islands and the extreme distances between them long prevented scientists from studying their floras and faunas in a comparative context. But now George R. Zug, one of the world's foremost experts on the diverse reptiles and amphibians of the Pacific Basin, offers the first such systematic overview in more than half a century. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands is a compendium of frogs, lizards, snakes, and turtles living on these lands and in the adjacent waters of the oceanic islands in the tropical Pacific. The means to identify each species is included, along with entries that describe each animal's form, coloration, habitat, distribution, reproductive biology, and natural history. Color plates of more than 75 percent of the species also help to facilitate visual identification. This accessible and informative guide is the most comprehensive field guide available and will appeal to both novice sightseers and professional naturalists.
Download or read book Global Biogeography written by J.C. Briggs and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 1995-10-13 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book significantly expands the coverage of this subject given by its predecessor Biogeography and Plate Tectonics (1987). Global Biogeography traces global changes in geography and biology from the Precambrian to the Recent (with worldwide coverage in chronological order); examines the evolutionary effects of the major extinctions, and discusses contemporary biogeographic regions within the context of their historic origins. It is now apparent that the biotas of the various biogeographical regions have had, and still maintain, a dynamic relationship with one another; much more than was previously thought. This is shown to be true for all three of the earth's primary habitats; marine, terrestrial and freshwater (as is clearly demonstrated in this volume).The book is splendidly illustrated with 122 text figures, an extensive bibliography, index, together with a set of biogeographic maps illustrating continental and terrain outlines from the mid-Cambrian to the Recent. University students (both advanced undergraduate and graduate level) will find it an excellent text book. For professionals in Biogeography this is a convenient reference work.
Download or read book Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic Mammals of North America written by Michael O. Woodburne and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2004-04-21 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book places into modern context the information by which North American mammalian paleontologists recognize, divide, calibrate, and discuss intervals of mammalian evolution known as North American Land Mammal Ages. It incorporates new information on the systematic biology of the fossil record and utilizes the many recent advances in geochronologic methods and their results. The book describes the increasingly highly resolved stratigraphy into which all available temporally significant data and applications are integrated. Extensive temporal coverage includes the Lancian part of the Late Cretaceous, and geographical coverage includes information from Mexico, an integral part of the North American fauna, past and present.
Download or read book PaleoBios written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reworked Cleiothyridina Sp in the Seymour Canal Formation Jurassic Cretaceous Southeastern Alaska written by and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
