Download or read book Problematic Fossil Taxa written by Antoni Hoffman and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Problematic fossils--those groups of organisms that do not fit conveniently into any existing phylum--play a pivotal role in the reconstruction of the history of life, being in effect "early experiments." This lavishly illustrated volume provides careful analyses and descriptions--in anatomical, functional, and developmental terms--of most of the major problematic fossil taxa. Sixteen original papers, written by internationally recognized scholars, discuss the features that make these taxa problematic and that provide clues to their phylogenetic relationships. Since Precambrian groups have been well covered in the existing literature, Hoffman and Nitecki focus on Paleozoic, and especially Early Paleozoic organisms, although Precambrian biota are also discussed.
Download or read book Telling the Evolutionary Time written by Philip C J Donoghue and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2003-12-16 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Determining the precise timing for the evolutionary origin of groups of organisms has become increasingly important as scientists from diverse disciplines attempt to examine rates of anatomical or molecular evolution and correlate intrinsic biological events to extrinsic environmental events. Molecular clock analyses indicate that many major groups
Download or read book The Early Evolution of Metazoa and the Significance of Problematic Taxa written by Alberto M. Simonetta and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1991-09-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book embraces general problems of animal classification of animals and new information on their molecular sequences.
Download or read book Receptaculitids written by Matthew H. Nitecki and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Receptaculitids are extinct high-level fossils that provide a window into the history of life. After the discovery and analysis of a deposit of phosphatized receptaculitids on the Baltic Sea island of Öland, the authors conclude that receptaculitids possess an attribute not found in any other group of organisms, living or fossil.
Download or read book Arthropod Fossils and Phylogeny written by Gregory D. Edgecombe and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gregory Edgecombe has assembled premier specialists in the study of arthropods, each of whom addresses a major issue in arthropod diversity by reviewing evidence of key fossils from a common perspective and examining the interplay between extinct and extant species through inference of the structure of the arthropod evolutionary tree.With the most complete collection of modern perspectives on the history of Arthropoda, this volume advances the current debate on paleontology's role in discovering life's hierarchy. Of interest to specialists in a wide range of fields including paleontology, petroleum geology, oceanography, and entomology, Arthropod Fossils and Phylogeny will be the standard general reference on arthropod paleontology for years to come.
Download or read book A Color Guide to the Petrography of Carbonate Rocks written by Peter A. Scholle and published by AAPG. This book was released on 2003 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Paleontology written by Ronald Singer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-06-04 with total page 1153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Encyclopedia of Paleontology is designed to address the shortage of general reference works on both vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology and to serve the needs of students and lay persons interested in the field. As the encyclopedia aims to provide basic information, the majority of the 350 entries are devoted to explanations of paleontological concepts and techniques, examinations of the evolutionary development of particular organisms and biological features, profiles of major discoveries, and biographies of leading scientists. Each entry includes an essay and a further reading list. An international team of 200 leading experts in the field has prepared the illustrations and the essays, which range from concise descriptions to comprehensive discussions.
Download or read book The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation written by Robert Riding and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cambrian radiation was the explosive evolution of marine life that started 550,000,000 years ago. It ranks as one of the most important episodes in Earth history. This key event in the history of life on our planet changed the marine biosphere and its sedimentary environment forever, requiring a complex interplay of wide-ranging biologic and nonbiologic processes. The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation offers a comprehensive and surprising picture of the Earth at that ancient time. The book contains contributions from thirty-three authors hailing from ten countries and will be of interest to paleontologists, geologists, biologists, and other researchers interested in the global Earth-life system.
Download or read book Evolutionary Biology written by Max K. Hecht and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 469 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After volume 33, this book series was replaced by the journal "Evolutionary Biology." Please visit www.springer.com/11692 for further information. The current volume includes articles on the conceptual relationship of ontogeny, phylogeny, and classification; correlation studies of spatial patterns of genetic variation; and the evolution of flower display and reward.
Download or read book Systematics and the Fossil Record written by Andrew B. Smith and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-07-15 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new text sets out to establish the key role played by systematics in deciphering patterns of evolution from the fossil record. It begins by considering the nature of the species in the fossil record and then outlines recent advances in the methodology used to establish phylogenetics relationships, stressing why fossil evidence can be crucial. The way species are grouped into higher taxa, and how this affects their utility in evolutionary studies is also discussed. Because the fossil record abounds with sampling and preservational biases, the book emphasizes that observed patterns can rarely be taken at face value. It is argued that evolutionary trees, constructed from combining phylogenetic and biostratigraphic data, provide the best approach for investigating patterns of evolution through geologic time. The only integrated text covering the study of evolutionary patterns from a phylogenetic stance.
Download or read book Exceptional Fossil Preservation written by David J. Bottjer and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most nonscientists are usually aware of fossils, and it is commonly believed that they are extremely rare. In fact, fossils are exceptionally common in many sedimentary rocks and are used extensively in geology for age dating, interpretation of ancient environments, and the discovery of natural resources. However, there is another type of fossil deposit that is truly rare. These rare fossil deposits, called Lagerstätten, preserve the remains of the soft tissues or the articulated skeletal remains of ancient creatures in truly astonishing fine detail. Some of these deposits are world-famous, such as the Burgess Shale, or Solnhofen but there are others dating from many different geological eras from the Paleozoic, up to the Eocene. Recently, a concerted effort has been made to understand the overall significance of these rare fossil deposits. Whereas in the past these deposits were considered novelties, modern researchers are trying to understand what they can tell us about ancient life and environments. New sophisticated techniques (including image and geochemical analyses) are providing enormous new contributions to our knowledge of Lagerstätten sites and to paleobiology in general. This volume describes many of the most famous Lagerstätten locations worldwide and is complete with over 70 superb halftones showing some of these exotic fossils in all their glory. Paleontologists are beginning to understand why such deposits occur, how they have varied since the advent of marine metazoan life, and how their presence effects our understanding of the evolution of life in the Earth's oceans. In this way, the study of Lagerstätten continues to move towards the mainstream of paleobiological, biological, and geological research, and away from its former status as the examination of mere curiosities. All those interested in these beautiful and sometimes enigmatic deposits will want to own this book.
Download or read book On the Origin of Phyla written by James W. Valentine and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2004-06-18 with total page 639 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Owing its inspiration and title to On the Origin of Species, James W. Valentine's ambitious book synthesizes and applies the vast treasury of theory and research collected in the century and a half since Darwin's time. By investigating the origins of life's diversity, Valentine unlocks the mystery of the origin of phyla. One of the twentieth century's most distinguished paleobiologists, Valentine here integrates data from molecular genetics, evolutionary developmental biology, embryology, comparative morphology, and paleontology into an analysis of interest to scholars from any of these fields. He begins by examining the sorts of evidence that can be gleaned from fossils, molecules, and morphology, then reviews and compares the basic morphology and development of animal phyla, emphasizing the important design elements found in the bodyplans of both living and extinct phyla. Finally, Valentine undertakes the monumental task of developing models to explain the origin and early diversification of animal phyla, as well as their later evolutionary patterns. Truly a magnum opus, On the Origin of Phyla will take its place as one of the classic scientific texts of the twentieth century, affecting the work of paleontologists, morphologists, and developmental, molecular, and evolutionary biologists for decades to come. "A magisterial compendium . . . . Valentine offers a judicious evaluation of an astonishing array of evidence."—Richard Fortey, New Scientist "Truly a magnum opus, On the Origin of Phyla has already taken its place as one of the classic scientific texts of the twentieth century, affecting the work of paleontologists, morphologists, and developmental, molecular, and evolutionary biologists for decades to come."—Ethology, Ecology & Evolution "Valentine is one of the Renaissance minds of our time. . . . Darwin wisely called his best-known work On the Origin of the Species; the origin of the phyla is an even stickier problem, and Valentine deserves credit for tackling it at such breadth . . . . A magnificient book."—Stefan Bengtson, Nature
Download or read book The Garden of Ediacara written by Mark A. McMenamin and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Including twenty-two photographs and more than fifty drawings of these strikingly beautiful early life forms, this book presents a mesmerizing documentary of a major scientific discovery: the oldest animal fossils ever discovered.
Download or read book A Sea without Fish written by David L. Meyer and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-04 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “superbly written, richly illustrated” guide to the animals who lived 450 million years ago—in the fossil-rich area where Cincinnati, Ohio now stands (Rocks & Minerals). The region around Cincinnati, Ohio, is known throughout the world for the abundant and beautiful fossils found in limestones and shales that were deposited as sediments on the sea floor during the Ordovician Period, about 450 million years ago—some 250 million years before the dinosaurs lived. In Ordovician time, the shallow sea that covered much of what is now the North American continent teemed with marine life. The Cincinnati area has yielded some of the world’s most abundant and best-preserved fossils of invertebrate animals such as trilobites, bryozoans, brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms, and graptolites. So famous are the Ordovician fossils and rocks of the Cincinnati region that geologists use the term “Cincinnatian” for strata of the same age all over North America. This book synthesizes more than 150 years of research on this fossil treasure-trove, describing and illustrating the fossils, the life habits of the animals represented, their communities, and living relatives, as well as the nature of the rock strata in which they are found and the environmental conditions of the ancient sea. “A fascinating glimpse of a long-extinct ecosystem.” —Choice
Download or read book Carnivore Behavior Ecology and Evolution written by John L. Gittleman and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-15 with total page 659 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Because carnivores are at the top of the food chain, their status is an important indicator of the health of the world ecosystem. They are intensely interesting to zoologists and uniquely intriguing to the general public. Devoted primarily to terrestrial carnivores, this volume focuses on such themes as carnivore reintroduction programs and the ethics of studying carnivores, drawing examples from a variety of species. The need to evaluate new conceptual ideas and empirical data inspired this volume of Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution, a complement to the original book. In the eight years since publication of the first volume, conservation has emerged as a thematic imperative. The study of carnivores has become even more important in raising and resolving crucial biological problems. Differential rates of mortality in the giant panda and other endangered carnivores are now known to influence dispersal and life history patterns basic to these species' survival. Reintroduction efforts of the black-footed ferret and the red wolf are establishing essential guidelines for preservation and management of endangered species. Studies of the African lion and the dwarf mongoose illustrate the power of new genetic techniques of DNA fingerprinting for understanding the evolution of social behavior.
Download or read book Origin and Early Evolution of the Metazoa written by Jere H. Lipps and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-21 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Several years ago, we realized that the most prominent ideas that had been ex pressed about the origin and early evolution of the Metazoa seemed to have been developed chiefly by zoologists using evidence from modern species without reference to the fossil record. Paleontologists had, in fact, put forth their own ideas but the zoological and the paleontological evidence were about the problem, seldom considered together, especially by zoologists. We believed that the paleon tological documentation of the first Metazoa was too scattered, too obscure to Western readers, and much of it too recent to have been readily available to our colleagues in zoology. Whether or not that was entirely true, we thought that a single volume reviewing the fossil record of the earliest Metazoa would be useful to many in both paleontology and zoology, especially since so much new informa tion has been developed in the last few years. Some of this information has been summarized in general articles recently, but an overview of most of the field does not exist. We therefore organized this book in five parts so that the evidence could be placed in perspective and summarized and inferences made from it. Part I intro duces the previous hypotheses that have been proposed for the origin and early radiation of Metazoa. Part II consists of two summary chapters that set the sedi mentological, geochemical, and biological background to the known radiations of Metazoa.
Download or read book The Biology of Hagfishes written by Jørgen Mørup Jørgensen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The hagfishes comprise a uniform group of some 60 species inhabiting the cool or deep parts of the oceans of both hemispheres. They are considered the most primitive representatives of the group of craniate chordates, which - apart from the hagfishes that show no traces of verte brae -includes all vertebrate animals. Consequently the hagfishes have played and still playa central role in discussions concerning the evolution of the vertebrates. Although most of the focus on hagfishes may be the result of their being primitive, it should not be forgotten that, at the same time, they are specialized animals with a unique way of life that is interesting in its own right. It is now more than 30 years since a comprehensive treatise on hagfishes was published. The Biology of Myxine, edited by Alf Brodal and Ragnar Fange (Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 1963), provided a wealth of information on the biology of hagfishes, and over the years remained a major source of information and inspiration to students of hagfishes.
