Download or read book The Rise of Amphibians written by Robert Carroll and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2009 Outstanding Academic Title, ChoiceHonorable Mention, Biological and Life Sciences, 2009 PROSE Awards, Professional and Scholarly Publishing division of the Association of American Publishers For nearly 100 million years, amphibians and their ancestors dominated the terrestrial and shallow water environments of the earth. Archaic animals with an amphibious way of life gave rise not only to modern frogs, salamanders, and caecilians but also to the ancestors of reptiles, birds, and mammals. In this landmark publication, one of the leading paleontologists of our time explores a pivotal moment in vertebrate evolution, the rise of amphibians. Synthesizing findings from the rich and highly diverse fossil record of amphibians, Robert Carroll traces their origin back 365 million years, when particular species of fish traveled down an evolutionary pathway of fin modification that gave rise to legs. This period of dramatic radiation was followed by a cataclysmic extinction 250 million years ago. After a long gap, modern amphibian groups gradually emerged. Now the number of amphibian species and individuals throughout the tropical and temperate regions of the earth exceeds that of mammals. The Rise of Amphibians is documented with more than two hundred illustrations of fossil amphibians and sixteen exquisite color plates depicting amphibians in their natural habitats throughout their long existence. The most comprehensive examination of amphibian evolution ever produced, The Rise of Amphibians is an essential resource for paleontologists, herpetologists, geologists, and evolutionary biologists.
Download or read book Evolution of Amphibians written by Andrea Pelleschi and published by ABDO. This book was released on 2018-12-15 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Evolution of Amphibians explores what we know about amphibian evolution, from theories of the past to recent breakthroughs in research. This title also looks at the science behind the research, from studying fossils to analyzing DNA. Features include a glossary, references, websites, source notes, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
Download or read book Amphibian Evolution written by Rainer R. Schoch and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-03-19 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the first vertebrates to conquer land and their long journey to become fully independent from the water. It traces the origin of tetrapod features and tries to explain how and why they transformed into organs that permit life on land. Although the major frame of the topic lies in the past 370 million years and necessarily deals with many fossils, it is far from restricted to paleontology. The aim is to achieve a comprehensive picture of amphibian evolution. It focuses on major questions in current paleobiology: how diverse were the early tetrapods? In which environments did they live, and how did they come to be preserved? What do we know about the soft body of extinct amphibians, and what does that tell us about the evolution of crucial organs during the transition to land? How did early amphibians develop and grow, and which were the major factors of their evolution? The Topics in Paleobiology Series is published in collaboration with the Palaeontological Association, and is edited by Professor Mike Benton, University of Bristol. Books in the series provide a summary of the current state of knowledge, a trusted route into the primary literature, and will act as pointers for future directions for research. As well as volumes on individual groups, the series will also deal with topics that have a cross-cutting relevance, such as the evolution of significant ecosystems, particular key times and events in the history of life, climate change, and the application of a new techniques such as molecular palaeontology. The books are written by leading international experts and will be pitched at a level suitable for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers in both the paleontological and biological sciences.
Download or read book A Natural History of Amphibians written by Robert C. Stebbins and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-10 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a book for all readers who want to learn about amphibians, the animal group that includes frogs, toads, salamanders, and caecilians. It draws on many years of classroom teaching, laboratory experience, and field observation by the authors. Robert Stebbins and Nathan Cohen lead readers on a fascinating odyssey as they explore some of nature's most interesting creatures, interspersing their own observations throughout the book. A Natural History of Amphibians can serve as a textbook for students and independent learners, as an overview of the field for professional scientists and land managers, and as an engaging introduction for general readers. The class Amphibia contains more than 4,500 known living species. New species are being discovered so rapidly that the number may grow to more than 5,000 during our lifetimes. However, their numbers are being rapidly decimated around the globe, largely due to the encroachment of humans on amphibian habitats and from growing human-caused environmental pollution, discussed at length in the final chapter. The authors focus our attention on the "natural history" of amphibians worldwide and emphasize their interactions with their environments over time: where they live; how they reproduce; how they have been affected by evolutionary processes; what factors will determine their destinies over time. Through the experienced eyes of the authors, who are skilled observers, we come to see and understand the place of amphibians in the natural world around us.
Download or read book Extinction in Our Times written by James P. Collins and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over 350 million years, thousands of species of amphibians have lived on earth, but since the 1990s they have been disappearing at an alarming rate, in many cases quite suddenly and mysteriously. What is causing these extinctions? What role do human actions play in them? What do they tell us about the overall state of biodiversity on the planet? In Extinction in Our Times, James Collins and Martha Crump explore these pressing questions and many others as they document the first modern extinction event across an entire vertebrate class, using global examples that range from the Sierra Nevada of California to the rainforests of Costa Rica and the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. Joining scientific rigor and vivid storytelling, this book is the first to use amphibian decline as a lens through which to see more clearly the larger story of climate change, conservation of biodiversity, and a host of profoundly important ecological, evolutionary, ethical, philosophical, and sociological issues.
Download or read book The Rise of Reptiles written by Hans-Dieter Sues and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-06 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Accurate, synthetic, and sweeping, The Rise of Reptiles is the definitive work on the subject.
Download or read book Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California written by Robert C. Stebbins and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2012-09-04 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ". . . encourage[s] hope and resilience in times of devastating damage."—New York Review of Books This user-friendly guide is the only complete resource that identifies and describes all the amphibians and reptiles—salamanders, frogs and toads, lizards, snakes, and tortoises and turtles—that live in California. The species are described in richly detailed accounts that include range maps, lifelike color paintings by Robert C. Stebbins, clear drawings of various life stages including eggs, notes on natural history, and conservation status. Easy-to-use keys for every order help identify species, and informative chapters cover more general topics including evolution, habitat loss, and photography. Throughout, anecdotes and observations reveal new insights into the lives of California’s abundant but often hidden amphibians and reptiles.
Download or read book Amphibians written by Thomas Stainforth Kemp and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders, to the lesser-known caecilians, there are over 8,000 species of amphibians alive today. T.S. Kemp explores their evolution, adaptations, and biology, as well as the threat humans represent to their survival.
Download or read book Origins of the Higher Groups of Tetrapods written by Hans-Peter Schultze and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-18 with total page 738 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume explores the various views on the origins of tetrapods—amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals—views that agree or differ depending in part on how certain fossil animals are classified and which methodology is used for classification. Eighteen chapters by an international group of paleontologists and neontologists here present current hypotheses, emphasizing the kinds of data needed to answer controversial questions, as well as the variety of solutions that emerge from diferent analyses of the same data set. The book is arranged in five sections, each of which contains an overview essay that either describes the development of various schools of thought regarding the origin of the tetrapod group in question or critically summarizes the arguments presented in the section. The first section addresses the origins of tetrapods as a group, focusing on lobe-finned fishes and early tetrapods. Next is a section dealing with amphbians, followed by one on reptiles. The fourth section concerns avian origins, and the final section treats the origins and early diversification of mammals. With an overall goal of stimulating critical evaluation by the reader rather than providing unequivocal answers, this volume will be of particaular interest to vertebrate paleontologists, evolutionary morphologists, and ichthyological, herpatological, avian, and mammalian systematists.
Download or read book The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians written by Kentwood D. Wells and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2007-11-15 with total page 1160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consisting of more than six thousand species, amphibians are more diverse than mammals and are found on every continent save Antarctica. Despite the abundance and diversity of these animals, many aspects of the biology of amphibians remain unstudied or misunderstood. The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians aims to fill this gap in the literature on this remarkable taxon. It is a celebration of the diversity of amphibian life and the ecological and behavioral adaptations that have made it a successful component of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Synthesizing seventy years of research on amphibian biology, Kentwood D. Wells addresses all major areas of inquiry, including phylogeny, classification, and morphology; aspects of physiological ecology such as water and temperature relations, respiration, metabolism, and energetics; movements and orientation; communication and social behavior; reproduction and parental care; ecology and behavior of amphibian larvae and ecological aspects of metamorphosis; ecological impact of predation on amphibian populations and antipredator defenses; and aspects of amphibian community ecology. With an eye towards modern concerns, The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians concludes with a chapter devoted to amphibian conservation. An unprecedented scholarly contribution to amphibian biology, this book is eagerly anticipated among specialists.
Download or read book Biology of Amphibians written by William E. Duellman and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 1994-02 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now reissued in paperback with an updated preface by the authors, Biology of Amphibians remains the standard work in its field.
Download or read book Amphibian Declines written by Michael Lannoo and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2005-06-15 with total page 1117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This benchmark volume documents in comprehensive detail a major environmental crisis: rapidly declining amphibian populations and the disturbing developmental problems that are increasingly prevalent within many amphibian species. Horror stories on this topic have been featured in the scientific and popular press over the past fifteen years, invariably asking what amphibian declines are telling us about the state of the environment. Are declines harbingers of devastated ecosystems or simply weird reflections of a peculiar amphibian world? This compendium—presenting new data, reviews of current literature, and comprehensive species accounts—reinforces what scientists have begun to suspect, that amphibians are a lens through which the state of the environment can be viewed more clearly. And, that the view is alarming and presages serious concerns for all life, including that of our own species. The first part of this work consists of more than fifty essays covering topics from the causes of declines to conservation, surveys and monitoring, and education. The second part consists of species accounts describing the life history and natural history of every known amphibian species in the United States.
Download or read book The Rise of Birds written by Sankar Chatterjee and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2015-04-01 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most comprehensive account of the origin of ancient and modern birds—the "living dinosaurs." A small set of fossilized bones discovered almost thirty years ago led paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee on a lifelong quest to understand their place in our understanding of the history of life. They were clearly the bones of something unusual, a bird-like creature that lived long, long ago in the age of dinosaurs. He called it Protoavis, and the animal that owned these bones quickly became a contender for the title of "oldest known bird." In 1997, Chatterjee published his findings in the first edition of The Rise of Birds. Since then Chatterjee and his colleagues have searched the world for more transitional bird fossils. And they have found them. This second edition of The Rise of Birds brings together a treasure trove of fossils that tell us far more about the evolution of birds than we once dreamed possible. With no blind allegiance to what he once thought he knew, Chatterjee devours the new evidence and lays out the most compelling version of the birth and evolution of the avian form ever attempted. He takes us from Texas to Spain, China, Mongolia, Madagascar, Australia, Antarctica, and Argentina. He shows how, in the "Cretaceous Pompeii" of China, he was able to reconstruct the origin and evolution of flight of early birds from the feathered dinosaurs that lay among thousands of other amazing fossils. Chatterjee takes us to where long-hidden bird fossils dwell. His compelling, occasionally controversial, revelations—accompanied by spectacular illustrations—are a must-read for anyone with a serious interest in the evolution of "the feathered dinosaurs," from vertebrate paleontologists and ornithologists to naturalists and birders.
Download or read book Amphibian conservation action plan proceedings IUCN SSC Amphibian Conservation Summit 2005 written by and published by IUCN. This book was released on 2007 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Frogs written by Michael E. Dorcas and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2011-05-02 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Packed with facts and featuring two color galleries and 70 black-and-white photographs, Frogs: The Animal Answer Guide is sure to address the questions on the minds of curious naturalists.
Download or read book Nature Guide Snakes and Other Reptiles and Amphibians written by DK and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-08-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From tiny frogs in the rainforests to giant tropical crocodiles and desert lizards and snakes, explore the entire range of these cold-blooded creatures in this compact guide, filled with stunning photography, a comprehensive catalog of reptiles and amphibians, and key data organized in easily accessible panels.
Download or read book Amphibians written by T. S. Kemp and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "From frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders, to the lesser-known caecilians, there are over 8,000 species of amphibians alive today. Characterized by their moist, naked skin and the tadpole phase of their lives, they are uniquely adapted to occupy the interphase habitat between freshwater and land. This Very Short Introduction looks at amphibian evolution, adaptations, and biology. Exploring topics from their complex courtship behaviour to how their permeable skin enables them to thrive in their habitat, T. S. Kemp covers the whole history of amphibians, from their origins 360 million years ago to the extinction threat they face from humans today." --
