Download or read book Principles of Paleontology written by David Raup and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1978-03-15 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents principles of paleontology at an undergraduate level Emphasizes theory and concepts over details of morphology and the fossil record Profusely illustrated with photographs, charts, graphs, and tables

Download or read book Paleontology written by David Bainbridge and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-02-08 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illustrated look at the art and science of paleontology from its origins to today Humans have been stumbling upon the petrified remains of ancient animals since prehistoric times, leading to tales of giant dogs, deadly dragons, tree gods, sea serpents, and all manner of strange and marvelous creatures. In this richly illustrated book, David Bainbridge recounts how legends like these gradually gave rise to the modern science of paleontology, and how this pioneering discipline has reshaped our view of the natural world. Bainbridge takes readers from ancient Greece to the eighteenth century, when paleontology began to coalesce into the scientific field we know today, and discusses how contemporary paleontologists use cutting-edge technologies to flesh out the discoveries of past and present. He brings to life the stories and people behind some of the greatest fossil finds of all time, and explains how paleontology has long straddled the spheres of science and art. Bainbridge also looks to the future of the discipline, discussing how the rapid recovery of DNA and other genetic material from the fossil record promises to revolutionize our understanding of the origins and evolution of ancient life. This panoramic book brings together stunning illustrations ranging from early sketches and engravings to eye-popping paleoart and high-tech computer reconstructions.

Download or read book Paleontology in Ecology and Conservation written by Julien Louys and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-04-25 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fossil record contains unique long-term insights into how ecosystems form and function which cannot be determined simply by examining modern systems. It also provides a record of endangered species through time, which allow us to make conservation decisions based on thousands to millions of years of information. The aim of this book is to demonstrate how palaeontological data has been or could be incorporated into ecological or conservation scientific studies. This book will be written by palaeontologists for modern ecologists and conservation scientists. Manuscripts will fall into one (or a combination) of four broad categories: case studies, review articles, practical considerations and future directions. This book will serve as both a ‘how to guide’ and provide the current state of knowledge for this type of research. It will highlight the unique and critical insights that can be gained by the inclusion of palaeontological data into modern ecological or conservation studies.

Download or read book Explorers of Deep Time written by Roy Plotnick and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-04 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paleontology is one of the most visible yet most misunderstood fields of science. Children dream of becoming paleontologists when they grow up. Museum visitors flock to exhibits on dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. The media reports on fossil discoveries and new clues to mass extinctions. Nonetheless, misconceptions abound: paleontologists are assumed only to be interested in dinosaurs, and they are all too often imagined as bearded white men in battered cowboy hats. Roy Plotnick provides a behind-the-scenes look at paleontology as it exists today in all its complexity. He explores the field’s aims, methods, and possibilities, with an emphasis on the compelling personal stories of the scientists who have made it a career. Paleontologists study the entire history of life on Earth; they do not only use hammers and chisels to unearth fossils but are just as likely to work with cutting-edge computing technology. Plotnick presents the big questions about life’s history that drive paleontological research and shows why knowledge of Earth’s past is essential to understanding present-day environmental crises. He introduces readers to the diverse group of people of all genders, races, and international backgrounds who make up the twenty-first-century paleontology community, foregrounding their perspectives and firsthand narratives. He also frankly discusses the many challenges that face the profession, with key takeaways for aspiring scientists. Candid and comprehensive, Explorers of Deep Time is essential reading for anyone curious about the everyday work of real-life paleontologists.

Download or read book Paleontology written by Derek Turner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-28 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wake of the paleobiological revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, paleontologists continue to investigate far-reaching questions about how evolution works. Many of those questions have a philosophical dimension. How is macroevolution related to evolutionary changes within populations? Is evolutionary history contingent? How much can we know about the causes of evolutionary trends? How do paleontologists read the patterns in the fossil record to learn about the underlying evolutionary processes? Derek Turner explores these and other questions, introducing the reader to exciting recent work in the philosophy of paleontology and to theoretical issues including punctuated equilibria and species selection. He also critically examines some of the major accomplishments and arguments of paleontologists of the last 40 years.

Download or read book Basic Questions in Paleontology written by Otto H. Schindewolf and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now available in English for the first time, Basic Questions in Paleontology is a landmark work in twentieth-century evolution and paleontology. Originally published in German in 1950, Schindewolf's book was highly controversial for its thoroughgoing anti-Darwinism, but today his ideas are remarkably relevant to current research in evolutionary biology. "[This book] would rank number one on my list of items awaiting translation from the history of twentieth-century evolutionary theory."—Stephen Jay Gould

Download or read book Patrons of Paleontology written by Jane P. Davidson and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-21 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 19th and early 20th centuries, North American and European governments generously funded the discoveries of such famous paleontologists and geologists as Henry de la Beche, William Buckland, Richard Owen, Thomas Hawkins, Edward Drinker Cope, O. C. Marsh, and Charles W. Gilmore. In Patrons of Paleontology, Jane Davidson explores the motivation behind this rush to fund exploration, arguing that eagerness to discover strategic resources like coal deposits was further fueled by patrons who had a genuine passion for paleontology and the fascinating creatures that were being unearthed. These early decades of government support shaped the way the discipline grew, creating practices and enabling discoveries that continue to affect paleontology today.

Download or read book Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution written by Robert L. Carroll and published by New York [N.Y.] : W.H. Freeman. This book was released on 1988 with total page 698 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Adventures in Paleontology written by Thor A. Hansen and published by NSTA Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of years after vanishing from the Earth, dinosaurs still have the power to stir students' curiosity. Deepen that interest with Adventures in Paleontology, a series of lively hands-on activities especially for middle schoolers. This beautifully illustrated full colour book feaatures 36 activities that open students up to a variety of foundational sciences, including biology, geology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. For example: "How Do Fossils Form?" discusses how organisms become fossils and illustrates the concept with activities that simulate fossil-making processe.s "What Can You Learn From Fossils?" explores what fossils teach about ancient organisms, and "Mass Extinction and Meteor Collisions With Earth" discusses recently discovered links between meteor and asteroid impacts on Earth and the demise of animals like dinosaurs. Other chapters cover how to tell the age of the Earth; how dinosaurs evolved; and diversity, classification, and taxonomy. The final chapters offer humanistic perspective on fossils in literature and art. As an attention-grabbing complement to the text, vivid full colour illustrations show not just skeletons and animal tracks but also what dinosaurs probably looked like in their natural setting. Handy line drawings guide students through each step of the activities.

Download or read book Paleontology written by Ian Tattersall and published by Templeton Foundation Press. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Endlessly absorbing and informative. It would be hard to imagine a better introduction to this most important and fascinating field.”—Bill Bryson, author of A Short History of Nearly Everything Paleontology: A Brief History of Life is the fifth title published in the Templeton Science and Religion Series, in which scientists from a wide range of fields distill their experience and knowledge into brief tours of their respective specialties. In this volume, Ian Tattersall, a highly esteemed figure in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, and paleontology, leads a fascinating tour of the history of life and the evolution of human beings. Starting at the very beginning, Tattersall examines patterns of change in the biosphere over time, and the correlations of biological events with physical changes in the Earth’s environment. He introduces the complex of evolutionary processes, situates human beings in the luxuriant diversity of Life (demonstrating that however remarkable we may legitimately find ourselves to be, we are the product of the same basic forces and processes that have driven the evolutionary histories of all other creatures), and he places the origin of our extraordinary spiritual sensibilities in the context of the exaptational and emergent acquisition of symbolic cognition and thought. Concise and yet comprehensive, historically penetrating and yet up-to-date, responsibly factual and yet engaging, Paleontology serves as the perfect entrée to science's greatest story.

Download or read book A History of Paleontology Illustration written by Jane P. Davidson and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of scientific illustration from the 15th century to the present day

Download or read book The Evolution of Paleontological Art written by Renee M. Clary and published by Geological Society of America. This book was released on 2022-01-28 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This volume samples the history of art about fossils-and the visual conceptualization of their significance-starting with biblical and mythological depictions, extending to renditions of ancient life in long-vanished habitats, and on to a modern understanding that paleoart conveys lessons for the betterment of the human condition. Twenty-nine chapters illustrate how art about fossils has come to be a significant teaching tool not only about evolution of past life, but also about conservation of our planet for the benefit of future generations"--

Download or read book Salt range Fossils written by Wilhelm Heinrich Waagen and published by . This book was released on 1887 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Practical Paleontologist written by Steve Parker and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overview of paleontology and how these specialists do their jobs.

Download or read book Patrons of Paleontology written by Jane P. Davidson and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-21 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 19th and early 20th centuries, North American and European governments generously funded the discoveries of such famous paleontologists and geologists as Henry de la Beche, William Buckland, Richard Owen, Thomas Hawkins, Edward Drinker Cope, O. C. Marsh, and Charles W. Gilmore. In Patrons of Paleontology, Jane Davidson explores the motivation behind this rush to fund exploration, arguing that eagerness to discover strategic resources like coal deposits was further fueled by patrons who had a genuine passion for paleontology and the fascinating creatures that were being unearthed. These early decades of government support shaped the way the discipline grew, creating practices and enabling discoveries that continue to affect paleontology today.

Download or read book Fantastic Fossils written by Donald R. Prothero and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 584 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nothing fills us with a sense of wonder like fossils. What looks at first like a simple rock is in fact a clue that reveals the staggering diversity of ancient environments, the winding pathways of evolution, and the majesty of a vanished earth. But as much as one might daydream of digging a hole in the backyard and finding a Tyrannosaurus, only a few places contain these buried treasures, and when a scientist comes across a remnant of prehistoric life, great care must be taken. What do budding paleontologists need to know before starting their search? In Fantastic Fossils, Donald R. Prothero offers an accessible, entertaining, and richly illustrated guide to the paleontologist’s journey. He details the best places to look for fossils, the art of how to find them, and how to classify the major types. Prothero provides expert wisdom about typical fossils that an average person can hope to collect and how to hunt fossils responsibly and ethically. He also explores the lessons that both common and rarer discoveries offer about paleontology and its history, as well as what fossils can tell us about past climates and present climate change. Captivating illustrations by the paleoartist Mary Persis Williams bring to life hundreds of important specimens. Offering valuable lessons for armchair enthusiasts and paleontology students alike, Fantastic Fossils is an essential companion for all readers who have ever dreamed of going in search of traces of a lost world.

Download or read book Horned Armadillos and Rafting Monkeys written by Darin A. Croft and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2016-08-29 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thrilling guide to the Cenozoic mammals of South America, featuring seventy-five life reconstructions of extinct species, plus photos of specimens and sites. South America is home to some of the most distinctive mammals on Earth—giant armadillos, tiny anteaters, the world’s largest rodent, and its smallest deer. But the continent once supported a variety of other equally intriguing mammals that have no close living relatives: armored mammals with tail clubs, saber-toothed marsupials, and even a swimming sloth. We know of the existence of these peculiar species thanks to South America’s rich fossil record, which provides many glimpses of prehistoric mammals and the ecosystems in which they lived. Organized as a “walk through time” and featuring species from fifteen important fossil sites, this book is the most extensive and richly illustrated volume devoted exclusively to the Cenozoic mammals of South America. The text is supported by seventy-five life reconstructions of extinct species in their native habitats, as well as photographs of fossil specimens and the sites highlighted in the book. An annotated bibliography is included for those interested in delving into the scientific literature. “Well-written and easy for the nonspecialist to understand, this is also a most needed updating of this subject, much in the line of classic works such as Simpson’s The Beginning of the Age of Mammals in South America and Patterson and Pascual’s The Fossil Mammal Fauna of South America.” —Richard Fariña, coauthor Megafauna: Giant Beasts of Pleistocene South America “This handsome book, written by a leading expert in South American paleontology, is profusely illustrated with maps, time charts, color photographs of fossils, and exquisite life reconstructions. The book . . . will appeal to any individual, young and old alike, interested in the fossil record, as well as to students and scholars of paleontology who work in other parts of the globe.” —Choice