Download or read book The Evolution of Mammalian Characters written by D. M. Kermack and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is not intended to give a full and comprehensive account of the Mesozoic mammals, and nor is it intended as a handbook for research workers studying pre-Tertiary mammals. Our intention is to give an account of the origin and evolution of certain of the characters of the Mammalia. We have tried to portray the fossils we describe as the living animals they once were, not as dead bones. Our account ends with the end of the Lower Cretaceous, since by that time the major characters of the mammals had become established. There exist a number of characters which, at the present day, are confined to the Mammalia. These include: (1) a jaw articulation formed by the squamosal and the dentary; (2) a chain of three bones, malleus, incus and stapes connecting the tympanic membrane to the inner ear; (3) the presence of hair or fur; (4) the presence of milk-glands in the female; (5) the left aortic arch is the systemic arch; (6) the phalangeal formula in both manus and pes is 2.3.3.3.3; (7) some of the teeth have more than one root. Of these characters (1) or (2) are sufficient by themselves to define a mammal; characters (6) and (7) are known to have been already in existence in some of the mammal-like reptiles - the ancestors of the mammals.
Download or read book The Origin and Evolution of Mammals written by T. S. Kemp and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2005 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mammals are the dominant large animals of today, occurring in virtually every environment. This book is an account of the remarkable 320 million year long fossil record that documents their origin, their long spell as no more than small, nocturnal creatures, and their explosive radiation since the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Tom Kemp also unveils the exciting molecular evidence, which, coupled with important new fossils, is presently challenging current thinking on the interrelationships and historical biogeography of mammals. The Origin and Evolution of Mammals will be of interest to advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in vertebrate palaeontology, biogeography, mammalian systematics and molecular taxonomy. It will also be welcomed by vertebrate fossil enthusiasts and evolutionary biologists of all levels with an interest in macroevolutionary problems.
Download or read book I Mammal written by Liam Drew and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-11-02 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humans are mammals. Most of us appreciate that at some level. But what does it mean for us to have more in common with a horse and an elephant than we do with a parrot, snake or frog? After a misdirected football left new father Liam Drew clutching a uniquely mammalian part of his anatomy, he decided to find out more. Considering himself as a mammal first and a human second, Liam delves into ancient biological history to understand what it means to be mammalian. In his humorous and engaging style, Liam explores the different characteristics that distinguish mammals from other types of animals. He charts the evolution of milk, warm blood and burgeoning brains, and examines the emergence of sophisticated teeth, exquisite ears, and elaborate reproductive biology, plus a host of other mammalian innovations. Entwined are tales of zoological peculiarities and reflections on how being a mammal has shaped the author's life. I, Mammal is a history of mammals and their ancestors and of how science came to grasp mammalian evolution. And in celebrating our mammalian-ness, Liam Drew binds us a little more tightly to the five and a half thousand other species of mammal on this planet and reveals the deep roots of many traits humans hold dear.
Download or read book Mammalian Sexuality written by Alan F. Dixson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-06-03 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are more than 6000 species belonging to twenty-seven orders in the Class Mammalia. Comparative studies of this diverse and magnificent array of extant species provide valuable opportunities to formulate and test hypotheses concerning the evolution of reproduction. This is the first book to explore, in depth and breadth, the complex interrelationships that exist between patterns of mating behaviour and the evolution of mammalian reproductive anatomy and physiology. It focuses upon the role that copulatory and post-copulatory sexual selection have played during the evolution of the monotremes, marsupials and placental mammals, and examines the effects of sperm competition and cryptic female choice upon coevolution of the genitalia in the two sexes. In addition, due weight is also given to discussions of the modes of life of mammals, and to the roles played by natural selection and phylogeny in determining their reproductive traits.
Download or read book Mammals written by Thomas Stainforth Kemp and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relative newcomers within the story of evolution, mammals are hugely successful and have colonized land, water, and air. Tom Kemp discusses the great diversity of mammalian species, and looks at how their very disparate characteristics, physiologies, and behaviours are all largely driven by one uniting factor: endothermy, or warm-bloodedness.
Download or read book Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs written by Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2005-02-05 with total page 649 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few aspects of American military history have been as vigorously debated as Harry Truman's decision to use atomic bombs against Japan. In this carefully crafted volume, Michael Kort describes the wartime circumstances and thinking that form the context for the decision to use these weapons, surveys the major debates related to that decision, and provides a comprehensive collection of key primary source documents that illuminate the behavior of the United States and Japan during the closing days of World War II. Kort opens with a summary of the debate over Hiroshima as it has evolved since 1945. He then provides a historical overview of thye events in question, beginning with the decision and program to build the atomic bomb. Detailing the sequence of events leading to Japan's surrender, he revisits the decisive battles of the Pacific War and the motivations of American and Japanese leaders. Finally, Kort examines ten key issues in the discussion of Hiroshima and guides readers to relevant primary source documents, scholarly books, and articles.
Download or read book Evolution of Island Mammals written by Alexandra van der Geer and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: EVOLUTION OF ISLAND MAMMALS Evolution on islands differs in a number of important ways from evolution on mainland areas. Over millions of years of isolation, exceptional and sometimes bizarre mammals evolved on islands, such as pig-sized elephants and hippos, giant rats and gorilla-sized lemurs that would have been formidable to their mainland ancestors. Evolution of Island Mammals, Second Edition, provides an updated and expanded overview of the current knowledge on fossil island mammals worldwide, ranging from the Oligocene to the onset of the Holocene. The book addresses evolutionary processes and key aspects of insular mammal biology, exemplified by a variety of fossil species. Readers familiar with the first edition will find here a host of updated and enhanced material, including: An entirely new chapter on the island rule Updated and expanded theoretical chapters Updated and improved taxonomic information Extensive coverage of new discoveries Body masses or body size indices for most extinct island mammals New figures visualizing the richness of the fossil record This accessible and richly illustrated textbook is written for graduate level students and professional researchers in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, biogeography, zoology, and ecology.
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 Beasts Before Us written by Elsa Panciroli and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-06-10 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For most of us, the story of mammal evolution starts after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, but over the last 20 years scientists have uncovered new fossils and used new technologies that have upended this story. In Beasts Before Us, palaeontologist Elsa Panciroli charts the emergence of the mammal lineage, Synapsida, beginning at their murky split from the reptiles in the Carboniferous period, over three-hundred million years ago. They made the world theirs long before the rise of dinosaurs. Travelling forward into the Permian and then Triassic periods, we learn how our ancient mammal ancestors evolved from large hairy beasts with accelerating metabolisms to exploit miniaturisation, which was key to unlocking the traits that define mammals as we now know them. Elsa criss-crosses the globe to explore the sites where discoveries are being made and meet the people who make them. In Scotland, she traverses the desert dunes of prehistoric Moray, where quarry workers unearthed the footprints of Permian creatures from before the time of dinosaurs. In South Africa, she introduces us to animals, once called 'mammal-like reptiles', that gave scientists the first hints that our furry kin evolved from a lineage of egg-laying burrowers. In China, new, complete fossilised skeletons reveal mammals that were gliders, shovel-pawed Jurassic moles, and flat-tailed swimmers. This book radically reframes the narrative of our mammalian ancestors and provides a counterpoint to the stereotypes of mighty dinosaur overlords and cowering little mammals. It turns out the earliest mammals weren't just precursors, they were pioneers.
Download or read book Mammal like Reptiles and the Origin of Mammals written by Thomas Stainforth Kemp and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Axial Character Seriation in Mammals written by Aaron G. Filler and published by Universal-Publishers. This book was released on 2007 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern biology is increasingly focused on the role of repetitive anatomical structures in the embryological construction of organisms. The discovery of the homeobox (Hox) genes by Edward Lewis in 1978 ushered in a series of stunning revelations such as the fundamental commonality of insect segments and mammalian vertebrae - a wild and ridiculed idea first proposed by Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1822 that has now been proven correct. Axial Character Seriation in Mammals is an unabridged edition of the 1986 Harvard University PhD Thesis of Aaron G. Filler, MD, PhD that pioneered our modern reassessment of mammalian vertebrae in the light of the new homeotic biology. As Dr. Filler points out in fascinating detail, the leading explanations of similarity among animals before Darwin were arrayed around the vertebrae of the spine in works by Sir Richard Owen, Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. This was the theoretical structure that was overturned and demolished by Darwin's ideas about similarity due to common descent. In a stunning reversal, modern homeotic genetics has shown that repeating structures are indeed critical to understanding animal similarity. This work is the first study of the modern era that views vertebrae as a key to unlocking the way in which Nature has organized repeating biological structures. For the 150 years since the Great Academy Debate of 1830 appeared to demolish Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire's ideas, vertebrae have been seen as no more than some bones in Vertebrate animals that are involved in support and locomotion. Axial Character Seriation in Mammals, however, explores the fascinating traces of how the morphogenetic genes sculpt and organize serially repeating structures, thus re-establishing the vertebrae as a legitimate and compelling subject of modern science.
Download or read book Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology written by Eric J. Sargis and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-05-21 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book celebrates the contributions of Dr. Frederick S. Szalay to the field of Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology. Professor Szalay is a strong advocate for biologically and evolutionarily meaningful character analysis. He has published about 200 articles, six monographs, and six books on this subject. This book features subjects such as the evolution and adaptation of mammals and provides up-to-date articles on the evolutionary morphology of a wide range of mammalian groups.
Download or read book Understanding Evolution written by Kostas Kampourakis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-03 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together conceptual obstacles and core concepts of evolutionary theory, this book presents evolution as straightforward and intuitive.
Download or read book The Evolution of Senescence in the Tree of Life written by Richard P. Shefferson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-23 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The existing theories on the evolution of senescence assume that senescence is inevitable in all organisms. However, recent studies have shown that this is not necessarily true. A better understanding of senescence and its underlying mechanisms could have far-reaching consequences for conservation and eco-evolutionary research. This book is the first to offer interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolution of senescence in many species, setting the stage for further developments. It brings together new insights from a wide range of scientific fields and cutting-edge research done on a multitude of different animals (including humans), plants and microbes, giving the reader a complete overview of recent developments and of the controversies currently surrounding the topic. Written by specialists from a variety of disciplines, this book is a valuable source of information for students and researchers interested in ageing and life history traits and populations.
Download or read book Teeth A Very Short Introduction written by Peter S. Ungar and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-03 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teeth are a vital component of vertebrate anatomy and a fundamental part of the fossil record. It was the evolution of teeth, associated with predation, that drove the evolution of the wide array of fish, amphibians, reptiles, and then mammals. Peter S. Ungar looks at how, without teeth, none of these developments could have occurred.
Download or read book Simon and Schuster s Guide to Mammals written by Sydney Anderson and published by . This book was released on 1984-01-03 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As mammals ourselves, we have always been fascinated with this most advanced class of animals, and "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals" describes 426 species worldwide. A long and thoughtful introduction to the evolution, characteristics, and orders of mammals is followed by the entries -- all illustrated in full color -- each containing the mammal's classification, description, and habitat as well as details on behavior, feeding habits, and reproduction. The entries also feature colorful symbols to illustrate habitat, color maps to show the distribution and rarity of each species, and line drawings to indicate unusual or notable physical features. With more than 500 color photographs, "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals" is a superb and valuable reference.
Download or read book Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America Volume 1 Terrestrial Carnivores Ungulates and Ungulate Like Mammals written by Christine M. Janis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-05-28 with total page 712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is designed as a source and reference for people interested in the history and fossil record of North American tertiary mammals. Each chapter covers a different family or order, and includes information on anatomical features, systematics, the distribution of the genera and species at different fossil localities, and a discussion of their paleobiology. Many of these groups have never been covered in this fashion before.
