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Giants of the Lost World: Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Monsters of South America
Par Donald R Prothero. 2016
More than a hundred years ago, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a novel called The Lost World with the exciting…
premise that dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts still ruled in South America. Little did Conan Doyle know, there were terrifying monsters in South America--they just happened to be extinct. In fact, South America has an incredible history as a land where many strange creatures evolved and died out. In his book Giants of the Lost World: Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Monsters of South America, Donald R. Prothero uncovers the real science and history behind this fascinating story. The largest animal ever discovered was the huge sauropod dinosaur Argentinosaurus, which was about 130 feet long and weighed up to 100 tons. The carnivorous predator Giganotosaurus weighed in at more than 8 tons and measured more than 47 feet long, dwarfing the T. rex in comparison. Gigantic anacondas broke reptile records; possums evolved into huge saber-toothed predators; and ground sloths grew larger than elephants in this strange, unknown land. Prothero presents the scientific details about each of these prehistoric beasts, provides a picture of the ancient landscapes they once roamed, and includes the stories of the individuals who first discovered their fossils for a captivating account of a lost world that is stranger than fiction.Applications of Palaeontology
Par Robert Wynn Jones. 2011
Palaeontology, the scientific study of fossils, has developed from a descriptive science to an analytical science used to interpret relationships…
between earth and life history. This book provides a comprehensive and thematic treatment of applied palaeontology, covering the use of fossils in the ordering of rocks in time and in space, in biostratigraphy, palaeobiology and sequence stratigraphy. Robert Wynn Jones presents a practical workflow for applied palaeontology, including sample acquisition, preparation and analysis, and interpretation and integration. He then presents numerous case studies that demonstrate the applicability and value of the subject to areas such as petroleum, mineral and coal exploration and exploitation, engineering geology and environmental science. Specialist applications outside of the geosciences (including archaeology, forensic science, medical palynology, entomopalynology and melissopalynology) are also addressed. Abundantly illustrated and referenced, Applications of Palaeontology provides a user-friendly reference for academic researchers and professionals across a range of disciplines and industry settings.Evolution of South American Mammalian Predators During the Cenozoic: Paleobiogeographic and Paleoenvironmental Contingencies
Par Francisco J. Prevosti, Analía M. Forasiepi. 2017
This book summarizes the evolution of carnivorous mammals in the Cenozoic of South America. It presents paleontological information on the…
two main mammalian carnivorous groups in South America; Metatheria and Eutheria. The topics include the origin, systematics, phylogeny, paleoecology and evolution of the Sparassodonta and Carnivora. The book is based on a wide variety of published sources from the last few decades.The Geology of Australia
Par David Johnson, Robert Henderson. 2016
The Geology of Australia provides a vivid and informative account of the evolution of the Australian continent over the last…
4400 million years Starting with the Precambrian rocks that hold clues to the origins of life and the development of an oxygenated atmosphere it goes on to cover the warm seas volcanism and episodes of mountain building which formed the eastern third of the Australian continent This illuminating history details the breakup of the supercontinents Rodinia and Gondwana the times of previous glaciations the development of climates and landscapes in modern Australia and the creation of the continental shelves and coastlines Separate chapters cover the origin of the Great Barrier Reef the basalts in Eastern Australia and the geology of the Solar System This second edition features two new chapters covering the evolution of life on Earth while emphasising the fossil record in Australia and providing a geological perspective on climate change From Uluru to the Great Dividing Range from earthquakes to dinosaurs from sapphires to the stars The Geology of Australia is a comprehensive exploration of the timeless forces that have shaped this continentTikal
Par Vernon L. Scarborough, David L. Lentz, David L. Lentz Nicholas P. Dunning, Nicholas P. Dunning. 2015
The primary theoretical question addressed in this book focuses on the lingering concern of how the ancient Maya in the…
northern Petén Basin were able to sustain large populations in the midst of a tropical forest environment during the Late Classic period. This book asks how agricultural intensification was achieved and how essential resources, such as water and forest products, were managed in both upland areas and seasonal wetlands, or bajos. All of these activities were essential components of an initially sustainable land use strategy that eventually failed to meet the demands of an escalating population. This spiraling disconnect with sound ecological principles undoubtedly contributed to the Maya collapse. The book's findings provide insights that broaden the understanding of the rise of social complexity - the expansion of the political economy, specifically - and, in general terms, the trajectory of cultural evolution of the ancient Maya civilization.The Vegetation of Antarctica through Geological Time
Par David J. Cantrill, Imogen Poole. 2012
The fossil history of plant life in Antarctica is central to our understanding of the evolution of vegetation through geological…
time and also plays a key role in reconstructing past configurations of the continents and associated climatic conditions. This book provides the only detailed overview of the development of Antarctic vegetation from the Devonian period to the present day, presenting Earth scientists with valuable insights into the break up of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. Details of specific floras and ecosystems are provided within the context of changing geological, geographical and environmental conditions, alongside comparisons with contemporaneous and modern ecosystems. The authors demonstrate how palaeobotany contributes to our understanding of the palaeoenvironmental changes in the southern hemisphere during this period of Earth history. The book is a complete and up-to-date reference for researchers and students in Antarctic palaeobotany and terrestrial palaeoecology.From Clone to Bone
Par Robert J. Asher, Johannes Müller. 2012
Since the 1980s, a renewed understanding of molecular development has afforded an unprecedented level of knowledge of the mechanisms by…
which phenotype in animals and plants has evolved. In this volume, top scientists in these fields provide perspectives on how molecular data in biology help to elucidate key questions in estimating paleontological divergence and in understanding the mechanisms behind phenotypic evolution. Paleobiological questions such as genome size, digit homologies, genetic control cascades behind phenotype, estimates of vertebrate divergence dates, and rates of morphological evolution are addressed, with a special emphasis on how molecular biology can inform paleontology, directly and indirectly, to better understand life's past. Highlighting a significant shift towards interdisciplinary collaboration, this is a valuable resource for students and researchers interested in the integration of organismal and molecular biology.Rereading the Fossil Record: The Growth of Paleobiology as an Evolutionary Discipline
Par David Sepkoski. 2012
Rereading the Fossil Record presents the first-ever historical account of the origin, rise, and importance of paleobiology, from the mid-nineteenth…
century to the late 1980s. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, David Sepkoski shows how the movement was conceived and promoted by a small but influential group of paleontologists and examines the intellectual, disciplinary, and political dynamics involved in the ascendency of paleobiology. By tracing the role of computer technology, large databases, and quantitative analytical methods in the emergence of paleobiology, this book also offers insight into the growing prominence and centrality of data-driven approaches in recent science.Applications of Paleoenvironmental Techniques in Estuarine Studies (Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research #Volume 20)
Par Kaarina Weckström, Krystyna M. Saunders, Peter A. Gell, C. Gregory Skilbeck. 2017
The aim of this edited volume is to introduce the scientific community to paleoenvironmental studies of estuaries to highlight…
the types of information that can be obtained from such studies and to promote the use of paleoenvironmental studies in estuarine management P P Readers will learn about the the application of different paleoecological approaches used in estuaries that develop our understanding of their response to natural and human influences Particular attention is given to the essential steps required for undertaking a paleoecological study in particular with regard to site selection core extraction and chronological techniques followed by the range of indicators that can be used A series of case studies are discussed in the book to demonstrate how paleoecological studies can be used to address key questions and to sustainably manage these important coastal environments in the future This book will appeal to professional scientists interested in estuarine studies and or paleoenvironmental research as well as estuarine managers who are interested in the incorporation of paleoenvironmental research into their management programsPaleoecology
Par David J. Bottjer. 1955
Paleoecology is a discipline that uses evidence from fossils to provide an understanding of ancient environments and the ecological history…
of life through geological time. This text covers the fundamental approaches that have provided the foundation for present paleoecological understanding, and outlines new research areas in paleoecology for managing future environmental and ecological change. Topics include the use of actualism in paleoecology, development of paleoecological models for paleoenvironmental reconstruction, taphonomy and exceptional fossil preservation, evolutionary paleoecology and ecological change through time, and conservation paleoecology. Data from studies of invertebrates, vertebrates, plants and microfossils, with added emphasis on bioturbation and microbial sedimentary structures, are discussed. Examples from marine and terrestrial environments are covered, with a particular focus on periods of great ecological change, such as the Precambrian-Cambrian transition and intervals of mass extinction. Readership: This book is designed for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in the earth and biological sciences, as well as researchers and applied scientists in a range of related disciplines.The People's Peking Man: Popular Science and Human Identity in Twentieth-Century China
Par Sigrid Schmalzer. 2008
In the 1920s an international team of scientists and miners unearthed the richest evidence of human evolution the world had…
ever seen: Peking Man. After the communist revolution of 1949, Peking Man became a prominent figure in the movement to bring science to the people. In a new state with twin goals of crushing “superstition” and establishing a socialist society, the story of human evolution was the first lesson in Marxist philosophy offered to the masses. At the same time, even Mao’s populist commitment to mass participation in science failed to account for the power of popular culture—represented most strikingly in legends about the Bigfoot-like Wild Man—to reshape ideas about human nature. The People’s Peking Manis a skilled social history of twentieth-century Chinese paleoanthropology and a compelling cultural—and at times comparative—history of assumptions and debates about what it means to be human. By focusing on issues that push against the boundaries of science and politics,The People’s Peking Manoffers an innovative approach to modern Chinese history and the history of science.Scenes from Deep Time
Par Martin J. Rudwick. 1992
How did the earth look in prehistoric times? Scientists and artists collaborated during the half-century prior to the publication of…
Darwin's Origin of Species to produce the first images of dinosaurs and the world they inhabited. Their interpretations, informed by recent fossil discoveries, were the first efforts to represent the prehistoric world based on sources other than the Bible. Martin J. S. Rudwick presents more than a hundred rare illustrations from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to explore the implications of reconstructing a past no one has ever seen.Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth
Par Andrew H. Knoll. 2003
Australopithecines, dinosaurs, trilobites--such fossils conjure up images of lost worlds filled with vanished organisms. But in the full history of…
life, ancient animals, even the trilobites, form only the half-billion-year tip of a nearly four-billion-year iceberg. Andrew Knoll explores the deep history of life from its origins on a young planet to the incredible Cambrian explosion, presenting a compelling new explanation for the emergence of biological novelty. The very latest discoveries in paleontology--many of them made by the author and his students--are integrated with emerging insights from molecular biology and earth system science to forge a broad understanding of how the biological diversity that surrounds us came to be. Moving from Siberia to Namibia to the Bahamas, Knoll shows how life and environment have evolved together through Earth's history. Innovations in biology have helped shape our air and oceans, and, just as surely, environmental change has influenced the course of evolution, repeatedly closing off opportunities for some species while opening avenues for others. Readers go into the field to confront fossils, enter the lab to discern the inner workings of cells, and alight on Mars to ask how our terrestrial experience can guide exploration for life beyond our planet. Along the way, Knoll brings us up-to-date on some of science's hottest questions, from the oldest fossils and claims of life beyond the Earth to the hypothesis of global glaciation and Knoll's own unifying concept of ''permissive ecology.'' In laying bare Earth's deepest biological roots, Life on a Young Planet helps us understand our own place in the universe--and our responsibility as stewards of a world four billion years in the making. In a new preface, Knoll describes how the field has broadened and deepened in the decade since the book's original publication.Hell Creek, Montana
Par Lowell Dingus. 1998
Hell Creek, Montana, is one of the most windswept, hardscrabble locales in the American West-a quiet town of ranchers, farmers,…
and others who seek the beauty of the open spaces. It is also the unlikely setting of some of the most fascinating events in the history of the United States and North America. From the first-ever discovery of a Tyrannosaurus rex to Lewis and Clark's landmark expedition; from the Freeman compound standoff to Sitting Bull and Little Big Horn, Hell Creek has been a central player in the events of the last two hundred years-and the last 200 million.Now, with grace and quiet wit, renowned paleontologist and writer Lowell Dingus takes us on a tour of this desolate, beautiful, out-of-the-way place and illuminates its inhabitants, geology, paleontology, and surprising place in history. Nature lovers, dinosaur buffs, and people fascinated with the turbulent history--both ancient and modern--of the American West will find much to delight them in this journey to Hell Creek.Conversation Pieces
Par Mark Carnall. 2013
This book, beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned photography, is a celebration of UCL's unique collections, with leading academics from the…
university invited to select and write about an object each found inspiring. From a jar of moles to an Egyptian unguent spoon, a finger X-ray to some prehistoric cereal grains, their choices were often surprising, their responses always fascinating.Ichnology
Par M. Gabriela Mángano, Luis Buatois. 2011
Ichnology is the study of traces created in the substrate by living organisms. This is the first book to systematically…
cover basic concepts and applications in both paleobiology and sedimentology, bridging the gap between the two main facets of the field. It emphasizes the importance of understanding ecologic controls on benthic fauna distribution and the role of burrowing organisms in changing their environments. A detailed analysis of the ichnology of a range of depositional environments is presented using examples from the Precambrian to the recent, and the use of trace fossils in facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy is discussed. The potential for biogenic structures to provide valuable information and solve problems in a wide range of fields is also highlighted. An invaluable resource for researchers and graduate students in paleontology, sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy, this book will also be of interest to industry professionals working in petroleum geoscience.The Origin of Higher Taxa
Par T. S. Kemp. 2016
In the grand sweep of evolution, the origin of radically new kinds of organisms in the fossil record is the…
result of a relatively simple process: natural selection marching through the ages. Or is it? Does Darwinian evolution acting over a sufficiently long period of time really offer a complete explanation, or are unusual genetic events and particular environmental and ecological circumstances also involved? With The Origin of Higher Taxa, Tom Kemp sifts through the layers of paleobiological, genetic, and ecological evidence on a quest to answer this essential, game-changing question of biology. Looking beyond the microevolutionary force of Darwinian natural selection, Kemp enters the realm of macroevolution, or evolution above the species level. From the origin of mammals to the radiation of flowering plants, these large-scale patterns--such as the rise of novel organismal design, adaptive radiations, and lineage extinctions--encompass the most significant trends and transformations in evolution. As macroevolution cannot be studied by direct observation and experiment, scientists have to rely on the outcome of evolution as evidence for the processes at work, in the form of patterns of species appearances and extinctions in a spotty fossil record, and through the nature of species extant today. Marshalling a wealth of new fossil and molecular evidence and increasingly sophisticated techniques for their study, Kemp here offers a timely and original reinterpretation of how higher taxa such as arthropods, mollusks, mammals, birds, and whales evolved--a bold new take on the history of life.An Ape’s View of Human Evolution
Par Peter Andrews. 2015
Our closest living relatives are the chimpanzee and bonobo. We share many characteristics with them, but our lineages diverged millions…
of years ago. Who in fact was our last common ancestor? Bringing together ecology, evolution, genetics, anatomy and geology, this book provides a new perspective on human evolution. What can fossil apes tell us about the origins of human evolution? Did the last common ancestor of apes and humans live in trees or on the ground? What did it eat, and how did it survive in a world full of large predators? Did it look anything like living apes? Andrews addresses these questions and more to reconstruct the common ancestor and its habitat. Synthesising thirty-five years of work on both ancient environments and fossil and modern ape anatomy, this book provides unique new insights into the evolutionary processes that led to the origins of the human lineage.The Geology of Australia
Par David Johnson. 2009
The Geology of Australia provides a vivid and informative account of the evolution of the Australian continent over the last…
4400 million years. Starting with the Precambrian rocks that hold clues to the origins of life and the development of an oxygenated atmosphere, it goes on to cover the warm seas, volcanism and episodes of mountain building, which formed the eastern third of the Australian continent. This illuminating history details the breakup of the supercontinents Rodinia and Gondwana, the times of previous glaciations, the development of climates and landscapes in modern Australia, and the creation of the continental shelves and coastlines. Separate chapters cover the origin of the Great Barrier Reef, the basalts in Eastern Australia, and the geology of the Solar System. This second edition features two new chapters, covering the evolution of life on Earth while emphasising the fossil record in Australia, and providing a geological perspective on climate change. From Uluru to the Great Dividing Range, from earthquakes to dinosaurs, from sapphires to the stars The Geology of Australia is a comprehensive exploration of the timeless forces that have shaped this continent.Morphometrics for Nonmorphometricians
Par Ashraf M.T. Elewa. 2010
Morphometrics is concerned with the study of variations and change in the form (size and shape) of organisms or objects…
adding a quantitative element to descriptions and thereby facilitating the comparison of different objects and organisms. This volume provides an introduction to morphometrics in a clear and simple way without recourse to complex mathematics and statistics. This introduction is followed by a series of case studies describing the variety of applications of morphometrics from paleontology and evolutionary ecology to archaeological artifacts analysis. This is followed by a presentation of future applications of morphometrics and state of the art software for analyzing and comparing shape.