Amniote Paleobiology

Living amniotes—including all mammals, birds, crocodilians, snakes, and turtles—comprise an extraordinarily varied array of more than 21,000 species. Found in every major habitat on earth, they possess a truly remarkable range of morphological, ecological, and behavioral adaptations. The fossil record of amniotes extends back three hundred million years and reveals much about modern biological diversity of form and function. A collaborative effort of twenty-four researchers, Amniote Paleobiology presents thirteen new and important scientific perspectives on the evolution and biology of this familiar group. It includes new discoveries of dinosaurs and primitive relatives of mammals; studies of mammalian chewing and locomotion; and examinations of the evolutionary process in plesiosaurs, mammals, and dinosaurs. Emphasizing the rich variety of analytical techniques available to vertebrate paleontologists—from traditional description to multivariate morphometrics and complex three-dimensional kinematics—Amniote Paleobiology seeks to understand how species are related to each other and what these relationships reveal about changes in anatomy and function over time. A timely synthesis of modern contributions to the field of evolutionary studies, Amniote Paleobiology furthers our understanding of this diverse group.

Amniote Origins integrates modern systematic methods with studies of functional and physiological processes, and illustrates how studies of paleobiology can be illuminated by studies of neonatology. For this reason, comparative anatomists and physiologists, functional morphologists, zoologists, and paleontologists will all find this unique volume very useful. Inspired by the prospect of integrating fields that have long been isolated from one another, Amniote Origins provides a thorough and interdisciplinary synthesis of one of the classic transitions of evolutionary history. Integrates modern systematic methods with studies of functional and physiological processes Illustrates how studies of paleobiology can be illuminated by studies of neonatology Provides a thorough and interdisciplinary synthesis of one of the classic transitions of evolutionary history

The study of dinosaurs has been experiencing a remarkable renaissance over the past few decades. Scientific understanding of dinosaur anatomy, biology, and evolution has advanced to such a degree that paleontologists often know more about 100-million-year-old dinosaurs than many species of living organisms. This book provides a contemporary review of dinosaur science intended for students, researchers, and dinosaur enthusiasts. It reviews the latest knowledge on dinosaur anatomy and phylogeny, how dinosaurs functioned as living animals, and the grand narrative of dinosaur evolution across the Mesozoic. A particular focus is on the fossil evidence and explicit methods that allow paleontologists to study dinosaurs in rigorous detail. Scientific knowledge of dinosaur biology and evolution is shifting fast, and this book aims to summarize current understanding of dinosaur science in a technical, but accessible, style, supplemented with vivid photographs and illustrations. 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. Additional resources for this book can be found at: http://www.wiley.com/go/brusatte/dinosaurpaleobiology.

An essential introduction to the paleobiology of animal body size, locomotion, and feeding. Paleobiology is the branch of evolutionary biology involved in the reconstruction of the life histories of extinct organisms. It answers the questions, How do we use fossils to reconstruct the size of prehistoric animals, and How did they move and feed? Drawing on a rich inventory of South American Miocene fossils, Vertebrate Paleobiology: A Form and Function Approach examines different aspects of functional morphology and how they are tested by paleontologists, anatomists, and zoologists. Beginning with a review of various methodologies to interpret fossils, the authors turn to the main concepts important to functional morphology and give examples of each. They conclude by showing how functional morphology enables a dynamic, broadscale reconstruction of the life of prehistoric animals during the South American Miocene. Originally published in Spanish, Vertebrate Paleobiology: A Form and Function Approach provides a broad sweep of recent developments, including theoretical and practical techniques, applied to the study of extinct vertebrates.

Around 370 million years ago, a distant relative of a modern lungfish began a most extraordinary adventure--emerging from the water and laying claim to the land. Over the next 70 million years, this tentative beachhead had developed into a worldwide colonization by ever-increasing varieties of four-limbed creatures known as tetrapods, the ancestors of all vertebrate life on land. This new edition of Jennifer A. Clack's groundbreaking book tells the complex story of their emergence and evolution. Beginning with their closest relatives, the lobe-fin fishes such as lungfishes and coelacanths, Clack defines what a tetrapod is, describes their anatomy, and explains how they are related to other vertebrates. She looks at the Devonian environment in which they evolved, describes the known and newly discovered species, and explores the order and timing of anatomical changes that occurred during the fish-to-tetrapod transition.

Vertebrate Skeletal Histology and Paleohistology summarizes decades of research into the biology and biological meaning of hard tissues, in both living and extinct vertebrates. In addition to outlining anatomical diversity, it provides fundamental phylogenetic and evolutionary contexts for interpretation. An international team of leading authorities review the impact of ontogeny, mechanics, and environment in relation to bone and dental tissues. Synthesizing current advances in the biological problems of growth, metabolism, evolution, ecology, and behavior, this comprehensive and authoritative volume is built upon a foundation of concepts and technology generated over the past fifty years.

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Biology, Four Volume Set is the definitive go-to reference in the field of evolutionary biology. It provides a fully comprehensive review of the field in an easy to search structure. Under the collective leadership of fifteen distinguished section editors, it is comprised of articles written by leading experts in the field, providing a full review of the current status of each topic. The articles are up-to-date and fully illustrated with in-text references that allow readers to easily access primary literature. While all entries are authoritative and valuable to those with advanced understanding of evolutionary biology, they are also intended to be accessible to both advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Broad topics include the history of evolutionary biology, population genetics, quantitative genetics; speciation, life history evolution, evolution of sex and mating systems, evolutionary biogeography, evolutionary developmental biology, molecular and genome evolution, coevolution, phylogenetic methods, microbial evolution, diversification of plants and fungi, diversification of animals, and applied evolution. Presents fully comprehensive content, allowing easy access to fundamental information and links to primary research Contains concise articles by leading experts in the field that ensures current coverage of each topic Provides ancillary learning tools like tables, illustrations, and multimedia features to assist with the comprehension process

How did flying birds evolve from running dinosaurs, terrestrial trotting tetrapods evolve from swimming fish, and whales return to swim in the sea? These are some of the great transformations in the 500-million-year history of vertebrate life. And with the aid of new techniques and approaches across a range of fields—work spanning multiple levels of biological organization from DNA sequences to organs and the physiology and ecology of whole organisms—we are now beginning to unravel the confounding evolutionary mysteries contained in the structure, genes, and fossil record of every living species. This book gathers a diverse team of renowned scientists to capture the excitement of these new discoveries in a collection that is both accessible to students and an important contribution to the future of its field. Marshaling a range of disciplines—from paleobiology to phylogenetics, developmental biology, ecology, and evolutionary biology—the contributors attack particular transformations in the head and neck, trunk, appendages such as fins and limbs, and the whole body, as well as offer synthetic perspectives. Illustrated throughout, Great Transformations in Vertebrate Evolution not only reveals the true origins of whales with legs, fish with elbows, wrists, and necks, and feathered dinosaurs, but also the relevance to our lives today of these extraordinary narratives of change.