Nearly half of the known species of mammals alive today (more than 1600) are rodents or "gnawing mammals" (Nowak and Paradiso, 1983). The diversity of rodents is greater than that of any other order of mammals. Thus, it is not surprising that the fossil record of this order is extensive and fossil material of rodents from the Tertiary is known from all continents except Antarctica and Australia. The purpose of this book is to compile the published knowledge on fossil rodents from North America and present it in a way that is accessible to paleontologists and mammalogists interested in evolutionary studies of ro dents. The literature on fossil rodents is widely scattered between journals on paleontology and mammalogy and in-house publications of museums and universities. Currently, there is no single source that offers ready access to the literature on a specific family of rodents and its fossil history. This work is presented as a reference text that can be useful to specialists in rodents (fossil or recent) as weIl as mammalian paleontologists working on whole faunas. Because the diversity of rodents in the world is essentially limitless, any monograph that included all fossil rodents would similarly be limitless. Hence, this book is limited to the re cord of Tertiary rodents of North America. The several species of South American (caviomorph) rodents that invaded North America near the end of the Tertiary are also not included in this text."

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.

Biogeography relates the evolution of the Earth's biota to major episodes in the Earth's history such as climatic changes and plate tectonic events. Furthermore, biogeographic patterns have played a prominent role in the development of the theory of evolution. Thus biogeography has the potential to make important contributions to the field of geobiology. Paleobiogeography emphasizes how analytical techniques from phylogenetic biogeography can be applied to the study of patterns in the fossil record. In doing this, it considers the strengths and weaknesses of paleobiogeographic data, the effects of plate tectonic processes (specifically continental rifting and collision) and changes in relative sea levels in terms of how they influence the evolution and distribution of organisms.

From the Preface The chapters of this book contain contributions from an international group of specialists. They address some important themes in both modern and ancient reef systems. Some chapters contain snapshots' of reefs of particular intervals, while others touch on relevant themes of both modern and ancient reefs - themes that weave their way through reefs of all ages. This book opens and sets the stage with an introduction to both modern and ancient reefs and reef ecosystems. This chapter is also intended as a basic introduction for students, general geologists, and professionals or others who may be unfamiliar with reefs and reef ecosystems. The chapter addresses the living coral reef ecosystem, stressing among other relevant factors, the importance of ecological and physical interactions between the organisms and their environment. The chapter also addresses mass extinction and provides a general overview of the history of reefs.

This fascinating new volume comes complete with color illustrations and features the methodology and main achievements in the emerging field of paleomicrobiology. It 's an area research at the intersection of microbiology and evolution, history and anthropology. New molecular approaches have already provided exciting results, such as confirmation of a single biotype of Yersinia pestis as the cause of historical plague pandemics. An absorbing read for scientists in related fields.

The history of life is illustrated by fossils which give crucial information on the plants and animals of the past. Fossil Record 2 is a compilation of this mass of data. All families of protists, plants and animals and their ranges in geological time are documented, with full details of first and last species for each family.

Contributions to this volume detail paleontologic research in Manonga Valley, and shed important light on the evolutionary development of eastern Africa. Chapters provide novel insights into the taxonomy, paleobiology, ecology, and zoogeographic relationships of African faunas, as well as lay the foundation for future geological, paleontological, and paleoecological studies in this important area. The book concludes with a discussion of the importance of investigations on broader geographical sites, including the Manonga Valley, for human evolution research. The text is supported by 143 illustrations.

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.

This volume combines 10 years of accomplished research at the Pilauco site. The studies are focused on a variety of scientific areas including geological, sedimentological, geomorphological and paleobotanical topics, as well as paleontology of vertebrata and invertebrata, micropaleontology, archaeology, biochemistry, taxonomy, taphonomy, astrophysics and the development of some particular touristic aspects. In 18 chapters a variety of authors describe the excavation and investigation of this unique location. The book presents Pilauco as an example for the natural laboratory which can be found in South America, a testing ground for many of the hypotheses regarding migrations of animals and humans. In this context the study of topics, such as the paleozoography, the role of megafauna species for the architecture of the forests, the animal extinctions or the early human settlements, is extremely important on a global scale. The Pilauco site features paleontological and archaeological evidences and is contemporaneous with the Monte Verde site (~ 15,000 cal. yr AP). It is located 100 km north from Monte Verde and lies within the Intermediate Depression in northwestern Chilean Patagonia. It was discovered by chance in 1986 and has been excavated and investigated since 2007.

Taphonomic bias is a pervasive feature of the fossil record. A pressing concern, however, is the extent to which taphonomic processes have varied through the ages. It is one thing to work with a biased data set and quite another to work with a bias that has changed with time. This book includes work from both new and established researchers who are using laboratory, field and data-base techniques to characterise and quantify the temporal and spatial variation in taphonomic bias. It may not provide all the answers but it will at least shed light on the right questions.

This two-volume work is a testament to the abiding interest and human fascination with ammonites. We offer a new model to explain the morphogenesis of septa and the shell, we explore their habitats by the content of stable isotopes in their shells, we discuss the origin and later evolution of this important clade, and we deliver hypotheses on its demise. The Ammonoidea produced a great number of species that can be used in biostratigraphy and possibly, this is the macrofossil group, which has been used the most for that purpose. Nevertheless, many aspects of their anatomy, mode of life, development or paleobiogeographic distribution are still poorly known. Themes treated are biostratigraphy, paleoecology, paleoenvironment, paleobiogeography, evolution, phylogeny, and ontogeny. Advances such as an explosion of new information about ammonites, new technologies such as isotopic analysis, tomography and virtual paleontology in general, as well as continuous discovery of new fossil finds have given us the opportunity to present a comprehensive and timely "state of the art" compilation. Moreover, it also points the way for future studies to further enhance our understanding of this endlessly fascinating group of organisms.

Several years ago, we realized that the most prominent ideas that had been ex pressed about the origin and early evolution of the Metazoa seemed to have been developed chiefly by zoologists using evidence from modern species without reference to the fossil record. Paleontologists had, in fact, put forth their own ideas but the zoological and the paleontological evidence were about the problem, seldom considered together, especially by zoologists. We believed that the paleon tological documentation of the first Metazoa was too scattered, too obscure to Western readers, and much of it too recent to have been readily available to our colleagues in zoology. Whether or not that was entirely true, we thought that a single volume reviewing the fossil record of the earliest Metazoa would be useful to many in both paleontology and zoology, especially since so much new informa tion has been developed in the last few years. Some of this information has been summarized in general articles recently, but an overview of most of the field does not exist. We therefore organized this book in five parts so that the evidence could be placed in perspective and summarized and inferences made from it. Part I intro duces the previous hypotheses that have been proposed for the origin and early radiation of Metazoa. Part II consists of two summary chapters that set the sedi mentological, geochemical, and biological background to the known radiations of Metazoa."

The object of this book is to explain how to create a synthesis of complex biostratigraphic data, and how to extract from such a synthesis a relative time scale based exclusively on the fossil content of sedimentary rocks. Such a time scale can be used to attribute relative ages to isolated fossil-bearing samples. The book is composed of 10 chapters together with several appendices. It is a totally revised version of "Biochronological Correlations" published in 1991 and includes various new chapters. The book offers a solution for the theoretical problem of how fossils can be used to make reliable quantitative stratigraphic correlations in sedimentary geology. It also describes the use of highly efficient software along with several examples. The authors compare their theoretical model with 2 other relevant studies: probabilistic stratigraphy and constrained optimization (CONOP).

Paleomagnetic data are useful in many applications in Earth Science from determining paleocurrent directions to analyzing the long-term behavior of the geomagnetic field.

In this book, an attempt has been made to draw together the various principles and practices within paleomagnetism in a consistent and up-to-date manner. It includes many practical examples that illustrate various applications of paleomagnetism. A companion software package implements the theory explained in the text.

Audience: This volume is aimed at professional Earth Scientists using paleomagnetic data for their research. It is also suitable for use as a text book for students in courses with a paleomagnetic content. In addition, this volume will be of value to other professionals with an interest in the analysis of vector and tensor data in general.

Seven original case-studies are presented in this volume, each describing the application of micropaleontology and palynology in applied geology: (1) a study of the modern distribution of coccolith sedimentation in the North Sea and its potential for future application in basin analysis; (2) ostracods are shown to be good paleoenvironmental indicators in the early Cretaceous and Tertiary; (3) a biogenic gas seep in the North Sea is shown to be marked by diagnostic benthonic foraminifera; (4) in the North Sea hydrocarbon exploration, integrated studies of micropaleontology have provided invaluable data; (5) palynofacies analysis are shown to be vital in determining depositional events and hydrocarbon source rock potential; (6) the application of paleontology and sedimentology to sequence stratigraphy is demonstrated in the early Cretaceous; and (7) the application of micropaleontology is shown to be an essential tool in both engineering and economic geology. Most chapters have been prepared by earth scientists from industry. The study of microfossils presented in this book provides invaluable data for stratigraphers, petroleum geologists and for engineers and economic geologists working in hydrocarbon exploration and basin analysis.

The twelve contributions in this volume represent the results of a ten year interdisciplinary workshop on "desert margins" - concerned with the geomorphological, geochemica, mineralogical, sedimentological, soil scientific characterisation of (semi-) deserts in Spain, Africa, Arabia and China. Desert sediments and soils as well as processes and characteristics of their formation are regarded from different geoscientific perspectives. The subjects of research include the development of desert soils and landscapes, the formation of (alluvial) loess, swamp ores, fulgurites and floodout sediments and focus on the reconstruction of palaeoecological events and changes. A critical study of dating methods rounds off the book.

From Fossils to Astrobiology reviews developments in paleontology and geobiology that relate to the rapidly-developing field of Astrobiology, the study of life in the Universe. Many traditional areas of scientific study, including astronomy, chemistry and planetary science, contribute to Astrobiology, but the study of the record of life on planet Earth is critical in guiding investigations in the rest of the cosmos. In this varied book, expert scientists from 15 countries present peer-reviewed, stimulating reviews of paleontological and astrobiological studies. The overviews of established and emerging techniques for studying modern and ancient microorganisms on Earth and beyond, will be valuable guides to evaluating biosignatures which could be found in the extraterrestrial surface or subsurface within the Solar System and beyond. This volume also provides discussion on the controversial reports of "nanobacteria" in the Martian meteorite ALH84001. It is a unique volume among Astrobiology monographs in focusing on fossil evidence from the geological record and will be valuable to students and researchers alike.

The ideal textbook for non-science majors, this lively and engaging introduction encourages students to ask questions, assess data critically and think like a scientist. Building on the success of the previous editions, Dinosaurs has been reorganised and extensively rewritten in response to instructor and student feedback. It continues to make science accessible and relevant through its clear explanations and extensive illustrations. Updated to reflect recent fossil discoveries and to include new taxa, the text guides students through the dinosaur groups, emphasising scientific concepts rather than presenting endless facts. It is grounded in the common language of modern evolutionary biology - phylogenetic systematics - so that students examine dinosaurs as professional paleontologists do. The key emerging theme of feathered dinosaurs, and the many implications of feathers, have been integrated throughout the book, highlighted by the inclusion of stunning new photographs in this beautifully illustrated text, now in full colour throughout.

Echinoderms are an ancient and diverse group of marine animals with a rich fossil record. They occur abundantly in all modern oceans and at all depths, where they contribute importantly to patterns in biodiversity and to the structure and functioning of marine systems. It is therefore vital to understand how they will respond to a rapidly changing ocean climate and other anthropogenic stressors, informed by both the dynamics of the fossil record and responses of extant species. The theme of the 13th International Echinoderm Conference (Hobart, Tasmania, 5-9 January 2009) was the response of echinoderms to global change. Echinoderms in a Changing World contains a selection of plenary and contributed papers, and a comprehensive presentation of abstracts of all oral papers and posters. The collection will be useful to all students of echinoderm biology, ecology and palaeontology, from undergraduate level to professional researchers.

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR EVOLUTIONARY PROTISTOLOGY (ISEP) 5th International Meeting 1983 Banyuls-sur-Mer, France, June 4-6, 1 For the first time since its inception, at Boston University in June 1975 , the Society for Evolutionary Protistology met in Europe. Under the direction of Marie-Odile Soyer- Gobillard and hosting some 70 people representing a dozen nations (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, France, W. Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, U. S. A. ) the meeting was held at Banyuls-sur-Mer in Catalunya. The 1983 ISEP met at the famed Laboratoire Arago on the Mediterranean Sea, most partici- pants were housed in the Laboratory's newly refurbished Grand Hotel. The previous meetings had emphasized single themes, e. g. , (First) Boston, 1975 Evolution of Mitosis in Eukaryotic Microorganisms: (Second) Downsview Ontario, 1977 Criteria for Phylogeny in Protists. In spite of the fact that the third meeting, planned for Leeds, England in June of 1979, was never held some of the papers scheduled to be presented there were published in BioSystems, Volume 12, Numbers 1 and 2. The fourth meeting at Port Deposit, Maryland, 1981 called Conference on Cellular Evolution focused on the Evolution of Micro tubules, Mitosis, Microfilaments and other Fibrillar Systems. The proceedings of this meeting were published in BioSystems, Volume 14, Numbers 3 and 4.

'Steve Brusatte, the author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, brings mammals out from the shadow of their more showy predecessors in a beautifully written book that . . . makes the case for them as creatures who are just as engaging as dinosaurs.' - The Sunday Times, 'Best Books For Summer' 'In this terrific new book, Steve Brusatte . . . brings well-known extinct species, the sabre-toothed tigers and the woolly mammoths, thrillingly back to life' - The Times The passing of the age of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to become ascendant. But mammals have a much deeper history. They - or, more precisely, we - originated around the same time as the dinosaurs, over 200 million years ago; mammal roots lie even further back, some 325 million years. Over these immense stretches of geological time, mammals developed their trademark features: hair, keen senses of smell and hearing, big brains and sharp intelligence, fast growth and warm-blooded metabolism, a distinctive line-up of teeth (canines, incisors, premolars, molars), mammary glands that mothers use to nourish their babies with milk, qualities that have underlain their success story. Out of this long and rich evolutionary history came the mammals of today, including our own species and our closest cousins. But today's 6,000 mammal species - the egg-laying monotremes including the platypus, marsupials such as kangaroos and koalas that raise their tiny babies in pouches, and placentals like us, who give birth to well-developed young - are simply the few survivors of a once verdant family tree, which has been pruned both by time and mass extinctions. In The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, palaeontologist Steve Brusatte weaves together the history and evolution of our mammal forebears with stories of the scientists whose fieldwork and discoveries underlie our knowledge, both of iconic mammals like the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers of which we have all heard, and of fascinating species that few of us are aware of. For what we see today is but a very limited range of the mammals that have existed; in this fascinating and ground-breaking book, Steve Brusatte tells their - and our - story.

In the spring and summer of 2000, geologists working for the Tennessee Department of Transportation made an extraordinary find as they examined soil at a routine road construction project: the digging at Gray, Tennessee, had uncovered a fossil site containing bones that would turn out to be at least five million years old. Harry Moore and his colleagues, along with researchers from the state and the University of Tennessee, were stunned as they unearthed the fossilized remains of tapirs, elephants, rhinoceroses, alligators, and other long-dead animals. What was at first thought to be an Ice Age site ten to twenty thousand years old proved to be much, much older. The Bone Hunters recounts the fascinating details of a remarkable chance discovery. In his engaging firsthand account, Moore writes of the people behind the excavation of the site and how their efforts helped save valuable artifacts for ongoing study. Numerous photographs capture the excellent condition of fossils at Gray. Moore also describes the contours of what the ancient landscape may have looked like and details the governmental action that ultimately preserved this Tennessee treasure. Harry Moore manages the Tennessee Department of Transportation's Geotechnial Engineering office in Knoxville. His previous books are A Roadside Guide to the Geology of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, A Geologic Trip Across Tennessee by Interstate 40, and Discovering October Roads: Fall Colors and Geology in Rural East Tennessee (co-written with Fred Brown).

A historical review of the most important scientific controversies that have shaped our knowledge of dinosaurs since the discovery of important fossils in the 1820s. In The Great Dinosaur Controversy: A Guide to the Debates, the major scientific disputes that have contributed to the understanding of dinosaurs come to light. Each chapter presents a major controversy then ponders the lessons learned and their impact on the scientific field. Colorful characters such as "anti-evolutionist" Robert Owen, "Darwin's bulldog," T.H. Huxley, and "dinosaur heretic" Robert Bakker, enliven the debates, which range from the origin of dinosaurs and their posture to their evolution or retrogression and whether they were warm- or cold-blooded. Two of the most recent debates concern how dinosaurs became extinct and whether or not birds are their descendents. Introductory chapter on the role of controversy in science focusing on the contributions of scientists such as Edward Cope and T. H. Huxley Illustrations of the major figures involved in the debates

If theoretical physicists can seriously entertain canonical "standard models" even for the big-bang generation of the entire universe, why cannot life scientists reach a consensus on how life has emerged and settled on this planet? Scientists are hindered by conceptual gaps between bottom-up inferences (from early Earth geological conditions) and top-down extrapolations (from modern life forms to common ancestral states). This book challenges several widely held assumptions and argues for alternative approaches instead. Primal syntheses (literally or figuratively speaking) are called for in at least five major areas. (1) The first RNA-like molecules may have been selected by solar light as being exceptionally photostable. (2) Photosynthetically active minerals and reduced phosphorus compounds could have efficiently coupled the persistent natural energy flows to the primordial metabolism. (3) Stochastic, uncoded peptides may have kick-started an ever-tightening co-evolution of proteins and nucleic acids. (4) The living fossils from the primeval RNA World thrive within modern cells. (5) From the inherently complex protocellular associations preceding the consolidation of integral genomes, eukaryotic cell organization may have evolved more naturally than simple prokaryote-like life forms. - If this book can motivate dedicated researchers to further explore the alternative mechanisms presented, it will have served its purpose well.

Most major recent advances in understanding the history of life on Earth have been through the study of exceptionally well preserved biotas (Fossil-Lagerstatten). These are windows on the history of life on Earth and can provide a fairly complete picture of the evolution of ecosystems through time. This book follows the success of Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems by the same authors which covered Fossil-Lagerstatten around the world. The success of the first book prompted this new book which draws on four localities from the original book and adds another ten, all located in North America. Following an introduction to Fossil-Lagerstatten, each chapter deals with a single fossil locality. Each chapter contains a brief introduction placing the Lagerstatte in an evolutionary context; there then follows a history of study of the locality; the background sedimentology, stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment; a description of the biota; discussion of the palaeoecology, and a comparison with other Lagerstatten of a similar age and/or environment. At the end of the book is an Appendix listing museums in which to see exhibitions of fossils from each locality and suggestions for visiting the sites.