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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > Palaeontology > General
Forensic Taphonomy and Ecology of North American Scavengers
compiles research on vertebrate scavenging behavior from numerous
academic fields, including ecology and forensic anthropology.
Scavenging behavior can displace remains from their depositional
context, confound postmortem interval estimation, destroy
osteological markers, and inflict damage that mimics or disguises
perimortem trauma. Consequently, the actions of vertebrate
scavengers can significantly impact the medicolegal investigation
of human remains. It is therefore critical when interpreting a
death scene and its associated evidence that scavenging be
recognized and the possible effects of scavenging behavior
considered. This book is an ideal reference for both students and
medicolegal professionals, serving as a field manual for the
identification of common scavenging species known to modify human
remains in North America. In addition, this book presents a
framework to guide investigators in optimizing their approach to
scavenged cases, promoting more complete recovery of human remains
and the accuracy of forensic reconstructions of peri- and
postmortem events.
This magnificent volume is a clear and comprehensive review of the
African mammalian fossil record over the past 65 million years.
"Cenozoic Mammals of Africa" includes current taxonomic and
systematic revisions of all African mammal taxa, detailed
compilations of fossil site occurrences, and a wealth of
information regarding paleobiology, phylogeny, and biogeography.
Primates, including hominins, are particularly well covered. The
discussion addresses the systematics of endemic African mammals,
factors relating to species richness, and a summary of isotopic
information. The work also provides contextual information about
Cenozoic African tectonics, chrono stratigraphy of sites,
paleobotany, and global and regional climate change. Updating our
understanding of this important material with the wealth of
research from the past three decades, this volume is an essential
resource for anyone interested in the evolutionary history of
Africa and the diversification of its mammals.
The graptolites constitute one of the geologically most useful
taxonomic groups of fossils for dating rock successions,
understanding paleobiogeography and reconstructing plate tectonic
configurations in the Lower Palaeozoic. Graptolites were largely
planktic, marine organisms, and as one of the first groups that
explored the expanses of the world s oceans are vital for
understanding Palaeozoic ecology. They are the best and often the
only fossil group for dating Lower Palaeozoic rock successions
precisely. Thousands of taxa have been described from all over the
planet and are used for a wide variety of geological and
palaeontological (biological) research topics. The recent
recognition of the modern pterobranch Rhabdopleura as a living
benthic graptolite enables a much better understanding and
interpretation of the fossil Graptolithina. In the decades since
the latest edition of the Graptolite Treatise, the enormous
increase of knowledge on this group of organisms has never been
synthesised in a compelling and coherent way, and information is
scattered in scientific publications and difficult to sort through.
This volume provides an up-to-date insight into research on
graptolites. Such research has advanced considerably with the use
of new methods of investigation and documentation. SEM
investigation and research on ultrastructure of the tubaria has
made it possible to compare extant and extinct taxa in much more
detail. Cladistic interpretation of graptolite taxonomy and
evolution has advanced the understanding of this group of organisms
considerably in the last two decades, and has highlighted their
importance in our understanding of evolutionary processes. This
book will show graptolites, including their modern, living
relatives, in a quite new and fascinating light, and will
demonstrate the impact that the group has had on the evolution of
the modern marine ecosystem. This book is aimed not only at earth
scientists but also at biologists, ecologists and oceanographers.
It is a readable and comprehensible volume for students at the MSc
level, while remaining accessible to undergraduates and
non-specialists seeking up-to-date information about this
fascinating topic in palaeobiology.
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