This book should be of interest to teachers, students and researchers in paleontology, biology, evolutionary biology, zoology and cell biology.

This is a guide to imaging techniques for sedimentologists, paleolimnologists, paleoceanographers and microscopists involved in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Case studies illustrate the range of information obtainable from different sediments (marine, lacustrine, aeolian) and different types of samples (cores, embedded blocks, microscopic slides) using different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (visible, UV, IR, X-ray). Includes comprehensive protocols, guidelines, and recommendations for the use of low cost image analysis techniques.

Multidisciplinary research on the Early-Middle Pleistocene site of Gesher Benot Ya aqov has yielded abundant climatic, environmental, ecological and behavioral records. The 15 archaeological horizons form a sequence of Acheulian occupational episodes on the shore of the paleo-Lake Hula. These enable us to reconstruct numerous aspects of the survival and adaptation of ancient hominins, leading to a better understanding of their evolution and behavior. This book presents the faunal analyses of medium-sized and large mammals, providing taxonomic, taphonomic and actualistic data for the largest faunal assemblages. The study of modes of animal exploitation reveals valuable information on hominin behavior."

This book provides a synthesis of the past decade of research into global changes that occurred in the earth system in the past. Focus is achieved by concentrating on those changes in the Earth's past environment that best inform our evaluation of current and future global changes and their consequences for human populations. The book stands as a ten year milestone in the operation of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) Project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). It seeks to provide a quantitative understanding of the Earth s environment in the geologically recent past and to define the envelope of natural environmental variability against which anthropogenic impacts on the Earth System may be assessed. A set of color overhead transparencies based on the figures in the book is available free on the PAGES website (www.pages-igbp.org) for use in teaching and lecturing."

Research in whale origins is now in an explosive phase, with a cascade of discoveries adding to our understanding of the evolutionary pattern and a suite of new techniques being applied to address new questions. The objective of this volume is to provide a snapshot of this explosion. The volume paints the scene with a broad brush. Taken together the chapters clearly indicate that cetacean origins is a field that is dynamic, multidisciplinary, and that the end of the explosive phase is not in sight.

The Qattara Depression is part of the Northwestern Desert in Egypt and is home to the second lowest point in Africa at -133 meters below sea level. Therefore, before any projects can be carried out in this area, we must first understand the geology of the land. The present study deals with the high-resolution sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Lower Miocene Moghra Formation outcrops in the Qattara Depression Region. The literature on the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the Moghra Formation has been sparse to date, despite some excellent work over the years by academic and petroleum workers. Moreover, the area studied is within what was once a front-line of World War II, where mine fields and war relics are scattered and cover wide reaches. This has resulted in limited geologic mapping in the past. Thus, great attention is paid in this study to establishing a robust sedimentology and high-resolution sequence stratigraphic framework for the Lower Miocene Moghra Formation. Included are works based on outcrops and, most importantly, new sedimentological and chronostratigraphic information not previously available.

Fossil species appear to persist morphologically unchanged for long intervals of geologic time, punctuated by short bursts of rapid change as explained by the Ecological Evolutionary Units (EEUs). Here, morphological variation in Paleozoic atrypide morphology at the subfamily level (Atrypinae and Variatrypinae) from the Silurian and Devonian time intervals in the third Paleozoic EEU (~444-359 my) were investigated using relatively new techniques of quantitative modeling. The study explains how a group of closely related taxa in atrypide subfamilies exhibit morphological conservation through time in P3 EEU within the Eastern North America region.

This volume provides a detailed description of a wide range of numerical, statistical or modeling techniques and novel instrumentation separated into individual chapters written by paleontologists with expertise in the given methodology. Each chapter outlines the strengths and limitations of specific numerical or technological approaches, and ultimately applies the chosen method to a real fossil dataset or sample type. A unifying theme throughout the book is the evaluation of fossils during the prologue and epilogue of one of the most exciting events in Earth History: the Cambrian radiation.

The study ofanthropoid origins continues to be a lightning rod for research in paleoanthropology. Issuessurrounding anthropoid origins impact the higher leveltaxonomy ofprimates, adaptivescenariosfor basalprimate radiations, and the timing of origination of the major primate clades. Basic questions about anthropoid evolution remain unanswered. Where do anthropoids fit phyloge- netically among primates? Where and when did the group originate? What functional and adaptive innovations characterize anthropoids today and what is the adaptive significanceand phylogenetic history ofthese innovations? The fossil record of early anthropoid evolution has greatly improved in recent years. Developments in systematictechniques and theory, as well as the burgeoning molecular evidence, make this an ideal time for these fossil discoveries to be placed in the context of data on the relationships among living primates. There isan improved understandingoffunction and adaptation in the visual system, brain, and masticatory apparatus, key anatomical systems where anthropoid synapomorphies are concentrated. New methods for estimating visualacuity and activitypatterns in fossil primates are providing insights into the evolution ofthe visualsystem. The rapid accumulation ofinformation on color vision in primates, including new genetic evidence of possible trichro- macyin strepsirrhines, and new behavioraldata on the benefitsofcolor vision, makes this an exciting time to evaluate the role of chromatic perception in anthropoid evolution. Research into the primate visualsystem by neuroscien- tists has generated a plethoraofimportant data in recent years, making this an ideal time to bring these researchers together with anthropologists.

The Quaternary comprises a brief time in the Earth's history, and apart from a few exceptions, molluscan assemblages recovered from exposures along the coast of Southwestern South America (Southern Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina) are essentially the same than those that inhabit the region today, leading to the assumption that no important change in the distribution of the faunas since Pleistocene times has occurred. However, the good taxonomic and temporal resolution reached in the last years, allowed us to detect some biogeographic changes, although traditional biogeographic units remain the same (i.e. Magellanic and Argentinean Provinces). These modifications involve mainly variations in the taxonomic composition of the assemblages and in the southern boundaries of some species distributions (extralimital species), today retracted northwards. These changes are related to southward shifts of the warm waters of the Brazilian Current, correlated with global warm peaks. This phenomenon was more intense in the Late Pleistocene (MIS 5e) and in the Holocene between ca. 6500-3500 14C yr.

It is difficult for today's students of archaeology to imagine an era when chronometric dating methods were unavailable. However, even a casual perusal of the large body of literature that arose during the first half of the twentieth century reveals a battery of clever methods used to determine the relative ages of archaeological phenomena, often with considerable precision. Stratigraphic excavation is perhaps the best known of the various relative-dating methods used by prehistorians. Although there are several techniques of using artifacts from superposed strata to measure time, these are rarely if ever differentiated. Rather, common practice is to categorize them under the heading `stratigraphic excavation'. This text distinguishes among the several techniques and argues that stratigraphic excavation tends to result in discontinuous measures of time - a point little appreciated by modern archaeologists. Although not as well known as stratigraphic excavation, two other methods of relative dating have figured important in Americanist archaeology: seriation and the use of index fossils. The latter (like stratigraphic excavation) measures time discontinuously, while the former - in various guises - measures time continuously. Perhaps no other method used in archaeology is as misunderstood as seriation, and the authors provide detailed descriptions and examples of each of its three different techniques. Each method and technique of relative dating is placed in historical perspective, with particular focus on developments in North America, an approach that allows a more complete understanding of the methods described, both in terms of analytical technique and disciplinary history. This text will appeal to all archaeologists, from graduate students to seasoned professionals, who want to learn more about the backbone of archaeological dating.

Lhwyd, the illegitimate son of a father ruined by the Civil War, had to make his own way in the world. A competent botanist before going up to Oxford as a student, he spent much time there at the Botanical Garden before being appointed to the newly established Ashmolean Museum, where he became its second Keeper. This biography traces the development of his research interests from botany to palaeontology - and then to antiquarian studies, which led to him studying the Celtic languages as a source of linguistic evidence in historical studies. Thus he became the founder of Celtic Studies. Lhwyd's diverse research interests were underpinned by an evidence-led methodology - the collection (by personal observation where possible) of material, which would then be classified as a preliminary to drawing conclusions - and, as such, his is a valuable contribution to the history of science.

This volume 1 and its companion volume 2 present the results of new investigations into the geology, paleontology and paleoecology of the early hominin site of Laetoli in northern Tanzania. The site is one of the most important paleontological and paleoanthropological sites in Africa, worldrenowned for the discovery of fossils of the early hominin Australopithecus afarensis, as well as remarkable trails of its footprints. The first volume provides new evidence on the geology, geochronology, ecology, ecomorphology and taphonomy of the site. The second volume describes newly discovered fossil hominins from Laetoli, belonging to Australopithecus afarensis and Paranthropus aethiopicus, and presents detailed information on the systematics and paleobiology of the diverse associated fauna. Together, these contributions provide one of the most comprehensive accounts of a fossil hominin site, and they offer important new insights into the early stages of human evolution and its context.

A Times Higher Education Book of the Week Approximately 200,000 years ago, as modern humans began to radiate out from their evolutionary birthplace in Africa, Neanderthals were already thriving in Europe-descendants of a much earlier migration of the African genus Homo. But when modern humans eventually made their way to Europe 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals suddenly vanished. Ever since the first Neanderthal bones were identified in 1856, scientists have been vexed by the question, why did modern humans survive while their closest known relatives went extinct? "Shipman admits that scientists have yet to find genetic evidence that would prove her theory. Time will tell if she's right. For now, read this book for an engagingly comprehensive overview of the rapidly evolving understanding of our own origins." -Toby Lester, Wall Street Journal "Are humans the ultimate invasive species? So contends anthropologist Pat Shipman-and Neanderthals, she opines, were among our first victims. The relationship between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis is laid out cleanly, along with genetic and other evidence. Shipman posits provocatively that the deciding factor in the triumph of our ancestors was the domestication of wolves." -Daniel Cressey, Nature

Istvan Fozy and Istvan Szente provide a comprehensive review of the fossil record of the Carpathian Basin. Fossils of the Carpathian Region describes and illustrates the region's fossils, recounts their history, and tells the stories of key people involved in paleontological research in the area. In addition to covering all the important fossils of this region, special attention is given to rare finds and complete skeletons. The region's fossils range from tiny foraminifera to the Transylvanian dinosaurs and mammals of the Carpathian Basin. The book also gives nonspecialists the opportunity to gain a basic understanding of paleontology. Sidebars present brief biographies of important figures and explain how to collect, prepare, and interpret fossils. -- Indiana University Press

This book covers the hot topics of angiosperm structure and evolution in several chapters discussing vegetative and reproductive characters. It also looks at the implications of ancestral angiosperm characters for an herbaceous origin and the phylogeny of angiosperms from a structure and molecular perspective.

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.

We cannot catechise our stony ichthyolites, as did the necromantic lady of the Arabian Nights did the coloured fishes of the lake which had once been a city, when she touched their dead bodies with her wand, and they straightaway raised their heads and rephed to her queries. We would have many a question to ask them if we could - questions never to be solved. Hugh Miller, The Old Red Sandstone When I started this book in 1991, the subject of vertebrate origins was fusty and unfashionable. Early drafts for this preface read like an extend ed complaint at the lot of traditional morphologists, cast aside by the march of modern molecular biology. But no longer - this book should reach you at a time of renewed inter est in the origin of the vertebrates, our own particular corner of creation. For although the topic has excited interest for well over a century, molec ular biology has only lately achieved the maturity necessary to test its predictions. As a legitimate field of study, it is fashionable again."

Modern birds (Neornithes) are represented by two big lineages, the Palaeognathae (Tinamiformes + Ratitae) and the Neognathae [Galloanserae + Neoaves (Metaves + Coronoaves)]. Both clades sum approximately 10,000 species of which 60% are Passeriformes (the most diverse clade of terrestrial vertebrates). A comparison between the past and the present reveals a complex and hallmarked evolutionary and biogeographic history which would have begun over 65 million years ago. For South America (SA) this includes: (1) the presence of taxa with uncertain affinities and the absence of Passeriformes during the Paleogene; (2) a progressive and accelerated increase of the species starting at the Neogene (Miocene); (3) important extinct lineages (e.g. Phorusrhacidae, Teratornithidae) that migrate to North America after the rising of the Panama isthmus; (4) groups with major diversification in the Neogene that survives nowadays represented by scarce species endemic of SA (Cariamidae) or that inhabits mainly in the southern hemisphere (Anhingidae); (5) very diverse living groups with scarce (e.g., Passeriformes) or none (e.g., Apodiformes) fossil record in SA, which stem-groups are registered in Europe. Apparently, the changes in diversity of the south American Neornithes have been the result of successive radiation, biogeographic connections with North America and in a minor scale, some extinctions. The opening of the Drakes passage and the occurrence of the circumpolar Antarctic flow are not sufficient causes to explain the highly disparity between the weddelians penguins (Sphenisciformes) of Antartica and those of the patagonian Atlantic Ocean.

Carbonate depositional systems in the Paleozoic geologic time represent fewer studies in paleoecological interactions than the siliciclastic systems. To evaluate this difference, the paleontology of the Middle Devonian Dundee Formation in Ohio has been explored. This geologic formation represents an important environment in the Michigan Basin of North America. Understanding biotic relationships such as mutualism, commensalism, parasitism and predation in an ecological community is important in unraveling the mystery of the fossil record. This research has contributed a large field collection which will be useful in documenting the fossil content of this unit for future workers. Rituparna Bose used new microscopic and imaging techniques in qualitatively analyzing the biotic interactions in small invertebrate shells. More importantly, she solved complex hypotheses in newly emerging problems in the field of geology and paleontology, such as the biodiversity crisis. Her study involved exploring the Devonian geology and paleontology of a geologic formation of a new unexplored quarry in Ohio, namely the Whitehouse Quarry in Lucas County, Ohio. She identified Devonian brachiopods to the genus level based on their morphology, and diagnosed paleoecological entities on host brachiopods and further measured episkeletobiont traces on hosts to understand the effects of environment and evolution on extinct species. Such studies have implications in predicting future biodiversity, ecosystem conservation and climate change. This research will also assist future workers to compare the ecology of brachiopod hosts of the Dundee Limestone with that of other Devonian brachiopods, from both carbonate and siliciclastic settings.

The Mjolnir impact structure was recognized in 1993 and included in the Earth Impact Database in 1996, based on the discoveries of unequivocal meteorite impact indicators such as shocked quartz, Ir-enrichments, possible glass remnants, fragments of nickel-rich iron oxides, in addition to the convincing complex crater shape of the structure. This book presents the geological and geophysical history of the Barents Sea region along with the discovery of the Mjolnir impact crater. We place the Mjolnir event into the geological framework of the region and present elaborative numerical models of its formation and associated tsunami generation. The book represents an update and synthesis as well as the complete compilation of the Mjolnir crater studies. "

One of the most intriguing paleobiogeographical phenomena involving the origins and gradual sundering of Gondwana concerns the close similarities and, in most cases, inferred sister-group relationships of a number of terrestrial and freshwater vertebrate taxa, e.g., dinosaurs, flying birds, mammals, etc., recovered from uppermost Cretaceous/ Paleogene deposits of West Antarctica, South America, and NewZealand/Australia. For some twenty five extensive and productive investigations in the field of vertebrate paleontology has been carried out in latest Cretaceous and Paleogene deposits in the James Ross Basin, northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), West Antarctica, on the exposed sequences on James Ross, Vega, Seymour (=Marambio) and Snow Hill islands respectively. The available geological, geophysical and marine faunistic evidence indicates that the peninsular (AP) part of West Antarctica and the western part of the tip of South America (Magallanic Region, southern Chile) were positioned very close in the latest Cretaceous and early Paleogene favoring the "Overlapping" model of South America-Antarctic Peninsula paleogeographic reconstruction. Late Cretaceous deposits from Vega, James Ross, Seymour and Snow Hill islands have produced a discrete number of dinosaur taxa and a number of advanced birds together with four mosasaur and three plesiosaur taxa, and a few shark and teleostean taxa.

Invertebrate pathology, like medical and veterinary pathology, for many years has been spearheaded by practical applications al though in more recent times many investigators have elected to focus their attention on basic mechanisms and the elucidation of basic phenomena. Although Elie Metachnikoff and Louis Pasteur may be considered the forerunners of invertebrate pathology, in modern times the late Edward A. Steinhaus and the late Arthur M. Heimpel, among others, must be considered the principal disciples. Con sequently, in recent years several symposia have been organized in honor of the memory of Steinhaus and Heimpel. When the proceedings of these occasions were examined and reviewed, it was decided that these could naturally be considered chapters of a single volume of Comparative Pathobiology under the subtitle selected. We wish to note that the chapters devoted to various aspects of Bacillus thuringiensis were originally presented at the thirteenth annual meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology held in Seattle, Washington, on July 26 - August 2, 1980, under the title of the "Edward A. Steinhaus Memorial Symposium". This includes the contribution by Dr. Robert M. Faust on the professional contributions of Dr. Arthur M. Heimpel. Art, as he was known to his friends, was a founding member of the Society and later served as its president. The circle of his professional associates was international.

I see a man's life is a tedious one. Cymbeline, Act III, Sc. 6. It is well known that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it! Along the same lines one might also say that a pleasant way of learning a subject and at the same time getting to know quite a few of the workers active in it, is to arrange and to attend an Advanced Study Institute (ASI) or a workshop lasting about two weeks. This was and is the wisdom behind the NA TO-ASI programme and much as people fear that a fortnight may be too long, before it is over everyone feels that it was too short, especially if the weather had cooperated. Organising this ASI which resulted in this volume has been a very good learning experience. I started my career in research with invertebrates and retained an interest in them over the years due to my teaching a course and working sporadically on various aspects of photoreception in Polychaetes, Crustaceans and Insects. Thus, the thought of organising an ASI on photoreception and vision in invertebrates had been brewing in my mind for the past half a dozen years or so. It was felt that it will be desirable to do a bit of stock taking and discuss possible new approaches to the study of this matter.

The climate of the Earth has undergone many changes and for those times when geologic data are widespread and abundant the Mesozoic appears to have been one of the warmest intervals. This was a time during which the single continent Pangea disintegrated into continental units similar to those of today, a time when there were no significant polar ice caps and sea level was generally much higher than at the present time, and a time when dinosaurs apparently dominated terrestrial faunas and the flowering plants evolved. Understanding this alien world, ancestral to ours, is intrinsically interesting, intellectually challenging, and offers opportunities for more effective targeting of sites where commercially important geological resources may be found. It also provides critical insights into the operation of coupled Earth systems (biospheric, atmospheric, hydrospheric and geospheric) under extreme 'greenhouse' conditions, and therefore may have relevance to possible future global change. Our intention in organizing this Discussion Meeting was to bring together those who gather and interpret geologic data with those who model global climates from first principles. The community of workers who study the Quaternary have made significant advances by integrating and comparing palaeodata and climate model experiments. Although we have focused not on the Quaternary 'icehouse' but on the Mesozoic 'hothouse' climate we are well aware that approaches used in the study of the Quaternary may have relevance to earlier times.