An in-depth look at the latest breakthroughs in our understanding of the material record that deep time leaves behind. Understanding the complex interplay of physical and chemical processes leading to fossilization is crucial to elucidating the 3800 million years of life on earth. And yet, the process of fossilization also leads to the loss of pivotal biological information, placing constraints on the very same understanding of ancient life it preserves. Over the last decade, however, remarkable advances in approaches, techniques, tools, and instrumentation have helped scientists to transcend these constraints by enabling high-resolution analysis of fossil material-even down to the nanoscale. Fossilization provides a critical look at these cutting-edge innovations in the science of fossil preservation and provides a road map for future research. Drawing from the fields of paleontology, organic and inorganic chemistry, microbiology, and high-resolution imaging and analysis, and spanning the diversity of life from plants to vertebrates and invertebrates, this resource details expert findings on * fossilization of hard and soft part tissues in dinosaurs * high-resolution chemical analysis of organic and inorganic tissues * arthropods preserved in amber * experimental silicification of wood * chemical defenses and color in fossil plants * confocal Raman spectroscopy * microprobe analysis * radioisotopic studies * and much more A true interdisciplinary undertaking, the book is authored by paleontologists, mineralogists, geochemists, organic chemists, microbiologists, and materials scientists who have worked together to investigate questions around substance fossilization and the limits of the fossil record. A special color section contains SEM, Raman, and other striking images of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Fossilization is a trailblazing reference book for research scientists and specialists in related fields, as well as for advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in fossilization, emerging research techniques, and fresh approaches in the analysis of plant and animal fossils. Contributors: H. Jonas Barthel, Aurore Canoville, Carole T. Gee, Thorsten Geisler, Jens Goetze, Conrad C. Labandeira, Sashima Labe, Moritz Liesegang, Victoria E. McCoy, Martina Menneken, Jes Rust, P. Martin Sander, Frank Tomaschek, Torsten Wappler, Kayleigh Wiersma, Tzu-Ruei Yang

The ability for people to connect, learn, and communicate about science has been enhanced through the Internet, specifically through social media platforms. Facebook and Twitter are well-studied, while Instagram is understudied. This Element provides insight into using Instagram as a science education platform by pioneering a set of calculated metrics, using a paleontology-focused account as a case study. Framed by the theory of affinity spaces, the authors conducted year-long analyses of 455 posts and 139 stories that were created as part of an informal science learning project. They found that team activity updates and posts outside of their other categories perform better than their defined categories. For Instagram stories, the data show that fewer slides per story hold viewers' attention longer, and stories using the poll tool garnered the most interaction. This Element provides a baseline to assess the success of Instagram content for science communicators and natural science institutions.

The Sedgwick Prize for the best essay on a geological subject was instituted in memory of Adam Sedgwick, the geologist who introduced Darwin to geology in walking tours of north Wales, but later opposed his theories. One of its most eminent winners was A. C. Seward (1863-1941), then a young lecturer in botany at Cambridge. He combined the study of botany with geology in his research on what the age and location of fossilised flora can reveal about the climates of different geological periods. The author of the standard early twentieth-century textbook in the field, Fossil Plants for Students of Botany and Geology (1898-1919), he served as Professor of Botany at Cambridge, Master of Downing College and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. This Sedgwick Prize essay sets out the state of knowledge in the field in 1892 and was the foundation of a lifetime's work in palaeobotany.

Essay on the Theory of the Earth was the last work of the scientific writer Robert Kerr who translated it from the introductory essay of George Cuvier's four-volume Recherches sur les ossements fossiles de quadrup des. Before its first publication in 1813, the essay was partly expanded by the geologist and natural historian Robert Jameson who wrote a preface and included extensive notes on mineralogy. Using geological evidence as its principal source of enquiry, Cuvier's essay attempts to address the questions of the origins of the human race, the formation of the earth, and the correlation between incomplete fossil remains and existing species of animals. Extremely influential in its own time, the essay remains a source of considerable insight into the early development of geological research, examining issues of continued significance today.

Richard Owen (1804 1892) was a contemporary of Darwin, and like him, attended the University of Edinburgh medical school but left without completing his training. His career as an outstanding palaeontologist began when he was cataloguing the Hunterian Collection of human and animal anatomical specimens which had passed to the Royal College of Surgeons in London. His public lectures on anatomy were attended by Darwin, and he was entrusted with the classification and description of the fossil vertebrates sent back by Darwin from the Beagle voyage. He was responsible for coining many of the terms now used in anatomy and evolutionary biology, including the word 'dinosaur'. Palaeontology (published in 1860) defines, describes and classifies all the fossil animal forms then known, and discusses the origin of species, commenting on the theories of Buffon, Lamarck, the then anonymous author of Vestiges of Creation, Wallace and Darwin.

English anatomist and biologist Richard Owen (1804 92), who in 1842 coined the word 'dinosaur', published this book in 1859, the year of On the Origin of Species. He reviews ancient and recent studies of mammals in Western science before going on to present his own updated categorisation of the class. Owen's eye for detail and range of scholarship are evident in this work, which is an extensive catalogue of mammals based on biological, geographical and anatomical characteristics. It incorporates, among other things, detailed classifications and sub-classifications of genus based on dental structures, food habits and cerebra. Owen's prose is lucid and precise and his investigations scrupulous, demonstrating the commitment that led him to become one of the foremost anatomists of his time. An appendix reveals Owen's views on the hotly debated theories of transmutation and extinction proposed by scientists such as Lamarck, Lyell and Darwin.

Cambridgeshire is rich in Jurassic fossils, with ichthyosaurs having been found at Mepal and Barrington since 2000, and ammonites and belemnites occurring near Grafham Water. In the later nineteenth century, Thomas Roberts, an assistant to the Professor of Geology at Cambridge, was involved in close study of the Jurassic rocks of the district. Despite the complexity arising from troublesome local geologic discontinuities, Roberts correlated the paleontological record in the Jurassic rocks of East Anglia with that of other British and European areas. It was this kind of careful and systematic work that provided the foundation for the modern understanding of the Jurassic period and the mass extinctions at the end of the Mesozoic era. Roberts's essay was originally published posthumously in 1892, and is now reissued for a new generation of geologists and fossil-hunters.

That humans originated from Africa is well-known. However, this is widely regarded as a chance outcome, dependant simply on where our common ancestor shared the land with where the great apes lived. This volume builds on from the 'Out of Africa' theory, and takes the view that it is only in Africa that the evolutionary transitions from a forest-inhabiting frugivore to savanna-dwelling meat-eater could have occurred. This book argues that the ecological circumstances that shaped these transitions are exclusive to Africa. It describes distinctive features of the ecology of Africa, with emphasis on savanna grasslands, and relates them to the evolutionary transitions linking early ape-men to modern humans. It shows how physical features of the continent, especially those derived from plate tectonics, set the foundations. This volume adequately conveys that we are here because of the distinctive features of the ecology of Africa.

Over centuries, discoveries of fossil bones spawned legends of mythological monsters such as giants and dragons. As the field of earth sciences matured during the 19th century, early fossilists gained appreciation for prehistoric creatures such as Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and Stegosaurus. This historical study examines how these genuine beasts morphed in the public imagination into mythical, powerful engines of destruction and harbingers of cataclysm, taking their place in popular culture, film, and literature as symbols of 'lost worlds' where time stands still.

When Darwin wrote his Origin of Species, one of his main concerns was with the perceived shortness of the fossil record of life. Until the work of J. William Schopf and his colleagues, much of this history was thought to be unknowable. This book, through a memoire of Schopf's personal recollections, documents astonishing discoveries revealing the first 85% of the history of life. These earliest periods of life on Earth emerge as a tale of individual and internationally collaborative exploration told by a scholar whose 60 years of research contributed to the recognition of the richness and diversity which forms the foundation of today's biodiversity. Key Features Documents, through personal narrative, a paradigm shift is the study of the earliest life Summarizes a fossil record largely unknown until relatively recently Addresses one of Darwin's most troubling concerns about his theory of natural selection Predicts future developments in the study of first life

Simone Marchi presents the emerging story of how cosmic collisions shaped both the solar system and our own planet, from the creation of the Moon to influencing the evolution of life on Earth. The Earth emerged out of the upheaval and chaos of massive collisions in the infancy of the Solar System, more than four billion years ago. The largest of these events sent into orbit a spray of molten rocks out of which the Moon coalesced. As in ancient mythological tales, this giant catastrophe marks the birth of our planet as we know it. Space exploration has shown that signs of ancient collisions are widespread in the Solar System, from the barren and once-habitable Mars to the rugged asteroids. On Earth these signs are more subtle, but still cataclysmic, such as the massive asteroid strike which likely sparked the demise of the dinosaurs and many other forms of life some 66 million years ago. Signatures of even more dramatic catastrophes are concealed in ancient rocks. These events wreaked havoc on our planet's surface, influencing global climate and topography, while also enriching the Earth with gold and other rare elements. And recently, modern science is finding that they could even have contributed to developing the conditions conducive to life. In Colliding Worlds, Simone Marchi explores the key role that collisions in space have played in the formation and evolution of our solar system, the development of planets, and possibly even the origin of life on Earth. Analysing our latest understanding of the surfaces of Mars and Venus, gleaned from recent space missions, Marchi presents the dramatic story of cosmic collisions and their legacies.

Throughout our history, humans have been captivated by mythic beasts and legendary creatures. Tales of Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness monster are part of our collective experience. Now comes a book from two dedicated investigators that explores and elucidates the fascinating world of cryptozoology. Daniel Loxton and Donald R. Prothero have written an entertaining, educational, and definitive text on cryptids, presenting the arguments both for and against their existence and systematically challenging the pseudoscience that perpetuates their myths. After examining the nature of science and pseudoscience and their relation to cryptozoology, Loxton and Prothero take on Bigfoot; the Yeti, or Abominable Snowman, and its cross-cultural incarnations; the Loch Ness monster and its highly publicized sightings; the evolution of the Great Sea Serpent; and Mokele Mbembe, or the Congo dinosaur. They conclude with an analysis of the psychology behind the persistent belief in paranormal phenomena, identifying the major players in cryptozoology, discussing the character of its subculture, and considering the challenge it poses to clear and critical thinking in our increasingly complex world.

The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) was established on 17th December, 1931 by a great visionary Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis to promote research in the theory and applications of statistics as a new scienti c discipline in India. In 1959, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India introduced the ISI Act in the parliament and designated it as an Institution of National Importance because of its remarkable achievements in statistical work as well as its contribution to economic planning. Today, the Indian Statistical Institute occupies a prestigious position in the a- demic rmament. It has been a haven for bright and talented academics working in a number of disciplines. Its research faculty has done India proud in the arenas of Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, among others. Over s- enty ve years, it has grown into a massive banyan tree, like the institute emblem. The Institute now serves the nation as a uni ed and monolithic organization from different places, namely Kolkata, the Headquarters, Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai, three centers, a network of ve SQC-OR Units located at Mumbai, Pune, Baroda, Hyderabad and Coimbatore, and a branch ( eld station) at Giridih. The platinum jubilee celebrations of ISI have been launched by Honorable Prime Minister Prof. Manmohan Singh on December 24, 2006, and the Govt. of India has declared 29th June as the "Statistics Day" to commemorate the birthday of Prof. Mahalanobis nationally.

Geared towards a broad variety of students, Dinosaurs: The Textbook, sixth edition, is a concise and lucid presentation of the biological and geological concepts of dinosaur science. It clarifies the evolution, phylogeny, and classification of the various species while modeling the best approach for navigating new and existing research. Revised to reflect recent fossil discoveries and the current consensus on dinosaur science, this text moves through the major taxonomic groups-including theropods, sauropodomorphs, ornithopods, ceratopsians, pachycephalosaurs, stegosaurs, and ankylosaurs-and concludes with updated chapters on the behavior and extinction of the dinosaurs, their biological relationship to birds, and their representation (or misrepresentation) in art, literature, film, and other forms of popular culture. The sixth edition represents a major revision of the leading text for an introductory course on dinosaurs, including comprehensive updates based on the latest scientific discoveries, research, and literature. With an extensive art program revised by leading paleoartists that features cutting-edge illustrations, it is a complete reader-friendly pedagogical package with extensive end-of-chapter summary tools, review questions, a detailed glossary, a dinosaur dictionary, and a comprehensive index. Please visit our supplemental materials page (https://cup.columbia.edu/extras/supplement/dinosaurs-the-textbook-sixth-edition) to find study and teaching aides for both students and teachers using Dinosaurs: The Textbook, sixth edition in class.

This is a new and completely rewritten edition of the well-known text "Microfossils" (first published in 1980) covering all the major microfossil groups, with information on taxonomy, phylogeny, ecology and palaeoecology. Particular attention is given to the uses of microfossils in environmental reconstruction and biostratigraphy. It contains numerous line and half-tone illustrations. It also emphasizes on practical applications of micropalaeontology. Only student-friendly micropaleontology text is available.

Placing evolutionary events in the context of geological time is a fundamental goal in paleobiology and macroevolution. In this Element we describe the tripartite model used for Bayesian estimation of time calibrated phylogenetic trees. The model can be readily separated into its component models: the substitution model, the clock model and the tree model. We provide an overview of the most widely used models for each component and highlight the advantages of implementing the tripartite model within a Bayesian framework.

This volume arises from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) on 'North African Cretaceous rudist and coral formations and their contributions to carbonate platform development , which was held in Tunisia, on 13-18 May, 2002. It was convened by M. El Hedi Negra (Universite 7 Novembre de Carthage, now Universite de Tunis El Manar, Tunisia) and Eulalia Gili (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain). The aims of the ARW were: (1) to review and critically assess currently available data on rudist/coral formations in North African Cretaceous carbonate platforms, and their correlations, and to integrate these data with other studies around the Mediterranean; (2) to place the findings in a global context, noting both similarities with other regions of platform development as well as local differences, and (3) exploring possible reasons for these; and to help promote the creation of a vibrant peri-Mediterranean collaborative research community, embracing researchers from the entire region, to carry forward this ambitious research programme. Twenty-two presentations (oral and poster) provided both topical reviews (covering rudist evolution, and ecology, mineralogical changes, applications of strontium isotope, and graphic correlation methods, and platform typology) as well as regional syntheses (Tunisian reservoirs, Moroccan platform history, Tunisian platforms and rudist/coral facies, Algerian platforms, and Egyptian platforms). Fifteen of these presentations are expanded here as papers. The workshop was attended by 24 academic staff, 4 geologists from the oil industry, plus several observers and students.

This book is volume 33 of the yearbook series 'Palaeoecology of Africa' presenting the outcome of a 'tribute conference' to the internationally recognized South African researcher and palynologist Professor Louis Scott. He has recently retired, but is continuing his active research career. The conference proceedings and articles published here highlight and celebrate Prof. Scott's contribution to palaeoscience and to the natural sciences in general. The conference was organized in July 2014 by the National Museum, Bloemfontein and the University of the Free State, South Africa, and focused on both past and present environments, ecosystems and climates of the arid regions of southern Africa, an area that serves as major focus of Prof. Scott's research. Louis Scott's research interests include stratigraphic palynology, long-term continental environmental change during the Cainozoic, and interpretation of palaeoenvironmental records associated with archaeological sites. His research has contributed insights into the origin of our current environment by identifying long-term patterns of climate change. Results have been applied in numerical models of vegetation change in Africa and globally. The results of these studies are relevant across the fields of botany, geology, climatology, archaeology, anthropology and palaeontology. The chapters revisit and discuss the scientific work of Prof. Scott: among others the reconstructions of vegetation and climatic history in various areas of southern Africa, including the Tswaing Crater with a record of 200 000 years, that give insights into environmental conditions during the Last Glacial Period and the subsequent development of modern conditions. Some observations also provide key baseline information, contributing to understanding past human and environmental contexts and climatic change and the effects of global warming.

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.

and Acknowledgments Modern Foraminifera started with a simple idea: Goldstein, Andrew Gooday, Pamela Hallock, to write an advanced text for university students Jeffrey Hanor, John Haynes, Johann Hohen- that would also serve as a reference book for ger, Scott Ishman, Frans Jorissen, Susan K- professionals. Being keenly aware of the bound- well, Martin Langer, David Lea, Richard Norris, William Parker, Nancy Rabalais, Charles aries of my competence, I invited fourteen col- Ramcharan, Charles Schafer, Scott Snyder, K- leagues to write most of the chapters. The neth Towe, Bert van der Zwaan, and two others chapters were designed to be balanced reviews, who chose to remain anonymous. Jessica but, with the lone exception of chapter two, they Schreyer assisted in editorial tasks. In the final had to be written under a rather stringent space stages of putting the book together, my burden limitation. Thus, although the list of references was lightened by the cheerful cooperation of is long, it surely does not include every single Petra van Steenbergen, our publishing editor at significant article on every topic covered in the Kluwer. In addition, I was helped by Ian Francis book. Both the subject matters of the chapters at the planning stage of the book. and the selection of authors were entirely my Two people deserve special acknowledgment.

The highly fossiliferous upper Darriwilian to lower Sandbian Elnes Formation of Norway presents an interesting insight into the general responses and preferences of Lower Palaeozoic faunas belonging to a stable, mud dominated middle to outer shelf environment in connection with a major transgressive to regressive system tract. The rich trilobite fauna consisting of nearly 100 taxa is closely linked to the changes in the environment, being most abundant in a muddy and siliciclastic dominated environment just above storm wave base. The fauna is highly endemic for the region and the remainder of Baltoscania. This monograph presents a taxonomic description of the total trilobite fauna, including a new genus and seven hitherto unknown species. New and extensive biostratigraphical data is presented on the trilobites together with a study on the biogeographical and ecological aspects of the faunas.

Although herbivory probably first appeared over 300 million years ago, it only became established as a common feeding strategy during Late Permian times. Subsequently, herbivory evolved in numerous lineages of terrestrial vertebrates, and the acquisition of this mode of feeding was frequently associated with considerable evolutionary diversification in those lineages. This book represents a comprehensive overview of the evolution of herbivory in land-dwelling amniote tetrapods in recent years. In Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates, leading experts review the evolutionary history and structural adaptations required for feeding on plants in the major groups of land-dwelling vertebrates, especially dinosaurs and ungulate mammals. As such, this volume will be the definitive reference source on this topic for evolutionary biologists and vertebrate paleontologists.

The question of the existence of other worlds and other living beings has been present in the human quest for knowledge since as far as Epicurus. For centuries this question belonged to the fields of philosophy and theology. The theoretical problem of the formation of the Solar System, and hence of other planetary systems, was tackled only during the 18th century, while the first observational attempts for a detection started less than one hundred years ago. Direct observation of an extra-solar planetary system is an extraordinarily difficult problem: extra-solar planets are at huge distances, are incredibly faint and are overwhelmed by the bright light of their own stars. With virtually no observational insight to test their models, theoreticians have remained for decades in a difficult position to make substantial progress. Yet, the field of stellar formation has provided since the 1980s both the the oretical and observational evidences for the formation of discs at the stage of star birth and for debris materials orbiting the very young stellar systems. It was tempting to consider that these left-overs might indeed later agglomerate into planetary systems more or less similar to ours. Then came observational evidences for planets outside the Solar System.

Presenting new data on the now classical aspects of Gondwana geology, this work also highlights the increasing international interest as to how the Gondwana supercontinent was assembled. The book is organized according to three themes: assembly, evolution and dispersal, containing 57 papers of specialists in the area.
Assembly: Late Proterozoic-Early Palaeozoic mobile belts of Gondwana, South America, Africa & Australo-Antarctica.
Evolution: Detailed palynological & palaeontological research of Late Palaeozoic- Mesozoic palaeoclimate.
Dispersal: Novel approach to predicting past plate motions followed by series of papers covering the break-up history of Gondwana;

1. 1 Objectives of this Study The vertebrate middle ear has attracted the interest of morphologists for more than a century. Its difficult structure, its complicated evolutionary derivation, and its integration of branchial, cranial, and otic materials into a single func- tional unit have made it a key organ for the understanding of vertebrate structures and their evolutionary history. Gaupp's (1898, 1913) and Reichert's (1837) comparative morphological studies of the vertebrate middle ear repre- sented milestones for anatomy in the general recognition and acceptance of Darwin's theory of evolution. These fundamental studies notwithstanding, today's knowledge of avian middle ear structures is still characterized by descriptive studies focusing on character sampling to elucidate high-level phylogeny. Phylogenetic studies have considered either structural aspects of the bony stapes exclusively (Feduccia 1974, 1975a,b, 1976, 1977, 1978), or focused on the anatomy of the middle ear cavity, neglecting the sound trans- mission apparatus (Saiff 1974, 1976, 1978a,b, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988). Other studies have investigated late-stage embryos and concentrated on the develop- ment of the skull, considering middle ear structures only as a side aspect. However, there are considerable structural differences between the middle ears of late-stage embryos, hatchlings, and adults of the same species. Although vertebrate morphology requires a meticulous knowledge of comparative middle ear data and calls upon an elaborate system of homologies, it turns out that knowledge of middle ear structural details is widely dispersed among different species and different developmental stages, making a comparison even more difficult.