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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > Palaeontology
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
previous editions, Dinosaurs has been thoroughly updated to include
new discoveries in the field, such as the toothed bird specimens
found in China and recent discoveries of dinosaur soft anatomy.
Illustrations by leading paleontological illustrator John Sibbick
and new, carefully-chosen photographs, clearly show how dinosaurs
looked, lived and their role in Earth history. Making science
accessible and relevant through clear explanations and extensive
illustrations, the text guides students through the dinosaur
groups, emphasizing scientific concepts rather than presenting
endless facts. Grounded in the common language of modern
evolutionary biology - phylogenetic systematics - students learn to
think about dinosaurs the way that professional paleontologists do.
Life on Earth can be traced back over three billion years into the
past. Many examples of the Earth's former inhabitants are to be
found in rocks, preserved as beautiful and fascinating fossils. The
earliest life forms were bacteria and algae; these produced the
oxygen that enabled more complex life forms to develop. About 600
million years ago multi-cellular organisms appeared on Earth, some
of which could protect themselves with hard parts such as shells.
Many of these life forms were readily fossilized and are used to
subdivide geological time. Numerous species have evolved and most
are now extinct. Lineages can be traced and extinctions explained
as a consequence of terrestrial and extra-terrestrial events. Now
in a revised, updated and expanded Second Edition Introducing
Palaeontology will continue to provide readers with a concise and
accessible introduction to the science of palaeontology.
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 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is the location
of one of the best-known terrestrial records for the late
Cretaceous. Prior fieldwork confirmed the richness of the area, but
a major effort begun in the new century has documented over 2,000
new vertebrate fossil sites, provided new radiometric dates, and
identified five new genera of ceratopsids, two new species of
hadrosaur, a probable new genus of hypsilophodontid, new
pachycephalosaurs and ankylosaurs, several kinds of theropods
(including a new genus of oviraptor and a new tyrannosaur), plus
the most complete specimen of a Late Cretaceous therizinosaur ever
collected from North America, and much more. The research
documented in this book is rewriting our understanding of Late
Cretaceous paleobiogeography and dinosaur phyletics. At the Top of
the Grand Staircase: The Late Cretaceous of Southern Utah is a
major stepping stone toward a total synthesis of the ecology and
evolution of the Late Cretaceous ecosystems of western North
America.
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