For nearly 100 million years, amphibians and their ancestors
dominated the terrestrial and shallow water environments of the
earth. Archaic animals with an amphibious way of life gave rise not
only to modern frogs, salamanders, and caecilians but also to the
ancestors of reptiles, birds, and mammals. In this landmark
publication, one of the leading paleontologists of our time
explores a pivotal moment in vertebrate evolution, the rise of
amphibians.
Synthesizing findings from the rich and highly diverse fossil
record of amphibians, Robert Carroll traces their origin back 365
million years, when particular species of fish traveled down an
evolutionary pathway of fin modification that gave rise to legs.
This period of dramatic radiation was followed by a cataclysmic
extinction 250 million years ago. After a long gap, modern
amphibian groups gradually emerged. Now the number of amphibian
species and individuals throughout the tropical and temperate
regions of the earth exceeds that of mammals.
"The Rise of Amphibians" is documented with more than two
hundred illustrations of fossil amphibians and sixteen exquisite
color plates depicting amphibians in their natural habitats
throughout their long existence. The most comprehensive examination
of amphibian evolution ever produced, "The Rise of Amphibians" is
an essential resource for paleontologists, herpetologists,
geologists, and evolutionary biologists.
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