Our knowledge of extinct animals depends almost entirely upon the study of fossils. This richly illustrated book clothes the skeletons of dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles with flesh, and shows how these fascinating animals evolved and probably lived. Expert author John L. Cloudsley-Thompson provides an interesting synthesis of current views on their ecology, physiology and behaviour, and outlines the various hypotheses that have been proposed to explain their extinction. Numerous beautiful drawings of the animals and their environment illustrate this exciting monograph.

Ecophysiology of Desert Arthropods and Reptiles starts with a new classification of the world's deserts, based upon the type of precipitation and the effect on their faunas of arthropods and reptiles. This is followed by an account of microclimates and the avoidance of environmental extremes. Whereas thermoregulation is primarily behavioural, responses to water shortage are largely physiological. Seasonal activity and phenology are described, adaptations for burrowing, the avoidance of enemies, and defence, are also outlined. A comparative account of interspecific relationships, feeding specializations, and species diversity in the two taxa is described. The purpose of the book is to provide a new and up-to-date analysis that will stimulate further research along these lines.

The exigencies of life in the desert environment have resulted in the se lection of a diversity of adaptations, both morphological and physiologi cal, in the flora and fauna. At the same time, many plants and most small animals are able not merely to exist but even to thrive under desert conditions - mainly by avoiding thermal extremes and by the refine ment of pre-existing abilities to economise in water. In the same way, the biotic interactions of the flora and fauna of the desert do not involve many new principles. Nevertheless, conditions in arid regions frequently do invoke refinements of the complex interrelations between predators and their prey, parasites and their hosts, as well as between herbivores and the plants upon which they feed. In this book, I shall discuss not only such interactions and their feedback effects, but also community processes and population dynamics in the desert. The physical conditions of the desert that principally affect predators and their prey are its openness and the paucity of cover. This is re stricted to scattered plants, occasional rocks, holes, and crevices in the ground. Furthermore, nightfall does not confer relative invisibility, as it does in many other ecobiomes, because of the clarity of the atmosphere. The bright starlight of the desert renders nearby objects visible even to the human eye, while an incandescent moon bathes the empty landscape with a flood of silver light. Consequently, adaptive coloration is func tional at all hours of the day and night."

An introduction to the evolution and adaptation of amphibians and reptiles, bridging the gulf between the plethora of 'popular' books and the more advanced texts directed towards the needs of specialist research workers, thus making it accessible to advanced students worldwide. It explains basic principles in non-technical terms, and covers the adaptive responses to natural selection which have engendered the diversity of forms that exist in the fossil record and are found in the world today. The book also includes the extinct forms such as dinosaurs, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, and concludes with a dsicussion of relationships with mankind and the preservation of diversity. XXXXXXX Neuer Text This title is an introduction to the evolution and adaptation of amphibians and reptiles, which is accessible to a wide range of readers. Basic principles are explained in non-technical terms, and the adaptive responses to natural selection which have engendered the diversity of forms that exist in the fossil record and that are found in the world today are covered. In the concluding chapter, the relationship between mankind and the preservation of diversity is discussed.

This richly illustrated book clothes the skeletons of dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles with flesh, and shows how these fascinating animals evolved and probably lived. Expert author John L. Cloudsley-Thompson synthesizes current views on ecology, physiology and behaviour, and outlines the various hypotheses that have been proposed to explain their extinction. Numerous beautiful drawings of the animals and their environment illustrate this exciting monograph.

Thisisnotintendedtobeacomprehensivetextbookofentomology andarachnology, butratheraconcisesynthesisofcertainbasic informationrequiredfor BSc(Hons)andMSc(Entomology) examinations. Theapproachisprimarilyfunctional: forinstance, theskeletalandwaterproofingpropertiesofthearthropodcuticle arediscussed, butnotitsbiochemistry;andIhaveincludedonly thosepointswithwhichIbelievealladvancedstudentsofthesub. jectoughttobefamiliar. Someaspectsaretodayregardedas outdated;othersdonotappearinanycurrenttexts, butIhave includedthembecauseIconsiderthemtobeimportant. Innoway, therefore, shouldthisberegardedasabookofreference. Tobe frank, itconsistsofamassofoversimplificationsandunqualified generalizationswhichareintendedtoclarifythecomplexprinciples underlyingthem. OncetheseprincipleshavebeenthorougWy grasped, thereaderwillhaveacquiredasufficientlybroadapproach tobeabletogetthebestvaluefrommoreadvancedtreatises. MythanksareduetoDrs. JohnDalingwater, AndrewMilner, andespeciallyPaulHillyardfortheiradviceonpalaeontological matters;toProfessorsEinarBursellforpermissiontouseFig. 8, takenfromhis An Introduction to Insect Physiology(Academic Press), NeilF. HadleyandtheEditorsof American Scientistto reproduceFigs. 52,53, andtoF. SchallerforFig. 42fromachap terhewroteinGupta(ed. ) Arthropod Phylogeny(VanNostrand Reinhold). Finally, IwouldliketoexpressmygratitudetoRoy Abrahamsforredrawingthefiguresshowinginsectwingvenations andtoEileenBerghfortypingthemanuscript. Thebookwas completedduringtenureofaLeverhulmeEmeritusFellowship whichIampleasedtoacknowledge, whileProfessorN. A. Mitchison FRSkindlyprovidedmewithaccommodationinUniversityCol. lege, London. J. L. CWUDSLEY-THOMPSON Contents 1 PalaeontologyandPhylogeny. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1. 1 TheEarliestArthropodanFossils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1. 2 TheFirstTerrestrialArthropods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1. 3 EvolutionintheArthropods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1. 3. 1 EmbryologicalConsiderations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1. 3. 2 ComparativeMorphology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1. 3. 3 MonophyleticorPolyphyleticOrigins. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 FurtherReading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2 ImplicationsofLiveonLand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2. 1 TheSignificanceofSize 10 2. 1. 1 Size, SkeletonsandAllometry 11 2. 1. 2 AllometricGrowth 12 2. 2 WaterRelations 12 2. 3 TheConquestoftheLand 14 2. 4 . TheIntegument 14 2. 4. 1 TheEndocuticle 15 2. 4. 2 TheExocuticle 15 2. 4. 3 TheEpicuticle 16 2. 5 GrowthandEcdysis 18 2. 6 Respiration: Lung-BooksandTracheae 19 2. 7 NutritionandExcretion 21 2. 7. 1 Nutrition 21 2. 7. 2 Excretion 22 2. 8 EcologicalConsiderationsofSize 23 FurtherReading 25 3 TheConquestoftheLandbyCrustacea. . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3. 1 TypesofAdaptation. . . . 26 3. 2 TransitionfromWatertoLandinAmphipoda 26 3. 3 TransitionfromWatertoLandinDecapoda 28 3. 4 TransitionfromWatertoLandinIsopoda 30 3. 4. 1 Morphology 30 3. 4. 2Physiology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 3. 4. 3 Behaviour 34 VIII Contents 3. 5 Conclusion 35 FurtherReading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 4 InsectPhylogenyandtheOriginofFlight. . . . 37 4. 1 AncestryofInsects 37 4. 2 TheOriginofWings 38 4. 2. 1 Apte10taandtheAncestryofSpiders 39 4. 3 Paranota1Theory 40 4. 4 TrachealGillTheory . 42 4. 5 SelectionforFlight 43 4. 6 PhylogenyoftheLowerInsectOrders . 44 4. 6. 1 Fossil