Rise of Animals

Evolution and Diversification of the Kingdom Animalia

Inbunden, Engelska, 2008

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Beskrivning

Among the major events in evolutionary history, few rival in importance the appearance of animals. The Rise of Animals-a significant reference providing a comprehensive synthesis of the early radiation of the animal kingdom-fully captures this moment in geologic time. Five of the world's leading paleontologists take us on a journey to the most important fossil sites that serve as unique windows to the earliest animal life-including the Ediacara Hills of Australia, the Russian taiga and tundra, the deserts of southwest Africa, and the rugged coasts of Newfoundland. Each of these places holds a rich fossil record that reveals how the animal form came into existence and why some groups succeeded while others failed. The authors describe the diversification of the Kingdom Animalia into the familiar body plans of today: from simple animals such as sponges to complex groups like mollusks, arthropods, echinoderms, and chordates that appear explosively in the Cambrian. This exquisitely illustrated book reveals the early moments of an evolutionary process that eventually resulted in our own species.An essential resource for paleontologists, biologists, geologists, and teachers, The Rise of Animals is the best single reference on one of earth's most significant events.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2008-03-24
Mått:235 x 292 x 26 mm
Vikt:1 656 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:344
Förlag:Johns Hopkins University Press
Medarbetare:ArthurC. Clarke
ISBN:9780801886799
Utmärkelser:Winner of Victorian Premier's Literary Award - Prize for Science Writing 2009 (United States)

Utforska kategorier

Biovetenskap inom Naturvetenskap och teknik
Zoologi inom Naturvetenskap och teknik
Djurböcker inom Djur och Natur

Mer om författaren

Mikhail A. Fedonkin is the head of the Precambrian Laboratory at the Russian Academy of Sciences. James G. Gehling is the senior curator at the South Australian Museum. Kathleen Grey is the chief paleontologist at the Geological Survey of Western Australia. Guy M. Narbonne is a professor and Queen's Research Chair at Queens University, Canada. Patricia Vickers-Rich holds a personal chair of paleontology and is founding director of the Monash Science Centre at Monash University in Australia.

Recensioner i media

It's a beautiful book and the definitive account of the period... I love it and expect it to become a classic. -- Jeff Hecht New Scientist 2008 The Rise of Animals offers a much-needed avenue to communicate to the general public the past decade's exciting discoveries of Ediacaran fossils. -- Shuhai Xiao Science 2008 Recommended. Informed general readers; researchers/faculty; professionals/practitioners. Choice 2008 A one-stop shop for up-to-date information about this puzzling meagerie... non-professionals will likewise find that it is a fine-looking book that captures the excitement of scientific discovery. -- Gregory D. Edgecombe Bioscience

Innehållsförteckning

ForewordAcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I: The Background: The Archean and Proterozoic EonsChapter 1. The Background. The Archean (4.5 Million to 2500 Million Years Ago)Chapter 2. The Background. The Proterozoic (2.5 Billion to 542 Million Years Ago)Part II: The Fossil Sites: Rare and ExtraordinaryIntroductionChapter 3. The Misty Coasts of NewfoundlandChapter 4. The Nama Fauna of Southern AfricaChapter 5. The Ediacara HillsChapter 6. The White Sea's Windswept CoastsChapter 7. Podolia's Green ValleysChapter 8. The Siberian TundraChapter 9. The UralsChapter 10. The Canadian CordilleraChapter 11. Beyond the Major SitesPart III: Other Evidence of AnimaliaChapter 12. First Trace of MotionChapter 13. The World of the Very Small: Fueling the AnimaliaPart IV: A Dramatic Crossroads—The Cambrian "Explosion"?Chapter 14. Body Plans, Strange and Familiar, and the Enigma of 542Atlas of Precambrian MetazoansBibliographyIndex