Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology

Eric J. Sargis:(Ph.D., City University of New York [CUNY], a part of the New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology [NYCEP]) is an Associate Professor of Anthropology. His dissertation research was on the functional postcranial morphology of treeshrews (Scandentia) and its significance for understanding primate supraordinal relationships and the phylogenetics of archontan mammals. Eric has also worked on the evolutionary morphology of Old World monkeys (Primates, Cercopithecidae) and marsupials. He has conducted fieldwork in Malaysia (1994), Indonesia (1994), Ethiopia (1996, 1997), Bolivia (2001), Peru (2001, 2002, 2003), Madagascar (2003), Brazil (2005), and Cambodia (2006). Eric is also an Assistant Curator of Mammalogy at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, the Treasurer of the Society for the Study of Mammalian Evolution (SSME), and the Book Review Editor of the Journal of Mammalian Evolution (JME).Marian Dagosto:The focus of herresearch efforts is the understanding of the functional, adaptive, and phylogenetic significance of the anatomy of the limb skeleton in extant and fossil prosimian primates. The fossil members of this group, the Adapidae and Omomyidae, are the earliest known primates, and all living primates are thought to have descended from these forms. This group of primates, then, can provide clues to the early adaptive history of the order, and help identify the probable selective forces which shaped the basic morphology of this group.She has been concentrating on two primary areas of inquiry in this field. The first is the functional analysis of the limb anatomy of fossil primates, including description of newly discovered primate remains, an analysis of the probable locomotor behaviors of fossil species, and the phylogenetic implications of their morphological features. Current projects in this area include analysis of the postcranium of the omomyid primates and of the Eocene Chinese eosimiids.The second area is the "ecomorphology" of primate locomotion: the documentation of locomotor behavior and its ecological context (relationship to food resources, forest type) and its relationship to interspecific differences in morphology in living primates. Her current project in this area is the positional behavior of the Philippine tarsier, Tarsius syrichta. She is also investigating geographic variation in skull size and shape in the genus Tarsius and its implications for the phylogeny and biogeographic history of these primates.

From the reviews:"This festschrift is a wonderful tribute to the legacy Szalay, it should certainly find a place on the bookshelf of every student of mammalian evolution". Erik R. Seiffert, Journal of Human Evolution 59; 704-709, 2010 "This volume will have a place on my bookshelf because the chapters are all solid contributions. Many of them could have been stand-alone papers in other venues. Dagosto and Sargis categorized the topics where Szalay made his biggest contributions, then sought out papers from researchers currently working on those topics. In this regard, the festschrift for Szalay has become a book that does more than celebrate his accomplishments; it compiles research that would certainly stimulate his interest. The volume is made stronger by its idiosyncrasies, arguably a reflection of the live and the career to whom it is dedicated. This makes this volume, in my mind, an exceptional tribute to the contribution of true giants in their respective fields. The impact of Szalay is undeniable. The impact and longevity of this volume will follow suit." Christopher P. Heesy, Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Evolutionary Anthropology 18: 157-158, 2009"This volume … is an extremely professional and well-produced book presenting up-to-date and cutting-edge research. … The book is divided into two sections. … Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology is a highly recommended advanced volume that will prove to be a relevant resource for professionals and postgraduate students in many evolutionary and palaeontological disciplines." Kris Kovarovic, PaleoAnthropology Society, 2009"In their preface, editors Sargis and Dagosto provide a fascinating overview of Fred’s life and career, as well as a systematic analysis of his contributions to our science. This topical organization provides a kind of scaffold for the entire volume, as the editors tell us how each of the individual chapters fits intoor contributes to these different themes. But the real accomplishment of the editors and the authors is that together, they have created a book that celebrates the scientific work of Fred Szalay by re-engaging with questions, issues, and problematic taxa that he himself worked on years or decades ago." R.L. Anemone, Journal of Mammalian Evolution, March 2010"The book itself contains 18 chapters … and spans the mammalian taxonomic and temporal spectrum from Early Cretaceous metatherians to extant primates. … the book chapters are … crisp, clear drawings, and photographic images. … there is an enormous amount of new data within its pages that will be essential for professionals and students in those fields. … this book stands as a great testament to both the man and his influential work." Gregg F. Gunnel, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2009"This book is a fine tribute to the work of Frederick Szalay, whose many seminal contributions to the field of mammalian evolutionary morphology span a wide range of issues. … Individual articles are well referenced and suitably illustrated with pertinent photographs, line drawings, tables, charts, and graphs. In addition to a general subject index, a taxonomic index is provided for ease in finding material on select taxa. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level graduate students, researchers, and professionals in evolutionary morphology, paleontology, and comparative anatomy." D. A. Brass, CHOICEce, Vol. 46 (4), December, 2008"This volume … is an extremely professional and well-produced book presenting up-to-date and cutting-edge research. … The book is divided into two sections. … Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology is a highly recommended advanced volume that will prove to be a relevant resource for professionals and postgraduate students in many evolutionary and palaeontological disciplines." Kris Kovarovic, PaleoAnthropology Society, 2009"In their preface, editors Sargis and Dagosto provide a fascinating overview of Fred’s life and career, as well as a systematic analysis of his contributions to our science. This topical organization provides a kind of scaffold for the entire volume, as the editors tell us how each of the individual chapters fits into or contributes to these different themes. But the real accomplishment of the editors and the authors is that together, they have created a book that celebrates the scientific work of Fred Szalay by re-engaging with questions, issues, and problematic taxa that he himself worked on years or decades ago." R.L. Anemone, Journal of Mammalian Evolution, March 2010"The book itself contains 18 chapters … and spans the mammalian taxonomic and temporal spectrum from Early Cretaceous metatherians to extant primates. … the book chapters are … crisp, clear drawings, and photographic images. … there is an enormous amount of new data within its pages that will be essential for professionalsand students in those fields. … this book stands as a great testament to both the man and his influential work." Gregg F. Gunnel, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2009"This book is a fine tribute to the work of Frederick Szalay, whose many seminal contributions to the field of mammalian evolutionary morphology span a wide range of issues. … Individual articles are well referenced and suitably illustrated with pertinent photographs, line drawings, tables, charts, and graphs. In addition to a general subject index, a taxonomic index is provided for ease in finding material on select taxa. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level graduate students, researchers, and professionals in evolutionary morphology, paleontology, and comparative anatomy." D. A. Brass, CHOICEce, Vol. 46 (4), December, 2008“A detailed preface and bibliography provides an interesting review of Szalay’s contributions to the field, and of his philosophical approaches to the subject. The many papers on early primates make this volume essential reading for students of this group. … the work will also be of interest to those involved in the broader issues of mammalian functional morphology, descriptive anatomy, and phylogeny. It is an impressive volume, and a fitting tribute.” (Darren Naish, Geological Magazine, Vol. 147 (5), 2010)

• Non-primate Mammals.- Earliest Evidence of Deltatheroida (Mammalia: Metatheria) from the Early Cretaceous of North America.- Evolution of Hind Limb Proportions in Kangaroos (Marsupialia: Macropodoidea).- Changing Views in Paleontology: The Story of a Giant (Megatherium, Xenarthra).- Evolutionary Morphology of the Tenrecoidea (Mammalia) Forelimb Skeleton.- Postcranial Morphology of Apheliscus and Haplomylus (Condylarthra, Apheliscidae): Evidence for a Paleocene Holarctic Origin of Macroscelidea.- Postcranial Skeleton of the Upper Paleocene (Itaboraian) “Condylarthra” (Mammalia) of Itaboraí Basin, Brazil.- Postcranial Osteology of Mammals from Salla, Bolivia (Late Oligocene): Form, Function, and Phylogenetic Implications.- Evolution of the Proximal Third Phalanx in Oligocene-Miocene Equids, and the Utility of Phalangeal Indices in Phylogeny Reconstruction.- Adaptive Zones and the Pinniped Ankle: A Three-Dimensional Quantitative Analysis of Carnivoran Tarsal Evolution.- Primates.- The Biogeographic Origins of Primates and Euprimates: East, West, North, or South of Eden?.- Evaluating the Mitten-Gliding Hypothesis for Paromomyidae and Micromomyidae (Mammalia, “Plesiadapiformes”) Using Comparative Functional Morphology of New Paleogene Skeletons.- Morphological Diversity in the Skulls of Large Adapines (Primates, Adapiformes) and Its Systematic Implications.- Primate Tibiae from the Middle Eocene Shanghuang Fissure-Fillings of Eastern China.- Rooneyia, Postorbital Closure, and the Beginnings of the Age of Anthropoidea.- Epitensoric Position of the Chorda Tympani in Anthropoidea: a New Synapomorphic Character, with Remarks on the Fissura Glaseri in Primates.- Evolutionary Morphology of the Guenon Postcranium and Its Taxonomic Implications.- Analysis of Selected Hominoid Joint Surfaces Using Laser Scanning and Geometric Morphometrics: A Preliminary Report.- Comparative Primate Bone Microstructure: Records of Life History, Function, and Phylogeny.