Hans-Dieter Sues – författare

The Triassic period is generally viewed as the beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs. For paleontologists, however, it also marks the rise of the world's first modern land ecosystems. Over the past three decades, extensive, worldwide fieldwork has led to the discovery of many new species of Triassic animals and plants, suggesting that faunal and floral changes already began in the Middle Triassic and were more protracted than previously thought. The Late Triassic is a pivotal time in the evolution of life on land, with many of the major groups of present-day vertebrates and insects first appearing in the fossil record. This book provides the first detailed overview of life on land during the Triassic period for advanced students and researchers. Noted vertebrate paleontologists Hans-Dieter Sues and Nicholas C. Fraser also review the biotic changes of this period and their possible causes.

New discoveries of ancient vertebrates, filling in gaps in the fossil record, are quickly eroding the traditionally recognized differences between the principal groups of vertebrates—for example, between dinosaurs and birds—and radically changing our understanding of the evolutionary history of the major group of animals to which our species belongs. This book describes this changing scientific landscape and contributes to the revolution in our knowledge of the developmental mechanisms that underlie evolutionary transformation.

"Near time" -an interval that spans the last 100,000 years or so of earth history-qualifies as a remarkable period for many reasons. From an anthropocentric point of view, the out­ standing feature of near time is the fact that the evolution, cultural diversification, and glob­ al spread of Homo sapiens have all occurred within it. From a wider biological perspective, however, the hallmark of near time is better conceived of as being one of enduring, repeat­ ed loss. The point is important. Despite the sense of uniqueness implicit in phrases like "the biodiversity crisis," meant to convey the notion that the present bout of extinctions is by far the worst endured in recent times, substantial losses have occurred throughout near time. In the majority of cases, these losses occurred when, and only when, people began to ex­ pand across areas that had never before experienced their presence. Although the explana­ tion for these correlations in time and space may seem obvious, it is one thing to rhetori­ cally observe that there is a connection between humans and recent extinctions, and quite another to demonstrate it scientifically. How should this be done? Traditionally, the study of past extinctions has fallen largely to researchers steeped in such disciplines as paleontology, systematics, and paleoecology. The evaluation of future losses, by contrast, has lain almost exclusively within the domain of conservation biolo­ gists. Now, more than ever, there is opportunity for overlap and sharing of information.

Although herbivory probably first appeared over 300 million years ago, it only became established as a common feeding strategy during Late Permian times. Subsequently, herbivory evolved in numerous lineages of terrestrial vertebrates, and the acquisition of this mode of feeding was frequently associated with considerable evolutionary diversification in those lineages. This book, originally published in 2000, represented the first comprehensive overview of the evolution of herbivory in land-dwelling amniote tetrapods in recent years. In Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates leading experts review the structural adaptations for, and the evolutionary history of, feeding on plants in the major groups of land-dwelling vertebrates, especially dinosaurs and ungulate mammals. As such it will be the definitive reference source on this topic for evolutionary biologists and vertebrate paleontologists alike.

The early Mesozoic period was a critical period in the evolution of life on land when most of today's major groups of terrestrial vertebrates arose and dinosaurs and pterosaurs rose to prominence. In recent years this period has received a great deal of attention from palaeontologists, and it is now felt that the small vertebrates which lived in the shadows of the first dinosaurs tell us a great deal about the evolution of modern terrestrial ecosystems. This book attempts to collate all the information on the small vertebrates and features contributions by experts with international reputations in their fields. There are chapters on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the key vertebrate groups, followed by a section dealing with the most significant fossiliferous assemblages worldwide. The final section looks at how faunal turnover at this time is measured and examines the possibility of mass extinctions.

The early Mesozoic period was a critical period in the evolution of life on land when most of today's major groups of terrestrial vertebrates arose and dinosaurs and pterosaurs rose to prominence. In recent years this period has received a great deal of attention from palaeontologists, and it is now felt that the small vertebrates which lived in the shadows of the first dinosaurs tell us a great deal about the evolution of modern terrestrial ecosystems. This book attempts to collate all the information on the small vertebrates and features contributions by experts with international reputations in their fields. There are chapters on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the key vertebrate groups, followed by a section dealing with the most significant fossiliferous assemblages worldwide. The final section looks at how faunal turnover at this time is measured and examines the possibility of mass extinctions.

Although herbivory probably first appeared over 300 million years ago, it only became established as a common feeding strategy during Late Permian times. Subsequently, herbivory evolved in numerous lineages of terrestrial vertebrates, and the acquisition of this mode of feeding was frequently associated with considerable evolutionary diversification in those lineages. This book, originally published in 2000, represented the first comprehensive overview of the evolution of herbivory in land-dwelling amniote tetrapods in recent years. In Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates leading experts review the structural adaptations for, and the evolutionary history of, feeding on plants in the major groups of land-dwelling vertebrates, especially dinosaurs and ungulate mammals. As such it will be the definitive reference source on this topic for evolutionary biologists and vertebrate paleontologists alike.

"Near time" -an interval that spans the last 100,000 years or so of earth history-qualifies as a remarkable period for many reasons. From an anthropocentric point of view, the out­ standing feature of near time is the fact that the evolution, cultural diversification, and glob­ al spread of Homo sapiens have all occurred within it. From a wider biological perspective, however, the hallmark of near time is better conceived of as being one of enduring, repeat­ ed loss. The point is important. Despite the sense of uniqueness implicit in phrases like "the biodiversity crisis," meant to convey the notion that the present bout of extinctions is by far the worst endured in recent times, substantial losses have occurred throughout near time. In the majority of cases, these losses occurred when, and only when, people began to ex­ pand across areas that had never before experienced their presence. Although the explana­ tion for these correlations in time and space may seem obvious, it is one thing to rhetori­ cally observe that there is a connection between humans and recent extinctions, and quite another to demonstrate it scientifically. How should this be done? Traditionally, the study of past extinctions has fallen largely to researchers steeped in such disciplines as paleontology, systematics, and paleoecology. The evaluation of future losses, by contrast, has lain almost exclusively within the domain of conservation biolo­ gists. Now, more than ever, there is opportunity for overlap and sharing of information.

"Near time" -an interval that spans the last 100,000 years or so of earth history-qualifies as a remarkable period for many reasons. From an anthropocentric point of view, the out­ standing feature of near time is the fact that the evolution, cultural diversification, and glob­ al spread of Homo sapiens have all occurred within it. From a wider biological perspective, however, the hallmark of near time is better conceived of as being one of enduring, repeat­ ed loss. The point is important. Despite the sense of uniqueness implicit in phrases like "the biodiversity crisis," meant to convey the notion that the present bout of extinctions is by far the worst endured in recent times, substantial losses have occurred throughout near time. In the majority of cases, these losses occurred when, and only when, people began to ex­ pand across areas that had never before experienced their presence. Although the explana­ tion for these correlations in time and space may seem obvious, it is one thing to rhetori­ cally observe that there is a connection between humans and recent extinctions, and quite another to demonstrate it scientifically. How should this be done? Traditionally, the study of past extinctions has fallen largely to researchers steeped in such disciplines as paleontology, systematics, and paleoecology. The evaluation of future losses, by contrast, has lain almost exclusively within the domain of conservation biolo­ gists. Now, more than ever, there is opportunity for overlap and sharing of information.