Eocene Biodiversity


Book Description

Initially, this work was designed to document and study the diversification of modern mammalian groups and was quite successful and satisfying. However, as field and laboratory work continued, there began to develop a suspicion that not all of the Eocene story was being told. It became apparent that most fossil samples, especially those from the American West, were derived from similar preservational circumstances and similar depositional settings. A program was initiated to look for other potential sources of fossil samples, either from non-traditional lithologies or from geographic areas that were not typically sampled. As this program of research grew it began to demonstrate that different lithologies and different geographic areas told different stories from those that had been developed based on more typical faunal assemblages. This book is conceived as an introduction to non-traditional Eocene fossils samples, and as a place to document and discuss features of these fossil assemblages that are rare or that come from rarely represented habitats.




The History of Ornithology in Virginia


Book Description

Host to a large and diverse bird population as well as a long human history, Virginia is arguably the birthplace of ornithology in North America. David W. Johnston's History of Ornithology in Virginia, the result of over a decade of research, is the first book to address this fascinating element of the state's natural history. Tertiary-era fossils show that birds inhabited Virginia as early as 65 million years ago. Their first human observers were the region's many Indian tribes and, later, colonists on Roanoke Island and in Jamestown. Explorers pushing westward contributed further to the development of a conception of birds that was distinctively American. By the 1900s planter-farmers, naturalists, and government employees had amassed bird records from the Barrier Islands and the Dismal Swamp to the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains. The modern era saw the emergence of ornithological organizations and game laws, as well as increasingly advanced studies of bird distribution, migration pathways, and breeding biology. Johnston shows us how ornithology in Virginia evolved from observations of wondrous creatures to a sophisticated science recognizing some 435 avian species. David W. Johnston taught ornithology at the University of Virginia's Mountain Lake Biological Station for nearly two decades and has edited numerous ecological studies as well as the Journal of Field Ornithology and Ornithological Monographs.







Paleogene Fossil Birds


Book Description

This second, completely revised edition of “Paleogene fossil birds” gives a comprehensive, updated overview of the avian fossil record from a geological period that lasted from the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event (66 million years ago) to the end of the Oligocene epoch (23 mya). Paleogene avifaunas are highly diversified and not only feature unusual archaic groups without close living relatives but also offer unique insights into the evolution and biogeographic history of extant birds. The main body of the book constitutes an in-depth survey of the known diversity of Paleogene avifaunas. The reader is introduced into basic skeletal features of extinct avian taxa, with these fossil forms being placed into a phylogenetic context in the light of current hypotheses on the interrelationships of extant birds. The geographical and temporal occurrences of the various fossil groups are outlined and their evolutionary significance is discussed. Concluding sections inform more general aspects of Paleogene avifaunas, such as possible causes of major faunal changes. In addition to being a reference work for the early evolution of modern birds from a paleornithological perspective, the present work also enables researchers in other fields of vertebrate paleontology to gain an improved understanding of Paleogene ecosystems. Numerous color photos of representative specimens furthermore make the new edition attractive to a wider audience interested in the avian fossil record.




Living Dinosaurs


Book Description

Living Dinosaurs offers a snapshot of our current understanding of the origin and evolution of birds. After slumbering for more than a century, avian palaeontology has been awakened by startling new discoveries on almost every continent. Controversies about whether dinosaurs had real feathers or whether birds were related to dinosaurs have been swept away and replaced by new and more difficult questions: How old is the avian lineage? How did birds learn to fly? Which birds survived the great extinction that ended the Mesozoic Era and how did the avian genome evolve? Answers to these questions may help us understand how the different kinds of living birds are related to one another and how they evolved into their current niches. More importantly, they may help us understand what we need to do to help them survive the dramatic impacts of human activity on the planet.




Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 1


Book Description

This 2-volume set provides a state-of-the-art study of the fossil record and taxonomy of the main vertebrate groups from Greece. Greece stands between 3 continents and its vertebrate fossil record is of great importance for paleontological and evolutionary studies in Europe, Asia and Africa. Fossils from classic, world-famous localities (e.g., Pikermi, Samos) form an essential part of the collections of the most important museums in the world and have been studied by numerous scientists. Recent paleontological research led to the discovery and study of numerous new sites. The volumes contain a taxonomic review of all named and identified taxa, their taxonomic history and current status, as well as historical, phylogenetic and biogeographic information. Volume 1 contains a synopsis of the fossil record and taxonomy of important groups of vertebrates represented in the fossil record of Greece. The volume deals with some of the early splitting clades, including the basal and enigmatic conodonts and basal tetrapods like fishes, amphibians, and reptiles like lizards, snakes, crocodiles, turtles and tortoises. The second part of the volume deals with basal mammalian clades, some of which are quite characteristic for the fossil record of the country: aardwarks, hyraxes, proboscideans, elephants and mammoths, sea cows, rodents, and lagomorphs. The volume ends with special chapters on the primate fossil record of the country, including some of our most recent and distant relatives.




Freshwater Fishes of North America


Book Description

Warren, Jr.







PaleoBios


Book Description