Book Description

The Mesozoic era was an important time in the evolution of elasmobranch and actinopterygian fishes because it was then that most of the modern groups first entered the fossil record and began to radiate. By the end of the era, many archaic forms had disappeared and the foundation had been laid for the ichthyofauna that now exists. Despite this significant evolutionary change, there has been little concerted research done on Mesozoic fishes and no synopsis or compilation of the systematics and paleoecology of Mesozoic fishes has been published, not even for single groups. To remedy this deficiency, Gloria Arratia initiated the symposium "Mesozoic Fishes ? Systematics and Paleoecology". Its goal was to bring together paleontologists and other scientists studying Mesozoic fishes so that they might evaluate current research and form an active research group to press the investigation forward.The meeting generated fruitful discussions and new information that helps to clarify the course of piscine evolution at a crucial time. Phylogenetic relationships of the different groups were the central issue; but attention was given also to questions of biostratigraphy, functional anatomy, and the evolution of histological structures. The results of the symposium presented in this volumen reflect the current state of knowledge about Mesozoic fishes. The new findings described in the 36 papers and the disagreements among authors concerning the phylogenetic relationships of the fishes they have studied is an invitation to further research.