Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids

65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe
Erscheinungsjahr 2005
ISBN: 978-0-231-11641-1
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 328 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 174 mm x 248 mm, Gewicht: 594 g

Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids takes us on a journey through 65 million years, from the aftermath of the extinction of the dinosaurs to the glacial climax of the Pleistocene epoch; from the rain forests of the Paleocene and the Eocene, with their lemur-like primates, to the harsh landscape of the Pleistocene Steppes, home to the woolly mammoth. It is also a journey through space, following the migrations of mammal species that evolved on other continents and eventually met to compete or coexist in Cenozoic Europe. Finally, it is a journey through the complexity of mammalian evolution, a review of the changes and adaptations that have allowed mammals to flourish and become the dominant land vertebrates on Earth.

With the benefit of recent advances in geological and geophysical techniques, Jordi Agustí and Mauricio Antón are able to trace the processes of mammalian evolution as never before; events that hitherto appeared synchronous or at least closely related can now be distinguished on a scale of hundreds or even dozens of thousands of years, revealing the dramatic importance of climactic changes both major and minor. Evolutionary developments are rendered in magnificent illustrations of the many extraordinary species that once inhabited Europe, detailing their osteology, functional anatomy, and inferred patterns of locomotion and behavior. Based on the latest research and field work, Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids transforms our understanding of how mammals evolved and changed the face of the planet.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Agusti, Jordi

Agustí, Jordi

Anton, Mauricio

Antón, Mauricio

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Wirbeltiere (Vertebrata) Säugetiere (Mammalia) Beuteltiere (Monotremen)
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Wirbeltiere (Vertebrata) Säugetiere (Mammalia) Meeres- und Süßwassersäuger
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Wirbeltiere (Vertebrata) Säugetiere (Mammalia) Primaten
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Evolutionsbiologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

PrefaceThe Paleocene: The Dark EpochThe Eocene: Reaching the ClimaxThe Oligocene: A Time of ChangeThe Early to Middle Miocene: When the Continents CollideThe Late Miocene: The Beginning of the CrisisThe Pliocene: The End of a WorldThe Pleistocene: The Age of HumankindIndex

Über Autor(innen)

Jordi Agustí is ICREA Research Professor at the Institut de Paleoecologia Humana in Tarragona, Spain. He is a prominent specialist in fossil mammalian faunas of Europe, having conducted a number of European projects as well as field campaigns in Spain, Georgia, and northern Africa. Mauricio Antón is a paleontological artist based at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. His work has appeared in National Geographic and Natural History. He has collaborated with the Discovery Channel and the BBC, most recently for the program "Sabretooth" and the series Walking with Prehistoric Beasts.