The Rise of Amphibians: 365 Million Years of Evolution

Erscheinungsjahr 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8018-9140-3
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 392 Seiten, Format (B × H): 224 mm x 284 mm, Gewicht: 1375 g

2009 Outstanding Academic Title, ChoiceHonorable Mention, Biological and Life Sciences, 2009 PROSE Awards, Professional and Scholarly Publishing division of the Association of American Publishers

For nearly 100 million years, amphibians and their ancestors dominated the terrestrial and shallow water environments of the earth. Archaic animals with an amphibious way of life gave rise not only to modern frogs, salamanders, and caecilians but also to the ancestors of reptiles, birds, and mammals. In this landmark publication, one of the leading paleontologists of our time explores a pivotal moment in vertebrate evolution, the rise of amphibians.

Synthesizing findings from the rich and highly diverse fossil record of amphibians, Robert Carroll traces their origin back 365 million years, when particular species of fish traveled down an evolutionary pathway of fin modification that gave rise to legs. This period of dramatic radiation was followed by a cataclysmic extinction 250 million years ago. After a long gap, modern amphibian groups gradually emerged. Now the number of amphibian species and individuals throughout the tropical and temperate regions of the earth exceeds that of mammals.

The Rise of Amphibians is documented with more than two hundred illustrations of fossil amphibians and sixteen exquisite color plates depicting amphibians in their natural habitats throughout their long existence. The most comprehensive examination of amphibian evolution ever produced, The Rise of Amphibians is an essential resource for paleontologists, herpetologists, geologists, and evolutionary biologists.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Carroll, Robert

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Wirbeltiere (Vertebrata) Reptilien
• Geowissenschaften Geologie Paläontologie, Taphonomie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Evolutionsbiologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Wirbeltiere (Vertebrata) Amphibien
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften, Biologie: Sachbuch, Naturführer

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. History of the Earth and Life
2. Advanced Metazoans and the Ancestry of Vertebrates
3. The Origin of Amphibians
4. The Radiation of Carboniferous Amphibians
5. Adaptation, Radiation, and Relationships
6. The Zenith of Amphibian Diversity
7. The Origin of Amniotes: Escape from the Water
8. Stereospondyls: Escape from the Land
9. The Enigma of Modern Amphibian Origins
10. The Ancestry of Frogs
11. The Ancestry of Salamanders
12. Eocaecilia and the Origin of Caecilians
13. The Success of Modern Amphibians
14. The Future of Amphibians
Abbreviations Used in Illustrations
Glossary
References
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Carroll, Robert
Robert Carroll, professor emeritus at McGill University, was the long-time director of the Redpath Museum and chairman of the Department of Biology and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is among the world’s most highly regarded experts on the evolution of amphibians and reptiles. Carroll is the author of several books, including Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution.

Robert Carroll, professor emeritus at McGill University, was the long-time director of the Redpath Museum and chairman of the Department of Biology and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is among the world’s most highly regarded experts on the evolution of amphibians and reptiles. Carroll is the author of several books, including Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution.