In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs

by Fraser, Nicholas C.; Sues, Hans-Dieter

• ISBN13: 9780521458993
• ISBN10: 0521458994
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-05-01
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

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 is the first attempt 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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii	(2)
List of contributors
Nicholas C. Fraser
Hans-Dieter Sues
Introduction	1	(2)
I Phylogeny	3	(126)
Andrew R. Milner
1 Late Triassic and Jurassic amphibians: fossil record and phylogeny	5	(18)
Olivier Rieppel
2 The Lepidosauromorpha: an overview with special emphasis on the Squamata	23	(15)
Xiao-chun Wu
3 Late Triassic-Early Jurassic sphenodontians from China and the phylogeny of the Sphenodontia	38	(32)
Robert L. Carroll
Rupert Wild
4 Marine members of the Sphenodontia	70	(14)
James M. Clark
5 Patterns of evolution in Mesozoic Crocodyliformes	84	(14)
Zhexi Luo
6 Sister-group relationships of mammals and transformations of diagnostic mammalian characters	98	(31)
II Faunal assemblages	129	(204)
Michael J. Benton
Geoffrey Warrington
Andrew J. Newell
Patrick S. Spencer
7 A review of the British Middle Triassic tetrapod assemblages	131	(30)
Hans-Dieter Sues
Paul E. Olsen
Peter A. Kroehler
8 Small tetrapods from the Upper Triassic of the Richmond basin (Newark Supergroup), Virginia	161	(10)
Fran Tannenbaum Kaye
Kevin Padian
9 Microvertebrates from the Placerias Quarry: a window on Late Triassic vertebrate diversity in the American Southwest	171	(26)
Denise Sigogneau-Russell
Gerhard Hahn
10 Late Triassic microvertebrates from central Europe	197	(17)
Nicholas C. Fraser
11 Assemblages of small tetrapods from British Late Triassic fissure deposits	214	(13)
Adrian P. Hunt
Spencer G. Lucas
12 Ornithischian dinosaurs from the Upper Triassic of the United States	227	(15)
Neil H. Shubin
Paul E. Olsen
Hans-Dieter Sues
13 Early Jurassic small tetrapods from the McCoy Brook Formation of Nova Scotia, Canada	242	(9)
Zhexi Luo
Xiao-chun Wu
14 The small tetrapods of the Lower Lufeng Formation, Yunnan, China	251	(20)
Susan E. Evans
Kenneth A. Kermack
15 Assemblages of small tetrapods from the Early Jurassic of Britain	271	(13)
Hans-Dieter Sues
James M. Clark
Farish A. Jenkins, Jr.
16 A review of the Early Jurassic tetrapods from the Glen Canyon Group of the American Southwest	284	(11)
James M. Clark
Marisol Montellano
James A. Hopson
Rene Hernandez
David E. Fastovsky
17 An Early or Middle Jurassic tetrapod assemblage from the La Boca Formation, northeastern Mexico	295	(8)
Susan E. Evans
Andrew R. Milner
18 Middle Jurassic microvertebrate assemblages from the British Isles	303	(19)
Sara J. Metcalf
Rachel J. Walker
19 A new Bathonian microvertebrate locality in the English Midlands	322	(11)
III Faunal change	333	(98)
Spencer G. Lucas
Adrian P. Hunt
20 The chronology and paleobiogeography of mammalian origins	335	(17)
Michael J. Simms
Alastair H. Ruffell
Andrew L.A. Johnson
21 Biotic and climatic changes in the Carnian (Triassic) of Europe and adjacent areas	352	(14)
Michael J. Benton
22 Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic extinctions among continental tetrapods: testing the pattern	366	(32)
Nicholas C. Fraser
Hans-Dieter Sues
23 Comments on Benton's "Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic extinctions among continental tetrapods"	398	(3)
Kevin Padian
24 What were the tempo and mode of evolutionary change in the Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic?	401	(7)
Paul E. Olsen
Annika K. Johansson
25 Field guide to Late Triassic tetrapod sites in Virginia and North Carolina	408	(23)
Taxonomic index	431