Vertebrate Palaeontology

by Benton, Michael J.

• ISBN13: 9780632056378
• ISBN10: 0632056371
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-12-10
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Vertebrate Palaeontology is a complete, up-to-date history of the evolution of vertebrates. The third edition of this popular text has been extensively revised to incorporate the latest research, including new material from North and South America, Australia, Europe, China, Africa and Russia. Highlights astonishing new discoveries including new dinosaurs and Mesozoic birds from China features a new chapter on how to study fossil vertebrates provides an increased emphasis on the cladistic framework with cladograms set apart from the body of the text and full lists of diagnostic characters includes new molecular evidence on early mammal diversification new features aid study including new functional and developmental feature spreads, key questions and extensive references to useful web sites strong phylogenetic focus making it an up-to-date source of the latest broad-scale systematic data on vertebrate evolution To access the artwork from the book, please visit: www.blackwellpublishing.com/benton. Visit Mike Benton's website at: http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/benton for weblinks listed in the book.

Author Biography

Michael Benton is Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Bristol. He is interested particularly in early reptiles, Triassic dinosaurs and macroevolution, and has published 50 books and 160 scientific articles.

Table of Contents

LIST OF BOXES	viii
PREFACE	x
1 VERTEBRATE ORIGIN	1	(15)
Key questions	2	(1)
Introduction	2	(1)
1.1 Sea squirts and the lancelet	3	(1)
1.2 Phylum Hemichordata: pterobranchs and acorn worms	4	(2)
1.3 Deuterostome relationships	6	(1)
1.4 Chordate origins	7	(7)
1.5 Vertebrates and the head	14	(1)
1.6 Further reading	15	(1)
2 HOW TO STUDY FOSSIL VERTEBRATES	16	(22)
Key questions	17	(1)
Introduction	17	(1)
2.1 Digging up bones	17	(5)
2.2 Geology and fossil vertebrates	22	(6)
2.3 Biology and fossil vertebrates	28	(3)
2.4 Discovering phylogeny	31	(4)
2.5 The quality of the fossil record	35	(328)
2.6 Further reading	363
3 EARLY PALAEOZOIC FISHES	38	(36)
Key questions	39	(1)
Introduction	39	(33)
3.1 Cambrian vertebrates	39	(3)
3.2 Vertebrate hard tissues	42	(1)
3.3 The jawless fishes	43	(8)
3.4 Origin of jaws and gnathostome relationships	51	(4)
3.5 Placodermi: armour-plated monsters	55	(3)
3.6 Chondrichthyes: the first sharks	58	(1)
3.7 Acanthodii: the 'spiny skins'	59	(2)
3.8 Devonian environments	61	(1)
3.9 Osteichthyes: the bony fishes	62	(10)
3.10 Early fish evolution and mass extinction	72	(1)
3.11 Further reading	73	(1)
4 THE EARLY TETRAPODS AND AMPHIBIANS	74	(32)
Key questions	75	(1)
Introduction	75	(1)
4.1 Problems of life on land	75	(4)
4.2 Devonian tetrapods	79	(6)
4.3 The Carboniferous world	85	(2)
4.4 Diversity of Carboniferous tetrapods	87	(10)
4.5 Temnospondyls and reptiliomorphs after the Carboniferous	97	(4)
4.6 Evolution of modern amphibians	101	(4)
4.7 Further reading	105	(1)
5 THE EVOLUTION OF EARLY AMNIOTES	106	(30)
Key questions	107	(1)
Introduction	107	(1)
5.1 Hylonomus and Paleothyris-biology of the first amniotes	107	(4)
5.2 Amniote evolution	111	(1)
5.3 The Permian world	112	(1)
5.4 The early evolution of anapsids and diapsids	113	(7)
5.5 Basal synapsid evolution	120	(13)
5.6 Mass extinction	133	(1)
5.7 Further reading	134	(2)
6 TETRAPODS OF THE TRIASSIC	136	(22)
Key questions	137	(1)
Introduction	137	(1)
6.1 The Triassic scene	137	(1)
6.2 Evolution of the archosauromorphs	138	(9)
6.3 In Triassic seas	147	(6)
6.4 The origin of the dinosaurs	153	(4)
6.5 Further reading	157	(1)
7 THE EVOLUTION OF FISHES AFTER THE DEVONIAN	158	(29)
Key questions	159	(1)
Introduction	159	(1)
7.1 The early sharks and chimaeras	159	(5)
7.2 Post-Palaeozoic chondrichthyan radiation	164	(5)
7.3 The early bony fishes	169	(7)
7.4 Radiation of the teleosts	176	(9)
7.5 Post-Devonian evolution of fishes	185	(1)
7.6 Further reading	186	(1)
8 THE AGE OF DINOSAURS	187	(69)
Key questions	188	(1)
Introduction	188	(57)
8.1 Biology of Plateosaurus	188	(1)
8.2 The Jurassic and Cretaceous world	189	(1)
8.3 The diversity of saurischian dinosaurs	190	(15)
8.4 The diversity of ornithischian dinosaurs	205	(14)
8.5 Were the dinosaurs warm-blooded or not?	219	(5)
8.6 Pterosauria	224	(5)
8.7 Testudines: the turtles	229	(3)
8.8 Crocodylia	232	(5)
8.9 Lepidosauria	237	(8)
8.10 The great sea dragons	245	(2)
8.11 Diversification of Jurassic-Cretaceous reptiles	247	(1)
8.12 The KT event	248	(7)
8.13 Further reading	255	(1)
9 THE BIRDS	256	(32)
Key questions	257	(1)
Introduction	257	(1)
9.1 Archaeopteryx	257	(4)
9.2 The origin of bird flight	261	(4)
9.3 Cretaceous birds, with and without teeth	265	(10)
9.4 The radiation of modern birds	275	(1)
9.5 Flightless birds: Palaeognathae	276	(1)
9.6 Neognathae	277	(9)
9.7 Diversification of birds	286	(1)
9.8 Further reading	286	(2)
10 THE MAMMALS	288	(75)
Key questions	289	(1)
Introduction	289	(56)
10.1 Cynodonts and the acquisition of mammalian characters	289	(9)
10.2 The first mammals	298	(6)
10.3 The Mesozoic mammals	304	(8)
10.4 The marsupials	312	(2)
10.5 South American mammals -a world apart	314	(9)
10.6 Afrotheria and break-up of Gondwana	323	(6)
10.7 The beginning of the age of placental mammals	329	(6)
10.8 Basal Laurasiatherians: insectivores and bats	335	(1)
10.9 Cetartiodactyla: cattle, pigs and whales	336	(9)
10.10 Perissodactyla: grazers and browsers	345	(3)
10.11 Carnivora and Pholidota	348	(5)
10.12 Archonta: primates, tree shrews and flying lemurs	353	(1)
10.13 Glires: rodents, rabbits and relatives	354	(5)
10.14 Ice Age extinction of large mammals	359	(3)
10.15 The pattern of mammalian evolution	362	(1)
10.16 Further reading	362	(1)
11 HUMAN EVOLUTION	363	(26)
Key questions	364	(1)
Introduction	364	(1)
11.1 What are the primates?	364	(2)
11.2 The early fossil record of primates	366	(5)
11.3 Hominoidea: the apes	371	(4)
11.4 Evolution of human characteristics	375	(3)
11.5 The early stages of human evolution	378	(4)
11.6 The past two million years of human evolution	382	(5)
11.7 Further reading	387	(2)
APPENDIX: CLASSIFICATION OF THE VERTEBRATES	389	(15)
GLOSSARY	404	(4)
REFERENCES	408	(31)
INDEX	439