Species and Speciation in the Fossil Record
Species and Speciation in the Fossil Record

Author: Warren D. Allmon

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2016-10-05

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 022637744X

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The literature of paleobiology is brimming with qualifiers and cautions about using species in the fossil record, or equating such species with those recognized among living organisms. Species and Speciation in the Fossil Record digs through this literature and surveys the recent research on species in paleobiology. In these pages, experts in the field examine what they think species are - in their particular taxon of specialty or more generally in the fossil record. They also reflect on what the answers mean for thinking about species in macroevolution. The first step in this approach is an overview of the Modern Synthesis, and paleobiology’s development of quantitative ways of documenting and analyzing variation with fossil assemblages. Following that, this volume’s central chapters explore the challenges of recognizing and defining species from fossil specimens, and show how with careful interpretation and a clear species concept, fossil species may be sufficiently robust for meaningful paleobiological analyses. Tempo and mode of speciation over time are also explored, exhibiting how the concept of species, if more refined, can reveal enormous amounts about the interplay between species origins and extinction and local and global climate change.

Freshwater Fishes of North America
Freshwater Fishes of North America

Author: Melvin L. Warren Jr.

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2014-06-15

Total Pages: 665

ISBN-13: 1421412020

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A monumental reference that provides comprehensive details on the freshwater fishes of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Certain to stand among the reference books of choice for anyone interested in the continent’s aquatic ecosystems, Freshwater Fishes of North America covers the ecology, morphology, reproduction, distribution, behavior, taxonomy, conservation, and fossil record of each North American fish family. Volume 1 (of three) covers the following North American families of fishes: Petromyzontidae (Lampreys) Dasyatidae (Whiptail Stingrays) Acipenseridae (Sturgeons) Polyodontidae (Paddlefishes) Lepisosteidae (Gars) Amiidae (Bowfins) Hiodontidae (Mooneyes) Anguillidae (Freshwater Eels) Engraulidae (Anchovies) Cyprinidae (Carps and Minnows) Catostomidae (Suckers) The encyclopedic review of each fish family is accompanied by color photographs, maps, and original artwork created by noted fish illustrator Joseph R. Tomelleri. The result is a rich textual and visual experience. Widely anticipated, this monumental reference is the result of decades of analysis and synthesis by leading fish experts from a variety of universities, research laboratories, museums, and aquariums. The chapter authors of Volume 1 are: William E. Bemis Micah G. Bennett Michael D. Burns Brooks M. Burr Anthony L. Echelle Nicholas J. Gidmark Carter R. Gilbert Howard S. Gill Lance Grande Alex Haro Phillip M. Harris Eric J. Hilton Lisa J. Hopman Gregory Hubbard Bernard R. Kuhajda William J. Matthews Deborah A. McLennan Ian C. Potter Claude B. Renaud Stephen T. Ross Michael Sandel Andrew M. Simons Melvin L. Warren, Jr.

Non-dinosaurian Lower Vertebrates Across the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in Northeastern Montana
Non-dinosaurian Lower Vertebrates Across the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in Northeastern Montana

Author: Laurie J. Bryant

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 1989-01-01

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9780520097353

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00 This study presents current data on vertebrate survival and extinction across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Montana. Nearly all the common taxa of reptiles (except dinosaurs), amphibians, and fish survived the end of the Cretaceous Period; extinctions were concentrated among rare groups and those found in near-shore habitats. The author concludes that ocean regression and climatic deterioration may explain these selective extinction patterns better than catastrophic hypotheses. This study presents current data on vertebrate survival and extinction across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Montana. Nearly all the common taxa of reptiles (except dinosaurs), amphibians, and fish survived the end of the Cretaceous Period; extinctions were concentrated among rare groups and those found in near-shore habitats. The author concludes that ocean regression and climatic deterioration may explain these selective extinction patterns better than catastrophic hypotheses.

Freshwater Fishes
Freshwater Fishes

Author: Lionel Cavin

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2017-05-31

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 0081011415

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With more than 15,000 species, nearly a quarter of the total number of vertebrate species on Earth, freshwater fishes are extremely varied. They include the largest fish species, the beluga at over 7 meters long, and the smallest, the Paedocypris at just 8 millimeters, as well as the carnivorous, such as the piranha, and the calm, such as the Chinese algae eater. Certain species evolve rapidly, cichlids for example, while others transform very slowly, like lungfish. The fossils of these animals are very diverse in nature, sometimes just small scattered bones where sites correspond to ancient river beds or magnificent fossils of entire fish where there was once a lake. This book covers the history of these fishes over the last 250 million years by exploring the links between their biological evolution and the paleogeographic and environmental transformations of our planet, whether these be gradual or sudden. - Gathers and synthetizes data from a vast number of publications regarding past freshwater assemblages and several fish lineages that invaded freshwaters - Describes the work of the author's own team, concerning fauna from the Cretaceous of France, Morocco, and Thailand - Presents the recent results of the tempo of diversification in freshwater environments and the evolutionary histories of clades and gar lineages

Interrelationships of Fishes
Interrelationships of Fishes

Author: Melanie L.J. Stiassny

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 1996-11-08

Total Pages: 511

ISBN-13: 0080534929

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Comprising by far the largest and most diverse group of vertebrates, fishes occupy a broad swathe of habitats ranging from the deepest ocean abyss to the highest mountain lakes. Such incredible ecological diversity and the resultant variety in lifestyle, anatomy, physiology and behavior, make unraveling the evolutionary history of fishes a daunting task. The successor of a classic volume by the same title, Interrelationships of Fishes, provides the latest in the "state of the art" of systematics and classification for many of the major groups of fishes. In providing a sound phylogenetic framework from leading authorities in the field, this book is an indispensable reference for a broad range of biologists, especially students of fish behavior, anatomy, physiology, molecular biology, genetics and ecology--in fact, anyone who wishes to interpret their work on fishes in an evolutionary context. - Provides thorough and comprehensive treatment of the Phylogency of fishes - Assembles an International team of expert contributors - Useful to a wide variety of fish biologists

Through the End of the Cretaceous in the Type Locality of the Hell Creek Formation in Montana and Adjacent Areas
Through the End of the Cretaceous in the Type Locality of the Hell Creek Formation in Montana and Adjacent Areas

Author: Gregory P. Wilson

Publisher: Geological Society of America

Published: 2014-01-21

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 0813725038

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"The chapters represent a surge of field and laboratory research activity, illustrating the impacts of new and refined methods and tools. This volume explores geologic and biologic history preserved in the strata bounding the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary"--Provided by publisher.