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Author: Bruce J. MacFadden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1994-06-24
Total Pages: 388
ISBN-13: 9780521477086
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe horse has frequently been used as a classic example of long-term evolution because it possesses an extensive fossil record. This book synthesizes the large body of data and research relevant to an understanding of fossil horses from perspectives such as biology, geology, paleontology.
Author: José Luis Prado
Publisher: Springer
Published: 2017-04-25
Total Pages: 157
ISBN-13: 3319558773
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book provides an update on the phylogeny, systematics and ecology of horses in South America based on data provided over the past three decades. The contemporary South American mammalian communities were shaped by the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama and by the profound climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene. Horses were a conspicuous group of immigrant mammals from North America that arrived in South America during the Pleistocene. This group is represented by 2 genera, Hippidion and Equus, which include small species (Hippidion devillei, H. saldiasi, E. andium and E. insulatus) and large forms (Equus neogeus and H. principale). Both groups arrived in South America via 2 different routes. One model designed to explain this migration indicates that the small forms used the Andes corridor, while larger horses used the eastern route and arrived through some coastal areas. Molecular dating (ancient DNA) suggests that the South American horses separated from the North American taxa (caballines and the New World stilt-legged horse) after 3.6 - 3.2 Ma, consistent with the final formation of the Panamanian Isthmus. Recent studies of stable isotopes in these horses indicate an extensive range of 13C values cover closed woodlands to C4 grasslands. This plasticity agrees with the hypothesis that generalist species and open biome specialist species from North America indicate a positive migration through South America.
Author: Tilly Edinger
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Published: 1948
Total Pages: 192
ISBN-13: 0813710251
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Wendy Williams
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Published: 2015-10-27
Total Pages: 336
ISBN-13: 0374709777
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe New York Times bestseller: “Lifelong equestrian enthusiast Williams takes on the topic at full gallop . . . [a] lively, fascinating read.” —Discover A Best Book of 2015, The Wall Street Journal A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Journalist and equestrienne Wendy Williams chronicles the 56-million-year journey of horses as she visits with experts around the world, exploring what our biological affinities and differences can tell us about the bond between horses and humans, and what our longtime companion might think and feel. Indeed, recent scientific breakthroughs regarding the social and cognitive capacities of the horse and its ability to adapt to changing ecosystems indicate that this animal is a major evolutionary triumph. Williams charts the course that leads to our modern Equus-from the protohorse to the Dutch Warmbloods, Thoroughbreds, and cow ponies of the twenty-first century. She observes magnificent ancient cave art in France and Spain that signals a deep respect and admiration for horses well before they were domesticated; visits the mountains of Wyoming with experts in equine behavior to understand the dynamics of free-roaming mustangs; witnesses the fluid gracefulness of the famous Lipizzans of Vienna; contemplates what life is like for the sure-footed, mustachioed Garrano horses who thrive on the rugged terrain of Galicia; meets a family devoted to rehabilitating abandoned mustangs on their New Hampshire farm; celebrates the Takhi horses of Mongolia; and more. She blends profound scientific insights with remarkable stories to create a unique biography of the horse as a sentient being with a fascinating past and a finely nuanced mind.
Author: Rachel C. Benton
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 2015-05-25
Total Pages: 257
ISBN-13: 0253016088
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis guide to the South Dakota region that houses the world’s richest fossil beds does “an excellent job of presenting the current state of knowledge” (Choice). The forbidding Big Badlands in Western South Dakota contain the richest fossil beds in the world. Even today these rocks continue to yield new specimens brought to light by snowmelt and rain washing away soft rock deposited on a floodplain long ago. The quality and quantity of the fossils are superb: most of the species to be found there are known from hundreds of specimens. The fossils in the White River Group (and similar deposits in the American west) preserve the entire late Eocene through the middle Oligocene, roughly 35-30 million years ago and more than thirty million years after non-avian dinosaurs became extinct. The fossils provide a detailed record of a period of abrupt global cooling and what happened to creatures who lived through it. This book is a comprehensive reference to the sediments and fossils of the Big Badlands, and also touches on National Park Service management policies that help protect such significant fossils. Includes photos and illustrations “A worthy successor to the work of O’Harra.” —Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Author: Adrienne Mayor
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2013-10-24
Total Pages: 489
ISBN-13: 1400849314
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe burnt-red badlands of Montana's Hell Creek are a vast graveyard of the Cretaceous dinosaurs that lived 68 million years ago. Those hills were, much later, also home to the Sioux, the Crows, and the Blackfeet, the first people to encounter the dinosaur fossils exposed by the elements. What did Native Americans make of these stone skeletons, and how did they explain the teeth and claws of gargantuan animals no one had seen alive? Did they speculate about their deaths? Did they collect fossils? Beginning in the East, with its Ice Age monsters, and ending in the West, where dinosaurs lived and died, this richly illustrated and elegantly written book examines the discoveries of enormous bones and uses of fossils for medicine, hunting magic, and spells. Well before Columbus, Native Americans observed the mysterious petrified remains of extinct creatures and sought to understand their transformation to stone. In perceptive creation stories, they visualized the remains of extinct mammoths, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine creatures as Monster Bears, Giant Lizards, Thunder Birds, and Water Monsters. Their insights, some so sophisticated that they anticipate modern scientific theories, were passed down in oral histories over many centuries. Drawing on historical sources, archaeology, traditional accounts, and extensive personal interviews, Adrienne Mayor takes us from Aztec and Inca fossil tales to the traditions of the Iroquois, Navajos, Apaches, Cheyennes, and Pawnees. Fossil Legends of the First Americans represents a major step forward in our understanding of how humans made sense of fossils before evolutionary theory developed.
Author: Richard C. Hulbert
Publisher:
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 350
ISBN-13: 9780813018225
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"Hulbert's book provides the first comprehensive review of the fossil vertebrates of Florida, which has one of the richest Cenozoic fossil records of any state in the country. It will be an essential addition to the library of all professional paleontologists, students, and amateurs interested in the history of fossil vertebrates in Florida and the southeastern United States."-- Gary S. Morgan, assistant curator of paleontology, New Mexico Museum of Natural History "A wonderful mix of technical, state-of-the-art information . . . with commentary on everyday fossils that all may have experienced at one time or another. The book is both for the serious student of vertebrate paleontology and for anyone who has an interest in the fossils that may be encountered in Florida."-- David P. Whistler, curator of vertebrate paleontology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Illustrated with hundreds of photographs and drawings, this authoritative yet readable book describes the fossil vertebrates found in Florida--many unique to the state--and summarizes more than 100 years of paleontological discoveries and research. It bridges the sometimes disconnected worlds of the professional paleontologist and the avocational collector and hobbyist. Florida has the richest vertebrate fossil record of any state east of the Mississippi, extending back 45 million years. Beginning with an introduction to vertebrate anatomy, Richard Hulbert describes the geological history of the state and the history of vertebrate life in it. He then addresses such questions as what animals lived in Florida, how they are related to one another and to living animals, when they first appeared and when many of them became extinct, what they ate, and what they tell us about past environments. All types of vertebrates are covered, including sharks and other fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. In addition to exceptionally detailed illustrations (many published for the first time), the book includes a comprehensive list of every verified fossil species ever collected in Florida. Based on the popular Plaster Jacket series of pamphlets written by renowned natural scientists and published by the Florida Paleontological Society, The Fossil Vertebrates of Florida brings information from the last 30 years into an up-to-date, greatly expanded, cohesive book form. Contributors Norman Tessman (sharks, carnivores) Elizabeth S. Wing (skates and rays and, with Camm Swift, bony fish) Walter Auffenberg (snakes, turtles, crocodilians) S. David Webb (proboscideans, peccaries, edentates, camels, ruminants) Robert A. Martin (aquatic rodents) John Waldrop (horses) Jesse S. Robertson (bison) Roy H. Reinhart (sea cows) Steve P. Christman (rattlesnakes) Clayton E. Ray (seals and walruses) Gary S. Morgan (whales and, with Ann E. Pratt, marine mammals) Bruce J. MacFadden (rhinoceroses) Jon A. Baskin (saber-tooth carnivores) Annalisa Berta (dogs) Jonathan J. Becker (birds) Peter A. Meylan (amphibians and reptiles) Richard C. Hulbert, Jr., collection manager for the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, is the author or coauthor of 30 essays and monographs published in scholarly journals, including Nature, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, and Journal of Paleontology.
Author: Jonathan Wells
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2002-01-01
Total Pages: 251
ISBN-13: 159698533X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKEverything you were taught about evolution is wrong.
Author: David Sepkoski
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2015-03-05
Total Pages: 441
ISBN-13: 022627294X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRereading the Fossil Record presents the first-ever historical account of the origin, rise, and importance of paleobiology, from the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1980s. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, David Sepkoski shows how the movement was conceived and promoted by a small but influential group of paleontologists and examines the intellectual, disciplinary, and political dynamics involved in the ascendency of paleobiology. By tracing the role of computer technology, large databases, and quantitative analytical methods in the emergence of paleobiology, this book also offers insight into the growing prominence and centrality of data-driven approaches in recent science.
Author: Lance Grande
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2013-06-14
Total Pages: 438
ISBN-13: 0226922960
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe landscape of southwestern Wyoming around the ghost town of Fossil is beautiful but harsh; a dry, high mountain desert with cool nights and long, cold winters inhabited by a sparse mountain desert community. But during the early Eocene, more than fifty million years ago, it was a subtropical lake, surrounded by volcanoes and forests and teeming with life. Buried within the sun-baked limestone is spectacular evidence of the lush vegetation and plentiful fauna of the ancient past, a transitional ecosystem giving us clues to how North America recovered from a great extinction event that wiped out dinosaurs and the majority of all species on the planet. Paleontologists have been conducting excavations at Fossil Butte for more than 150 years, and with The Lost World of Fossil Lake, one of the world’s leading experts on the fossils from this spectacular locality takes readers on a fascinating journey through the history of the discovery and exploration of the site. Deftly mixing incredible color photographs of the remarkable fossils uncovered at the site with an explanation of their evolutionary significance, Grande presents an unprecedented, comprehensive portrait of the site, its treasures, and what we’ve learned from them. Grande presents a broad range of fossilized organisms from Fossil Lake—from single-celled algae to palm trees to crocodiles—and together they make this long-extinct community come to life in all its diversity and splendor. A field guide and atlas round out the book, enabling readers to identify and classify the majority of the known fossils from the site. Lavishly produced in full color, The Lost World of Fossil Lake is a stunning reminder of the intellectual and physical beauty of scientific investigation—and a breathtaking window onto our planet’s long-lost past.
