The Terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene Transition in North America
The Terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene Transition in North America

Author: Donald R. Prothero

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1996-06-13

Total Pages: 706

ISBN-13: 9780521433877

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The transition from the Eocene to the Oligocene epoch, occurring approximately 47 to 30 million years ago, was the most dramatic episode of climatic and biotic change since the demise of the dinosaurs. The mild tropical climates of the Paleocene and early Eocene were replaced by modern climatic conditions and extremes, including glacial ice in Antarctica. The first part of this book summarizes the latest information in the dating and correlation of the strata of late middle Eocene through early Oligocene age in North America. The second part reviews almost all the important terrestrial reptiles and mammals found near the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, in the White River Chronofauna--from the turtles, snakes and lizards to the common rodents, carnivores, oreodonts and deer of the Badlands. This is the first comprehensive treatment of these topics in over sixty years, and will be invaluable to vertebrate paleontologists, geologists, mammalogists and evolutionary biologists.

Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Volume 1, Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulate Like Mammals
Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Volume 1, Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulate Like Mammals

Author: Christine M. Janis

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1998-05-28

Total Pages: 712

ISBN-13: 9780521355193

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This book is designed as a source and reference for people interested in the history and fossil record of North American tertiary mammals. Each chapter covers a different family or order, and includes information on anatomical features, systematics, the distribution of the genera and species at different fossil localities, and a discussion of their paleobiology. Many of these groups have never been covered in this fashion before.

Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic Mammals of North America
Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic Mammals of North America

Author: Michael O. Woodburne

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2004-04-21

Total Pages: 413

ISBN-13: 0231503784

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This book places into modern context the information by which North American mammalian paleontologists recognize, divide, calibrate, and discuss intervals of mammalian evolution known as North American Land Mammal Ages. It incorporates new information on the systematic biology of the fossil record and utilizes the many recent advances in geochronologic methods and their results. The book describes the increasingly highly resolved stratigraphy into which all available temporally significant data and applications are integrated. Extensive temporal coverage includes the Lancian part of the Late Cretaceous, and geographical coverage includes information from Mexico, an integral part of the North American fauna, past and present.

The Late Eocene Earth
The Late Eocene Earth

Author: Christian Koeberl

Publisher: Geological Society of America

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 081372452X

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The Late Eocene and the Eocene-Oligocene (E-O) transition mark the most profound oceanographic and climatic changes of the past 50 million years of Earth history, with cooling beginning in the middle Eocene and culminating in the major earliest Oligocene Oi-1 isotopic event. The Late Eocene is characterized by an accelerated global cooling, with a sharp temperature drop near the E-O boundary, and significant stepwise floral and faunal turnovers. These global climate changes are commonly attributed to the expansion of the Antarctic ice cap following its gradual isolation from other continental masses. However, multiple extraterrestrial bolide impacts, possibly related to a comet shower that lasted more than 2 million years, may have played an important role in deteriorating the global climate at that time. This book provides an up-to-date review of what happened on Earth at the end of the Eocene Epoch.

Eocene-Oligocene Climatic and Biotic Evolution
Eocene-Oligocene Climatic and Biotic Evolution

Author: Donald R. Prothero

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2014-07-14

Total Pages: 583

ISBN-13: 1400862922

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The transition from the Eocene to the Oligocene epochs was the most significant event in earth history since the extinction of dinosaurs. As the first Antarctic ice sheets appeared, major extinctions and faunal turnovers took place on the land and in the sea, eliminating forms adapted to a tropical world and replacing them with the ancestors of most of our modern animal and plant life. Through a detailed study of climatic conditions and of organisms buried in Eocene-Oligocene sediments, this volume shows that the separation of Antarctica from Australia was a critical factor in changing oceanic circulation and ultimately world climate. In this book forty-eight leading scientists examine the full range of Eocene and Oligocene phenomena. Their articles cover nearly every major group of organisms in the ocean and on land and include evidence from paleontology, stable isotopes, sedimentology, seismology, and computer climatic modeling. The volume concludes with an update of the geochronologic framework of the late Paleogene. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Horns, Tusks, and Flippers
Horns, Tusks, and Flippers

Author: Donald R. Prothero

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9780801871351

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Since the extinction of the dinosaurs, hoofed mammals have been the planet's dominant herbivores. Native to all continents except Australia and Antarctica, recent paleontological and biological discoveries have deepened understanding of their evolution. This text reveals their evolutionary history.

Paleontology of the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado
Paleontology of the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado

Author: Herbert William Meyer

Publisher: Geological Society of America

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 081372435X

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The Florissant formation's fossil beds and petrified forest are interesting in themselves but also shed light on questions of paleoecology, macroevolution, and taphonomy (the study of the process of fossilization). Meyer (National Park Service. Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado) and Smith (U. of Colorado Museum of Natural History--Paleontology/geological sciences, UC, Boulder) introduce 11 papers examining Florissant fossil flora, fauna, mineralogy and geochemistry through different periods and via a model of the role of microbial mats in its preservation. An integrated database/Web site to further related research is also discussed. The monograph is well-illustrated with geologic maps and images of historical figures in the field and specimens, but is not indexed.