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Handbook of Paleoanthropology

Author: Winfried Henke

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-05-10

Total Pages: 2057

ISBN-13: 3540324747

This 3-volume handbook brings together contributions by the world ́s leading specialists that reflect the broad spectrum of modern palaeoanthropology, thus presenting an indispensable resource for professionals and students alike. Vol. 1 reviews principles, methods, and approaches, recounting recent advances and state-of-the-art knowledge in phylogenetic analysis, palaeoecology and evolutionary theory and philosophy. Vol. 2 examines primate origins, evolution, behaviour, and adaptive variety, emphasizing integration of fossil data with contemporary knowledge of the behaviour and ecology of living primates in natural environments. Vol. 3 deals with fossil and molecular evidence for the evolution of Homo sapiens and its fossil relatives.

Evolution of Life

Author: Syozo Osawa

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 443168302X

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Nearly thirty million species of organisms are believed to now live on Earth. In addition to accumulating evidence from classical biology, paleontology and earth science, the recent progress of molecular biology has provided new insights into understanding how present-day organisms have evolved with such tremendous diversity. Molecular biological studies show us that all living forms, including E. coli and human beings, derive from a single ancestor that emerged some 4 billion years ago on Earth. This volume aims to discuss the motifs of organismic evolution from the viewpoints of biogeo-interactions and diversification of the genetic systems. Based on these fundamental understandings, the last section of this volume is devoted to human evolution that includes phylogeny of man as well as evolution of human culture. Such comprehensive discussion will give us a synthesized view of the evolution of life, that is undoubtedly one of the most important problems not only for science but also for human culture in general.

Carnivoran Evolution

Author: Anjali Goswami

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-07-29

Total Pages: 506

ISBN-13: 9780521735865

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Members of the mammalian clade Carnivora have invaded nearly every continent and ocean, evolving into bamboo-eating pandas, clam-eating walruses and of course, flesh-eating sabre-toothed cats. With this ecological, morphological and taxonomic diversity and a fossil record spanning over sixty million years, Carnivora has proven to be a model clade for addressing questions of broad evolutionary significance. This volume brings together top international scientists with contributions that focus on current advances in our understanding of carnivoran relationships, ecomorphology and macroevolutionary patterns. Topics range from the palaeoecology of the earliest fossil carnivorans to the influences of competition and constraint on diversity and biogeographic distributions. Several studies address ecomorphological convergences among carnivorans and other mammals with morphometric and Finite Element analyses, while others consider how new molecular and palaeontological data have changed our understanding of carnivoran phylogeny. Combined, these studies also illustrate the diverse suite of approaches and questions in evolutionary biology and palaeontology.

Functional Morphology in Vertebrate Paleontology

Author: Jeff Thomason

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1997-10-28

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780521629218

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Looks at how fossil vertebrates moved, fed and reproduced.

Fossils, Phylogeny, and Form

Author: Jonathan M. Adrain

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 1461505712

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Phylogenetic analysis and morphometrics have been developed by biologists into rigorous analytic tools for testing hypotheses about the relationships between groups of species. This book applies these tools to paleontological data. The fossil record is our one true chronicle of the history of life, preserving a set of macroevolutionary patterns; thus various hypotheses about evolutionary processes can be tested in the fossil record using phylogentic analysis and morphometrics. The first book of its type, Fossils, Phylogeny, and Form will be useful in evolutionary biology, paleontology, systematics, evolutionary development, theoretical biology, biogeography, and zoology. It will also provide a practical, researcher-friendly gateway into computer-based phylogenetics and morphometrics.

Phylogenetic Comparative Methods: A User's Guide for Paleontologists

Author: Laura C. Soul

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-05-27

Total Pages: 77

ISBN-13: 1108897355

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Recent advances in statistical approaches called phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) have provided paleontologists with a powerful set of analytical tools for investigating evolutionary tempo and mode in fossil lineages. However, attempts to integrate PCMs with fossil data often present workers with practical challenges or unfamiliar literature. This Element presents guides to the theory behind and the application of PCMs with fossil taxa. Based on an empirical dataset of Paleozoic crinoids, example analyses are presented to illustrate common applications of PCMs to fossil data, including investigating patterns of correlated trait evolution and macroevolutionary models of morphological change. The authors emphasize the importance of accounting for sources of uncertainty and discuss how to evaluate model fit and adequacy. Finally, the authors discuss several promising methods for modeling heterogeneous evolutionary dynamics with fossil phylogenies. Integrating phylogeny-based approaches with the fossil record provides a rigorous, quantitative perspective on understanding key patterns in the history of life.

The Primate Fossil Record

Author: Walter Carl Hartwig

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002-04-11

Total Pages: 554

ISBN-13: 9780521663151

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A comprehensive treatment of primate paleontology. Profusely illustrated and up to date, it captures the complete history of the discovery and interpretation of primate fossils. The chapters range from primate origins to the advent of anatomically modern humans. Each emphasizes three key components of the record of primate evolution: history of discovery, taxonomy of the fossils, and evolution of the adaptive radiations they represent. The Primate Fossil Record summarizes objectively the many intellectual debates surrounding the fossil record and provides a foundation of reference information on the last two decades of astounding discoveries and worldwide field research for physical anthropologists, paleontologists and evolutionary biologists.

Arthropod Fossils and Phylogeny

Author: Gregory D. Edgecombe

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 0231096542

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Gregory Edgecombe has assembled premier specialists in the study of arthropods, each of whom addresses a major issue in arthropod diversity by reviewing evidence of key fossils from a common perspective and examining the interplay between extinct and extant species through inference of the structure of the arthropod evolutionary tree.With the most complete collection of modern perspectives on the history of Arthropoda, this volume advances the current debate on paleontology's role in discovering life's hierarchy. Of interest to specialists in a wide range of fields including paleontology, petroleum geology, oceanography, and entomology, Arthropod Fossils and Phylogeny will be the standard general reference on arthropod paleontology for years to come.

Late Cenozoic Environments and Hominid Evolution

Author: Peter Andrews

Publisher: Geological Society of London

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 9781862390362

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"Part 3. Quaternary Environments, with particular emphases on the English Midlands, western Scotland and southern Africa."--BOOK JACKET. "Throughout this commemorative volume, the determination of editors and authors to place the results of specialist research into their environmental context is perhaps the clearest indication of the visionary influence of Bill Bishop."--BOOK JACKET.