Morphological Change in Quaternary Mammals of North America [Hardcover]

Robert A. Martin (Editor), Anthony D. Barnosky (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521404509 | ISBN-13: 978-0521404501 | Publication Date: September 24, 1993

This book examines case studies of North American Quaternary mammalian evolution within the larger domain of modern evolutionary theory. It presents previously unpublished studies of a variety of taxa (xenarthrans, rodents, carnivores, ungulates) examined over several temporal scales, from a few thousand years during the Holocene to millions of years of late Pliocene and Pleistocene time. Different organizational levels are represented, from mosaic population variation, to a synopsis of Quaternary evolution of an entire order (Rodentia). In addition to specific case histories, the book includes purely theoretical and methodological contributions, for example, on the statistical recognition of stasis in the fossil record, new ways to calculate evolutionary rates, and the use of digital image analysis in the study of dental ontogeny. Perhaps the most important aspect of the studies reported in this book is that they span the time between the "ecological moment" and "deep time". Modern taxa can be traced back into the fossil record, and variation among extant taxa can be used as a control against which variation in the extinct ones can be understood.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...demonstrates the contribution that studies of Quaternary mammals can make to general evolutionary theory. Several of the contributions will provoke argument, and all will stimulate discussion and further work." Ernest L. Lundelius Jr., Science

Book Description

This book examines case studies of North American Quaternary mammalian evolution within the larger domain of modern evolutionary theory. In addition to specific case histories, the book includes purely theoretical and methodological contributions, new ways to calculate evolutionary rates, and the use of digital image analysis in the study of dental ontogeny.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 427 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 24, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521404509
• ISBN-13: 978-0521404501
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,707,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert A. Martin (1944- ) is a Professor of Biology and active vertebrate paleontologist. He works with the evolution of small mammals and small mammal communities over the past 5-6 million years. He is particularly interested in testing evolutionary and ecological theory at the species level at the chronological scale of millions of years, choosing to work with groups that leave a dense fossil record that can be followed over millions of years into modern time. He continues extensive fieldwork in Kansas, Nebraska and southern Spain. His research has been supported by the National Geographic Society and the National Science Foundation. He has published many scientific contributions in journals and books, and recently published the book "Missing Links: Evolutionary Concepts and Transitions Through Time" with Jones & Bartlett (2004). The book includes a primer on evolutionary principles and a compendium of examples of transitions in the fossil record, from the grandest reaches of time (origin of life) to the detailed histories of specific animal groups (whales, horses, tetrapods, mammal-like reptiles, etc.). The book was specifically written to respond to the creationist-evolution controversy by providing evidence for connections between animal groups in the fossil record.