Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record (Paperback, 2 ed)

Full contents vii

Preface xi

1 Paleontology as a science 1

2 Fossils in time and space 22

3 Paleogeography and paleoclimates 57

4 Paleoecology

5 Taphonomy and the quality of the fossil record 79

6 Fossil form and function

7 Macroevolution and the tree of life 116

8 Biodiversity, extinction and mass extinction 137

9 The origin of life 183

10 Protists 204

11 Origin of the metazoans 234

12 The basal metazoans: sponges and corals 260

13 Spiralians 1: lophophorates 297

14 Spiralians 2: mollusks 326

15 Ecdysozoa: arthropods 361

16 Deuterostomes: echinoderms and hemichordates 389

17 Fishes and basal tetrapods 427

18 Dinosaurs and mammals 453

19 Fossil plants 479

20 Trace fossils 509

Glossary 554

Appendix 1: Stratigraphic chart 573

Appendix 2: Paleogeographic maps 575

Index 576