| Description |
1 online resource (423 pages) : illustrations |
| Contents |
Cover ; Title Page ; Copyright ; Contents ; Preface ; Acknowledgements ; Illustrations ; 1 What Is Palaeontology? ; 1.1 Palaeontology: the Study of Ancient Life ; 1.2 The Scope of Palaeontology ; 1.3 The Aim and Structure of This Book ; PART I. KEY CONCEPTS ; 2 Fossils and Fossilisation ; 2.1 What Are Fossils? ; 2.2 Taphonomy: the Process of Fossilisation ; 2.2.1 Death of the Organism ; 2.2.2 Effects on the Dead Organism Before Burial ; 2.2.3 Effects on the Dead Organism After Burial ; 2.2.4 The Preservation of Trace Fossils ; 2.3 Is the Fossil Record Complete? |
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2.4 Lagerstätten: Windows on an Ancient World 2.5 Summary of Key Points ; 2.6 Suggested Reading ; 3 Fossils as Living Rganlsms ; 3.1 Early Concepts of Fossils ; 3.2 The Concept of the Species in Palaeontology ; 3.3 Taxonomic Hierarchy: The System of Nature ; 3.4 Taxonomic Uniformitarianism: the Basis for Reconstruction of Fossil Organisms ; 3.5 Introduction to Palaeoecology ; 3.5.1 Palaeosynecology ; 3.5.2 Palaeoautecology ; 3.5.3 The Role of Trace Fossils in Palaeoecology ; 3.5.4 Palaeoenvironmental Analysis ; 3.6 Summary of Key Points ; 3.7 Suggested Reading ; 4 Fossils and Evolution |
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4.1 The Process of Organic Evolution 4.1.1 Darwinian Theory ; 4.1.2 Heredity and Genetics ; 4.1.3 Natural Selection ; 4.2 Palaeontology and Evolution ; 4.2.1 Microevolution: The Small-scale Changes ; 4.2.2 Macroevolution: The Broad Patterns ; 4.3 Summary of Key Points ; 4.4 Suggested Reading ; 5 Fossils and Stratigraphy ; 5.1 Principles of Stratigraphy ; 5.2 Faunal and Floral Succession ; 5.3 Biostratigraphy ; 5.3.1 Guide Fossils: The Tools of Biostratigraphy ; 5.3.2 The Basic Unit of Biostratigraphy: The Biozone ; 5.4 Chronostratigraphy ; 5.5 Summary of Key Points ; 5.6 Further Reading |
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6 Summary of Part I PART II. THE MAIN FOSSIL GROUPS; 7 Introduction to the Fossil Record ; 7.1 Major Features of the Fossil Record ; 7.1.1 Life in the Precambrian ; Archaean Life ; Proterozoic Life ; 7.1.2 Life in the Phanerozoic ; The Development of the Phanerozoic Invertebrate Fauna ; The Evolution of the Terrestrial Flora ; The Development of the Vertebrates ; 7.2 The Main Fossil Groups ; 7.3 Summary of Key Points ; 7.4 Suggestions for Further Reading ; 8 Molluscs: Bivalves and Gastropods ; 8.1 Bivalve and Gastropod Taxonomy ; 8.1.1 General Characteristics of Bivalves |
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8.1.2 General Characteristics of Gastropods 8.1.3 Classification of Bivalves and Gastropods ; 8.2 Bivalve Shell Morphology ; 8.3 Gastropod Shell Morphology ; 8.4 Bivalve and Gastropod Evolution ; 8.4.1 The Molluscan Archetype ; 8.4.2 Bivalve Evolution ; 8.4.3 Gastropod Evolution ; 8.5 Bivalve and Gastropod Applications ; 8.5.1 Palaeobiology ; Functional Morphology ; Evolution ; 8.5.2 Palaeoenvironmental Analysis ; 8.5.3 Stratigraphy ; 8.6 Suggested Reading ; 9 Molluscs: Cephalopods ; 9.1 Cephalopod Taxonomy ; 9.1.1 General Characteristics of Cephalopods ; 9.1.2 Cephalopod Classification |
| Summary |
The first introductory palaeontology text which demonstrates the importance of selected fossil groups in geological and biological studies, particularly in understanding evolutionary patterns, palaeoenvironmental analysis, and stratigraphy. Part one explores several key concepts, such as the processes of fossil preservation, the determination of evolutionary patterns, and use of fossils and statigraphical tools. Part two introduces the main fossil groups of value in these applied fields. Part three concentrates on the examination of important case histories which demonstrate the use of fossils |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Invertebrates, Fossil.
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NATURE -- Fossils.
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Invertebrates, Fossil
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
Lowry, Florence M. D., contributor
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| ISBN |
9781119029267 |
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1119029260 |
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