| Description |
xv, 326 pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 30 cm |
| Contents |
The background. The Archean (4.5 million to 2500 million years ago) / P. Vickers-Rich and M.A. Fedonkin -- The background. The Proterozoic (2.5 billion to 542 million years ago) / P. Vickers-Rich and M.A. Fedonkin -- The misty coasts of Newfoundland / G.M. Narbonne, J.G. Gehling and P. Vickers-Rich -- The Nama fauna of southern Africa / P. Vickers-Rich -- The Ediacara Hills / J.G. Gehling and P. Vickers-Rich -- The White Sea's windswept coasts / M.A. Fedonkin and P. Vickers-Rich -- Podolia's green valleys / M.A. Fedonkin and P. Vickers-Rich -- The Siberian tundra / M.A. Fedonkin and P. Vickers-Rich -- The Urals / M.A. Fedonkin and P. Vickers-Rich -- The Canadian Cordillera / Guy M. Narbonne -- Beyond the major sites / P. Vickers-Rich and M.A. Fedonkin -- First trace of motion / M.A. Fedonkin and P. Vickers-Rich -- The world of the very small : fueling the Animalia / K. Grey -- Body plans, strange and familiar, and the enigma of 542 / P. Vickers-Rich -- Atlas of Precambrian metazoans / P. Vickers-Rich ... [et al.] |
| Summary |
"Among the major events in evolutionary history, few rival in importance the appearance of animals. The Rise of Animals - a significant reference providing a comprehensive synthesis of the early radiation of the animal kingdom - fully captures this moment in geologic time." "Five of the world's leading paleontologists take us on a journey to the most important fossil sites that serve as unique windows to the earliest animal life - including the Ediacara Hills of Australia, the Russian taiga and tundra, the deserts of southwest Africa, and the rugged coasts of Newfoundland. Each of these places holds a rich fossil record that reveals how the animal form came into existence and why some groups succeeded while others failed. The authors describe the diversification of the Kingdom Animalia into the familiar body plans of today: from simple animals, such as sponges, to complex groups like mollusks, arthropods, echinoderms, and chordates." |
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"This illustrated book reveals the early moments of an evolutionary process that eventually resulted in our own species. An essential resource for paleontologists, biologists, geologists, and teachers, The Rise of Animals is the best single reference on one of earth's most significant events."--BOOK JACKET |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-313) and index |
| Subject |
Geology, Stratigraphic -- Proterozoic.
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Paleontology -- Proterozoic.
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Biodiversity.
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Organisms.
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Life -- Origin.
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Evolution.
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| Author |
Fedonkin, M. A. (Mikhail Aleksandrovich)
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| LC no. |
2007061351 |
| ISBN |
9780801886799 hardcover alkaline paper |
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0801886791 hardcover alkaline paper |
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