Bringing Fossils to Life

Preface To the Student: Why Study Fossils? PART I: THE FOSSIL RECORD: A WINDOW ON THE PAST1. The Fossil RecordWhat is a Fossil? How Does an Organism Become a Fossil? What Factors Affect the Fossilization Potential of an Organism? What Factors are Required for Extraordinary Preservation? How Good is the Fossil Record? Conclusions 2. Variation in FossilsTheme: Variation; How do Organisms vary during their Lifespans? How do Populations of Organisms Vary? Conclusions 3. Species and Speciation 4. SystematicsWhy Systematics? Evolution and Classification; Competing Systematic Philosophies; Molecular Systematics; Codes of Systematic Nomenclature; Conclusions 5. EvolutionThe Evolution of Evolution; The "Evolutionary Synthesis"; Challenges to the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis; Evolution and the Fossil Record; Conclusions 6. Extinction 7. Functional MorphologyForm and Function; Theoretical Morphology; Functional Hypotheses as Testable Science; Case Studies in Functional Morphology; Conclusions 8. PaleoecologyEcology and Paleoecology; Ecological Relationships; Environmental Limiting Factors; Direct Paleoecological Evidence; Some Ecological Ideas that have been Applied (and Misapplied) to the Fossil Record; Evolutionary Paleoecology; Conclusions 9. BiogeographyOrganisms in Space and Time; Ecological Biogeography; Historical Biogeography; Conclusions 10. BiostratigraphyFaunal Succession; Biostratigraphic Zonations; Factors controlling Fossil Distributions; Biostratigraphic Sampling; The Time Significance of Biostratigraphic Events; North American Land Mammal "Ages" and Biochronology; Resolution, Precision, and Accuracy; Index Fossils and the Global Biostratigraphic Standard; Conclusions PART II: LIFE OF THE PAST AND PRESENT11. Life's Origins and Early EvolutionConcocting the "Primordial Soup"; Mud and Mosh Pits, Kitty Litter and Fool's Gold; Life is a Commune; The Earliest Fossils; Cambrian "Explosion" -- or "Short Fuse"?; Why did Life Change So Slowly Before the Cambrian?; Rocks, Hox, and Molecular Clocks. 12. Micropaleontology: Fossil ProtistansIntroduction; The Kingdoms of Life; Systematics; Foraminifera; Radiolaria; Diatoms; Coccolithophores 13. Colonial Life: Sponges, Archaeocyathans, and Cnidarians 14. The Lophophorates: Brachiopods and Bryozoans 15. Jointed Limbs: The Arthropods 16. Kingdom of the Seashell: The MolluscsIntroduction; Systematics; Mollusc Origins and Diversification; Gastropods; Bivalves; Cephalopods 17. Spiny Skins: The Echinoderms 18. Dry Bones: Vertebrates and their RelativesIntroduction; The Road to Amphioxus; Getting a Head: The Craniates; Jaws: The Gnathostomes; Fish Bones The Osteichthyans; Lobe Fins: The Sarcopterygians; Four on the Floor: The Tetrapods; Land Eggs: The Amniotes; Feathered Dinosaurs: The Birds; Furry Folk: Synapsids and Mammals 19. Fossilized Behavior: Trace Fossils 20. Traces of Earth's Green Mantle: PaleobotanyIntroduction; Plant Taphonomy; The First Photosynthetic Organisms; The Plant Kingdom; Vascular Plants; Tracheophytes; Naked Seeds: The Gymnosperms; Flower Power: The Angiosperm Revolution; Floras through Time Glossary Bibliography Index