The Early Evolution of Metazoa and the Significance of Problematic Taxa (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780521111584)

One of the great enigmas of evolutionary biology has been how to treat animals of problematic systematic position. Many are known only as fossils, so this area has been of particular interest to palaeobiologists. This book represents a wide synthesis. It embraces not only general problems of animal classification of animals and new information on their molecular sequences that bear on their wider relationships, but also addresses more specific problems. These include details appraisals of both living and fossil groups. From the fossil record special emphasis is laid on examples from exceptionally preserved biotas that include the Burgess shale-type faunas of the Cambrian of south China and western North America, the Carboniferous Mazon Creek beds of Illinois, and the Jurassic Osteno beds of northern Italy. In addition, experimental studies of soft-patrt preservation in jellyfish are relevant to comparable preservation in the fossil record.

Author: Alberto M. Simonetta
ISBN-10: 0521111587
ISBN-13: 9780521111584
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 06/11/2009
Pages: 308
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.64lbs
Size: 11.69h x 8.27w x 0.65d