In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods

by Nicholas C. Fraser, Hans-Dieter Sues

Overview

This book is the first attempt to collate all the information known to date on the small vertebrates, e.g. mammals, crocodiles, turtles, lizards, frogs, salamanders, etc., and features contributions by experts with international reputations in their fields. There are chapters on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the key vertebrate groups followed by a section dealing with the most significant fossiliferous assemblages worldwide. The final section looks at how faunal turnover at this time is measured and examines the possibility of mass extinctions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521458993
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/28/1997
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 9.92(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments; List of contributors; Introduction Nicholas C. Fraser and Hans-Dieter Sues; Part I. Phylogeny: Introduction; 1. Late Triassic and Jurassic amphibians: fossil record and phylogeny Andrew Milner; 2. The Lepidosauromorpha: an overview with special emphasis on the Squamata Olivier Rieppel; 3. Late Triassic-Early Jurassic sphenodontians from China and the phylogeny of the Sphenodontia Xiao-chun Wu; 4. Marine members of the Sphenodontia Robert L. Carroll and Rupert Wild; 5. Patterns of evolution in Mesozoic Crocodyliformes James M. Clark; 6. Sister-group relationships of mammals and transformations of diagnostic mammalian characters Zhexi Luo; Part II. Faunal Assemblages: 7. A review of the British Middle Triassic tetrapod assemblages Michael J. Benton, Geoffrey Warrington, Andrew J. Newell and Patrick S. Spencer; 8. Small tetrapods from the Upper Triassic of the Richmond Basin, Virginia Hans-Dieter Sues; 9. Microvertebrates from the Placerias Quarry: a window on Late Triassic vertebrate diversity in the American Southwest Fran Tannenbaum Kaye and Kevin Padian; 10. Late Triassic microvertebrates from central Europe Denise Sigogneau and Gerhard Hahn; 11. Assemblages of small tetrapods from British Late Triassic fissure deposits Nicholas C. Fraser; 12. Ornithiscian dinosaurs from the Upper Triassic of the United States Adrian P. Hunt and Spencer G. Lucas; 13. Early Jurassic small tetrapods from the McCoy Brook formation of Nova Scotia Neil H. Shubin, Paul E. Olsen and Hans-Dieter Sues; 14. The small tetrapods of the Lower Lufeng Formation, Yunnan, China Zhexi Luo and Xiao-chun Wu; 15. Assemblages of small tetrapods from the Early Jurassic of Britain Susan E. Evans and Kenneth A. Kermack; 16. A review of the Early Jurassic tetrapods from the Glen Canyon Group of the American Southwest Hans-Dieter Sues, James M. Clark and Farish A. Jenkins, Jr; 17. An Early or Middle Jurassic tetrapod assemblage from the La Boca Formation, northeastern Mexico James M. Clark, Marisol Montellano, James A. Hopson, René Hernández and David Fastovsky; 18. Middle Jurassic microvertebrate assemblages from the British Isles Susan E. Evans and Andrew Milner; 19. A new Bathonian microvertebrate locality in the English Midlands Sara J. Metcalf and Rachel J. Walker; Part III. Faunal Change: 20. The chronology and biogeography of mammalian origins Spencer G. Lucas and Adrian P. Hunt; 21. Biotic and climatic changes in the Carnian (Triassic) of Europe and adjacent areas Michael J. Simms, Alastair H. Ruffell and Andrew L. A. Johnson; 22. Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic extinctions among continental tetrapods Michael J. Benton; 23. Comments on 'Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic extinctions among continental tetrapods' Nicholas C. Fraser and Hans-Dieter Sues; 24. What was the tempo and mode of evolutionary change in the Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic? Kevin Padian; 25. Field trip guide: field guide to three late Triassic tetrapod sites in Virginia and North Carolina Paul E. Olsen and Annika K. Johansson.

Editorial Reviews

"...reviews and resolves a number of old questions....also explores unresolved topics and even raises several new questions." David Weishampel, Nature

"...delves into an interval and a set of vertebrate species that is particularly relevant to the biodiversity of the modern world...as a manual to begin investigating the workings of the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic world, this is a good book." Science

"The papers are wide-ranging, well illustrated, and authoritative, and the editors appear to have kept the authors tightly focused." E. Delson, Choice

"The papers are wide-ranging, well illustrated, and authoritative, and the editors appear to have kept the authors tightly focused." E. Delson, Choice

"...a comprehensive and integrated work....the book succeeds admirably, containing clear and concise reviews of the key areas and representing an excellent starting point for forays into the primary literature." Michael S.Y. Lee, TREE

"...a beautifully produced and substantial book. Its contents are scholarly, enormously interesting, and on the whole clearly written....This book is a 'must' for any academic library harbouring any palaeontological pretensions." Ian Jenkins, Geological Magazine

From the Publisher