Darwin's lost world : the hidden history of animal life / Martin Brasier.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brasier, M. D.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Geology, Stratigraphic--Precambrian.

Geology, Stratigraphic.

Evolution (Biology).

Physical Description:

xiv, 304 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009.

Summary:

Darwin was deeply puzzled. Beyond the rocks of the Cambrian, full of trilobites and other animal fossils, there seemed to be a thundering silence. Where were the ancestors of these animals? Were there long gaps in these ancient rocks? Was the story of the oldest life erased forever?

Martin Brasier gives a vivid, compelling, personal account of the quest for Precambrian life. In an exhilarating journey that takes us to Siberia and Outer Mongolia, he shows what we have learned of the extraordinary creatures of the Precambrian, and the questions that remain.

Contents:

In search of lost worlds

The devil's toenail

A fossilized jelly baby

The first terror with teeth

A worm that changed the world

A mistake point

Reign of the Snow Queen

Through a lens, darkly

Torridon.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-294) and index.

ISBN:

9780199548972

0199548978

OCLC:

269433645