Avian evolution : the fossil record of birds and its paleobiological significance / Gerald Mayr, Senckenberg Research Institute Franfurt, Senckenberganlage, Germany.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mayr, Gerald, author.

Series:

Topics in paleobiology

Topics in paleobiology series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Birds, Fossil.

Paleobiology.

Birds--Evolution.

Birds.

Evolutionary paleobiology.

Physical Description:

xii, 293 pages, 16 pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

Chichester, West Sussex ; Hoboken, NJ : Wiley Blackwell/John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2017.

Summary:

Knowledge of the evolutionary history of birds has much improved in recent decades. Fossils from critical time periods are being described at unprecedented rates and modern phylogenetic analyses have provided a framework for the interrelationships of the extant groups. This book gives an overview of the avian fossil record and its paleobiological significance, and is the only up-to-date textbook that covers both Mesozoic and more modern-type Cenozoic birds in some detail. The reader is introduced to key features of basal avians and the morphological transformations that have occurred in the evolution towards modern birds. An account of the Cenozoic fossil record sheds light on the biogeographic history of the extant avian groups and discusses fossils in the context of current phylogenetic hypotheses. This review of the evolutionary history of birds is aimed at students and established researchers, and may also be a useful source of information for anyone else with an interest in the evolution of birds and a background in biology and geology. The Topics in Paleobiology Series is published in collaboration with the Palaeontological Association, and is edited by Professor Michael Benton, University of Bristol. Book jacket.

Contents:

An introduction to birds, the geological settings of their evolution, and the avian skeleton

The origin of birds

The Mesozoic flight way towards modern birds

Mesozoic birds : interrelationships and character evolution

The interrelationships and origin of crown group birds (Neornithes)

Palaeognathous birds (ostriches, tinamous, and allies)

Galloanseres : "fowl" and kin

The "difficult-to-place groups" : biogeographic surprises and aerial specialists

Shorebirds, cranes, and relatives

Aequornithes : aquatic and semi-aquatic carnivores

Cariamiforms and diurnal birds of prey

The Cenozoic radiation of small arboreal birds

Insular avifaunas now and then, on various scales.

Notes:

Book available in 2016.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 248-267) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Mayr, Gerald. Avian evolution

ISBN:

9781119020769

111902076X

OCLC:

950901952