Fossils provide a powerful tool for the study of the nearly
4-billion-year history of life, and its role in the evolution of
Earth systems. They also provide important data for evolutionary
studies, and contribute to our understanding of the extinction of
organisms and the origins of modern biodiversity.
Fossils At A Glance is written for students taking an
introductory level course in paleontology. Short chapters introduce
the main topics in the modern study of fossils. The most important
fossil groups are discussed, from microfossils through
invertebrates to vertebrates and plants, followed by a brief
narrative of life on Earth.
Diagrams are central to the book and allow the reader to see
most of the important data ‘at a glance’. Each topic
covers two pages and provides a self-contained suite of information
or a starting point for future study.
This second edition has been thoroughly revised and brought up
to date. It includes new line diagrams as well as photographs
of selected fossils
Table of Content
Acknowledgments.
1. Introduction.
2. Fossil classification and evolution.
3. Sponges.
4. Corals.
5. Bryozoans.
6. Brachiopods.
7. Echinoderms.
8. Trilobites.
9. Mollusks.
10. Graptolites.
11. Vertebrates.
12. Land plants.
13. Microfossils.
14. Trace fossils.
15. Precambrian life.
16. Phanerozoic life.
Reading list.
Geological timescale.
Index.
About the author
Clare Milsom is Head of Learning and Teaching Development at Liverpool John Moores University, UK She has a Ph D from Liverpool University and her main research interests are in exceptionally preserved crinoids, functional morphology, and evolution.
Sue Rigby is Assistant Principal for Taught Postgraduate Degrees at the University of Edinburgh, UK. She has a Ph D from Cambridge and concentrates her research on the evolution of plankton and the functional morphology of graptolites.
Both authors enjoy teaching and have substantial experience in presenting paleontology to earth science and biology students.
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