Palaeobiology II

Palaeobiology: A Synthesis was widely acclaimed both for its content and production quality.

Ten years on, Derek Briggs and Peter Crowther have once again brought together over 150 leading authorities from around the world to produce Palaeobiology II. Using the same successful formula, the content is arranged as a series of concise articles, taking a thematic approach to the subject, rather than treating the various fossil groups systematically.

This entirely new book, with its diversity of new topics and over 100 new contributors, reflects the exciting developments in the field, including accounts of spectacular newly discovered fossils, and embraces data from other disciplines such as astrobiology, geochemistry and genetics.

Palaeobiology II will be an invaluable resource, not only for palaeontologists, but also for students and researchers in other branches of the earth and life sciences.

• Written by an international team of recognised authorities in the field.
• Content is concise but informative.
• Demonstrates how palaeobiological studies are at the heart of a range of scientific themes.

List of Contributors, ix

Foreword, xv
e.n.k. clarkson

1 Major Events in the History of Life

1.1 Early Life, 3

1.1.1 Origin of Life, 3
a. lazcano

1.1.2 Exploring for a Fossil Record of Extraterrestrial Life, 8
j.d. farmer

1.1.3 Life in the Archaean, 13
r. buick

1.1.4 Late Proterozoic Biogeochemical Cycles, 22
g.a. logan and r.e. summons

1.2 The Cambrian Radiation, 25

1.2.1 Metazoan Origins and Early Evolution, 25
d.h. erwin

1.2.2 Significance of Early Shells, 31
s. conway morris

1.2.3 Cambrian Food Webs, 40
n.j. butterfield

1.2.4 The Origin of Vertebrates, 43
m.p. smith and i.j. sansom

1.3 Palaeozoic Events, 49

1.3.1 Ordovician Radiation, 49
a.i. miller

1.3.2 Rise of Fishes, 52
j.a. long

1.3.3 Evolution of Reefs, 57
r.a. wood

1.3.4 Early Land Plants, 63
d. edwards

1.3.5 Afforestation —the First Forests, 67
s.e. scheckler

1.3.6 Terrestrialization of Animals, 71
p.a. selden

1.3.7 Origin of Tetrapods, 74
m.i. coates

1.3.8 Carboniferous Coal-swamp Forests, 79
w.a. dimichele

1.3.9 Rise and Diversification of Insects, 82
c.c. labandeira

1.3.10 Origin of Mammals, 88
j.a. hopson

1.4 Mesozoic Events, 94

1.4.1 Mesozoic Marine Revolution, 94
p.h. kelley and t.a. hansen

1.4.2 Origin and Radiation of Angiosperms, 97
e.m. friis, k.r. pedersen and p.r. crane

1.4.3 Rise of Birds, 102
l.m. chiappe

1.5 Cenozoic Events, 106

1.5.1 Evolution of Modern Grasslands and Grazers, 106
t.e. cerling

1.5.2 Radiation of Tertiary Mammals, 109
c.m. janis

1.5.3 Rise of Modern Land Plants and Vegetation, 112
m.e. collinson

1.5.4 Early Primates, 115
k.d. rose

1.5.5 Hominid Evolution, 121
b.a. wood

1.5.6 Neandertals, 127
l.c. aiello

2 The Evolutionary Process and the Fossil Record

2.1 Species Evolution, 133

2.1.1 Speciation and Morphological Change, 133
d.b. lazarus

2.1.2 Evolutionary Stasis vs. Change, 137
a.h. cheetham

2.1.3 Rapid Speciation in Species Flocks, 143
a.r. mccune

2.2 Evolution of Form, 147

2.2.1 Developmental Genes and the Evolution of Morphology, 147
g.a. wray

2.2.2 Constraints on the Evolution of Form, 152
p.j. wagner

2.2.3 Occupation of Morphospace, 157
a.r.h. swan

2.3 Macroevolution, 162

2.3.1 Origin of Evolutionary Novelties, 162
d. jablonski

2.3.2 Controls on Rates of Evolution, 166
s.m. stanley

2.3.3 Competition in Evolution, 171
j.j. sepkoski jr

2.3.4 Biotic Interchange, 176
d.r. lindberg

2.3.5 Importance of Heterochrony, 180
k.j. mcnamara

2.3.6 Hierarchies in Evolution, 188
t.a. grantham

2.3.7 Phylogenetic Tree Shape, 192
p.n. pearson

2.3.8 Contingency, 195
s.j. gould

2.3.9 Selectivity during Extinctions, 198
m.l. mckinney

2.3.10 Biotic Recovery from Mass Extinctions, 202
d.j. bottjer

2.3.11 Evolutionary Trends, 206
d.w. mcshea

2.4 Patterns of Diversity, 211

2.4.1 Biodiversity through Time, 211
m.j. benton

2.4.2 Late Ordovician Extinction, 220
p.j. brenchley

2.4.3 Late Devonian Extinction, 223
g.r. mcghee jr

2.4.4 End-Permian Extinction, 226
p.b. wignall

2.4.5 Impact of K–T Boundary Events on Marine Life, 229
r.d. norris

2.4.6 Impact of K–T Boundary Events on Terrestrial Life, 232
j.a. wolfe and d.a. russell

2.4.7 Pleistocene Extinctions, 234
k. roy

3 Taphonomy

3.1 Fossilized Materials, 241

3.1.1 Dna, 241
h.n. poinar and s. pääbo

3.1.2 Proteins, 245
m.j. collins and a.m. gernaey

3.1.3 Lipids, 247
r.p. evershed and m.j. lockheart

3.1.4 Bacteria, 253
k. liebig

3.1.5 Resistant Plant Tissues —Cuticles and Propagules, 256
p.f. van bergen

3.1.6 Animal Cuticles, 259
b.a. stankiewicz and d.e.g. briggs

3.1.7 Shells, 262
k.h. meldahl

3.1.8 Bones, 264
c. denys

3.2 Fossilization Processes, 270

3.2.1 Decay, 270
p.a. allison

3.2.2 Bioerosion, 273
e.n. edinger

3.2.3 Preservation by Fire, 277
a.c. scott

3.2.4 Role of Microbial Mats, 280
j.-c. gall

3.2.5 Bioimmuration, 285
p.d. taylor and j.a. todd

3.2.6 Transport and Spatial Fidelity, 289
l.c. anderson

3.2.7 Time-averaging, 292
k.w. flessa

3.3 Preservation in Different Ecological Settings, 297

3.3.1 Major Biases in the Fossil Record, 297
s.m. kidwell

3.3.2 Benthic Marine Communities, 303
w.d. allmon

3.3.3 Ancient Reefs, 307
j.m. pandolfi

3.3.4 Marine Plankton, 309
r.e. martin

3.3.5 Terrestrial Plants, 312
r.a. gastaldo

3.3.6 Pollen and Spores, 315
j.m. van mourik

3.3.7 Terrestrial Vertebrates, 318
a.k. behrensmeyer

3.3.8 Sphagnum-dominated Peat Bogs, 321
t.j. painter

3.3.9 Archaeological Remains, 325
v. straker

3.4 Lagerstätten, 328

3.4.1 Exceptionally Preserved Fossils, 328
d.e.g. briggs

3.4.2 Precambrian Lagerstätten, 332
a.h. knoll and shuhai xiao

3.4.3 Chengjiang, 337
j. bergström

3.4.4 The Soom Shale, 340
r.j. aldridge, s.e. gabbott and j.n. theron

3.4.5 The Rhynie Chert, 342
n.h. trewin

3.4.6 Hunsrück Slate, 346
r. raiswell, c. bartels and d.e.g. briggs

3.4.7 La Voulte-sur-Rhône, 349
p.r. wilby

3.4.8 The Santana Formation, 351
d.m. martill

3.4.9 Las Hoyas, 356
j.l. sanz, m.a. fregenal-martínez, n. meléndez and f. ortega

3.4.10 The Princeton Chert, 359
r.a. stockey

3.4.11 Dominican Amber, 362
g.o. poinar jr

4 Palaeoecology

4.1 Fossils as Living Organisms, 367

4.1.1 Bringing Fossil Organisms to Life, 367
p.w. skelton

4.1.2 Stromatolites, 376
m.r. walter

4.1.3 Plant Growth Forms and Biomechanics, 379
t. speck and n.p. rowe

4.1.4 Sessile Invertebrates, 384
w.i. ausich and d.j. bottjer

4.1.5 Trilobites, 386
b.d.e. chatterton

4.1.6 Trackways —Arthropod Locomotion, 389
s.j. braddy

4.1.7 Durophagy in Marine Organisms, 393
r.b. aronson

4.1.8 Buoyancy, Hydrodynamics, and Structure in Chambered Cephalopods, 397
d.k. jacobs

4.1.9 Feeding in Conodonts and other Early Vertebrates, 401
m.a. Purnell

4.1.10 Locomotion in Mesozoic Marine Reptiles, 404
m.a. taylor

4.1.11 Trackways —Dinosaur Locomotion, 408
m.g. lockley

4.1.12 Dinosaur Ethology, 412
j.r. horner

4.1.13 Predatory Behaviour in Maniraptoran Theropods, 414
a.d. gishlick

4.1.14 Pterosaur Locomotion, 417
d.m. unwin

4.1.15 Predation in Sabre-tooth Cats, 420
b. van valkenburgh

4.1.16 Plant–Animal Interactions: Herbivory, 424
s. ash

4.1.17 Plant–Animal Interactions: Insect Pollination, 426
w.l. crepet

4.1.18 Plant–Animal Interactions: Dispersal, 429
j.j. hooker and m.e. collinson

4.2 Ancient Communities, 432

4.2.1 Ecological Changes through Geological Time, 432
m.l. droser

4.2.2 Do Communities Evolve? 437
r.k. bambach

4.2.3 Palaeobiogeography of Marine Communities, 440
g.r. shi

4.2.4 Deep-sea Communities, 444
t. oji

4.2.5 Ancient Hydrothermal Vent and Cold Seep Faunas, 447
c.t.s. little

4.2.6 Zooplankton, 451
s. rigby and c.v. milsom

4.2.7 Terrestrial Palaeobiogeography, 454
r.s. hill

4.2.8 Epibionts, 460
h.l. lescinsky

4.2.9 Fungi in Palaeoecosystems, 464
t.n. taylor and e.l. taylor

4.3 Fossils as Environmental Indicators, 467

4.3.1 Taphonomic Evidence, 467
m.v.h. wilson

4.3.2 Oxygen in the Ocean, 470
w. oschmann

4.3.3 Carbon Isotopes in Plants, 473
d.j. beerling

4.3.4 Bathymetric Indicators, 475
p.j. orr

4.3.5 Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide —Stomata, 479
j.c. mcelwain

4.3.6 Climate —Wood and Leaves, 480
d.r. greenwood

4.3.7 Climate —Modelling using Fossil Plants, 483
g.r. upchurch jr

4.3.8 Climate —Quaternary Vegetation, 485
t. webb

5 Systematics, Phylogeny, and Stratigraphy

5.1 Morphology and Taxonomy, 489

5.1.1 Quantifying Morphology, 489
r.e. chapman and d. rasskin-gutman

5.1.2 Morphometrics and Intraspecific Variation, 492
n.c. hughes

5.1.3 Disparity vs. Diversity, 495
m.a. wills

5.2 Calibrating Diversity, 500

5.2.1 Estimating Completeness of the Fossil Record, 500
m. foote

5.2.2 Analysis of Diversity, 504
a.b. smith

5.3 Reconstructing Phylogeny, 509

5.3.1 Phylogenetic Analysis, 509
m. wilkinson

5.3.2 Fossils in the Reconstruction of Phylogeny, 515
p.l. forey and r.a. fortey

5.3.3 Stratigraphic Tests of Cladistic Hypotheses, 519
m.a. norell

5.3.4 Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis, 522
j.p. huelsenbeck

5.3.5 Molecules and Morphology in Phylogeny — the Radiation of Rodents, 529
f.m. catzeflis

5.3.6 Using Molecular Data to Estimate Divergence Times, 532
a. cooper, n. grassly and a. rambaut

5.4 Fossils in Stratigraphy, 535

5.4.1 Stratigraphic Procedure, 535
p.f. rawson

5.4.2 Calibration of the Fossil Record, 539
s.a. bowring and m.w. martin

5.4.3 Confidence Limits in Stratigraphy, 542
c.r. marshall

5.4.4 High-resolution Biostratigraphy, 545
j. backman

5.4.5 Sequence Stratigraphy and Fossils, 548
s.m. holland

Index, 555

Derek E. G. Briggs is an Irish palaeontologist and taphonomist based at Yale University. Briggs is one of three palaeontologists, along with Harry Blackmore Whittington and Simon Conway Morris, who were key in the reinterpretation of the fossils of the Burgess Shale.

Peter R. Crowther is the editor of Palaeobiology II, published by Wiley.

"The bottom line, as I think you'll see, is that this volume is an entirely new one, and it provides an excellent complement to the first. … I will have to recommend it. If not for individual purchases, then an absolute must for libraries. Faculty will find it very useful in preparing their lectures … Students will find it useful for getting a comprehensive survey of what's going on in palaeontology all in one place … In addition, it is an easy-browsing text. … I very much recommend it." Linda C. Ivany, American Paleontologist

“Palaeobiology II is an essential reference work for any geology library and most palaeobiologists will want their own copies, but do not lend them out as they may never return. … The editors have done an excellent job of marshalling their authors and the huge volume of information into a readily usable structure and format.” Douglas Palmer, Geoscientist

"What this book covers is no less than the current state of thinking on just about every paleontological topic imaginable...I would recommend it to anyone interested in adding a comprehensive, authoritative, up-to-date volume to their library. I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed." Fossil News, August 2003