Author: Paul Kenrick
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
ISBN: 1588346714
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 158
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Book Description
An illustrated history of plants presented through the stories of 50 key fossil discoveries This is the lively, fully illustrated story of plant life on Earth as revealed through some of the most significant fossil discoveries ever made. Beginning with the origins of plant life in the sea, where photosynthesis first evolved in bacteria, the book traces the evolution of land plants, ferns, conifers and their relatives, and flowering plants. Each fossil is depicted with stunning full-color photography alongside narrative from paleobotanist Paul Kenrick explaining its significance and revealing the story behind its discovery. Interspersed throughout the book are contextual "snapshots" of landscapes and environments at various periods of geological time, focusing on plants and plant-animal interactions. A History of Plants in Fifty Fossils is perfect for anyone interested in plants, fossils, and the stories they tell us about life on Earth.
Author: Paul Kenrick
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780565091767
Category : Paleobotany
Languages : en
Pages : 216
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Book Description
"This guide to fossil plants explains the lives of these ancient plants, how they came to be fossilized, and what they may tell us about the past. Kenrick and Davis trace the evolution of land plants, ferns, and conifers and their relatives, the flowering plants. Weaving together strands from the past and present, the snapshots of ancient and modern environments are illustrated with images of fossils and their "living relatives." With photographs of the delicate pieces of shale that hold the fossils, the authors explore the hidden past of plants and uncover the breadth of form and rare beauty of plants turned to stone."--BOOK JACKET.
Author: William D. Tidwell
Publisher: Smithsonian Books (DC)
ISBN: 9781560987833
Category : Paleobotany
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Because fossil plants are found worldwide, the book can be used in many areas other than the western United States.
Author: Bruce L. Stinchcomb
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
ISBN: 9780764343278
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Over 670 color photos reveal the Paleozoic plants that covered the earth from 500 to 260 million years ago, well before the dinosaurs roamed the world. These plants provide some of the earliest records to the greening of planet earth. They also make fascinating, very attractive fossils, which can be considered as "nature's artwork." The fossil record provides a window into the first "forests" of the Devonian Period, followed by the peculiar plants of the Lower Carboniferous. These plants, in turn, were followed by those of the Upper Carboniferous, abundant vegetation that is responsible for almost half of the planet's coal seams. Coal swamp vegetation is followed by the more sparse Permian floras, which preceded what was the earth's most profound extinction event. Marine plants also make their appearance in the world during this period, as do various puzzling fossil tracks and burrows previously thought to be marine plant fossils. This book is for all who are curious about the ancient earth.
Author: Paul Kenrick
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780565094850
Category : Plants
Languages : en
Pages : 160
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Book Description
Author: Thomas F. Mcloughlin
Publisher: Readersmagnet LLC
ISBN: 9781949981803
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160
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Book Description
This book is a picture guide to fossil plants and a few fossil marine organisms found in close association with the coal measures in Southwestern Virginia. The fossils are sorted by groups and located as to coal seam horizon and geographic location. Short descriptions of each group of plant types are provided. This publication has been designed with the armature ("rock hound") as well as a virtual guide for the more advanced collectors. There are 57 plates with more than 280 illustrations, most of which are in color.
Author: Wilson N. Stewart
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521382946
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 544
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Book Description
This 1993 textbook describes and explains the origin and evolution of plants as revealed by the fossil record.
Author: Paul D. Taylor
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
ISBN: 1588345025
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 212
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Book Description
A History of Life in 100 Fossils showcases 100 key fossils that together illustrate the evolution of life on earth. Iconic specimens have been selected from the renowned collections of the two premier natural history museums in the world, the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, and the Natural History Museum, London. The fossils ahve been chosen not only for their importance in the history of life, but also because of the visual story they tell. This stunning book is perfect for all readers because its clear explanations and beautiful photographs illuminate the significance of these amazing pieces, including 500 million-year-old Burgess Shale fossils that provide a window into early animal life in the sea, insects encapsulated by amber, the first fossil bird Archaeopteryx, and the remains of our own ancestors.
Author: Christopher J. Cleal
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781108705028
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264
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Book Description
Plant remains can preserve a critical part of history of life on Earth. While telling the fascinating evolutionary story of plants and vegetation across the last 500 million years, this book also crucially offers non-specialists a practical guide to studying, dealing with and interpreting plant fossils. It shows how various techniques can be used to reveal the secrets of plant fossils and how to identify common types, such as compressions and impressions. Incorporating the concepts of evolutionary floras, this second edition includes revised data on all main plant groups, the latest approaches to naming plant fossils using fossil-taxa and techniques such as tomography. With extensive illustrations of plant fossils and living plants, the book encourages readers to think of fossils as once-living organisms. It is written for students on introductory or intermediate courses in palaeobotany, palaeontology, plant evolutionary biology and plant science, and for amateurs interested in studying plant fossils.
Author: David Beerling
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192529781
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 381
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Book Description
Plants have profoundly moulded the Earth's climate and the evolutionary trajectory of life. Far from being 'silent witnesses to the passage of time', plants are dynamic components of our world, shaping the environment throughout history as much as that environment has shaped them. In The Emerald Planet, David Beerling puts plants centre stage, revealing the crucial role they have played in driving global changes in the environment, in recording hidden facets of Earth's history, and in helping us to predict its future. His account draws together evidence from fossil plants, from experiments with their living counterparts, and from computer models of the 'Earth System', to illuminate the history of our planet and its biodiversity. This new approach reveals how plummeting carbon dioxide levels removed a barrier to the evolution of the leaf; how plants played a starring role in pushing oxygen levels upwards, allowing spectacular giant insects to thrive in the Carboniferous; and it strengthens fascinating and contentious fossil evidence for an ancient hole in the ozone layer. Along the way, Beerling introduces a lively cast of pioneering scientists from Victorian times onwards whose discoveries provided the crucial background to these and the other puzzles. This understanding of our planet's past sheds a sobering light on our own climate-changing activities, and offers clues to what our climatic and ecological futures might look like. There could be no more important time to take a close look at plants, and to understand the history of the world through the stories they tell. Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.
