Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber from the Major World Deposits

Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber from the Major World Deposits PDF Author: David Penney
Publisher: Siri Scientific Press
ISBN: 0955863643
Category : Amber fossils
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description

Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber from the Major World Deposits

Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber from the Major World Deposits PDF Author: David Penney
Publisher: Siri Scientific Press
ISBN: 0955863643
Category : Amber fossils
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description


Life in Amber

Life in Amber PDF Author: George O. Poinar
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804720014
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
"Amber is a semi-precious gem that is formed over eons by natural forces out of the resin of trees. Human fascination with amber dates back to prehistoric times, when it was probably considered to have magical powers and was used for adornment and trade. Amber amulets and beads dating from 35,000 to 1,800 B.C. have been found, and where they have been found (for example in graves hundreds of miles from their chemically determined origins) has often helped to establish ancient trade routes." "The preservative qualities of plant resins were well known by the ancients. The Egyptians used resins to embalm their dead, and the Greeks used them to preserve their wine. Amber often preserved fossils, frequently in a pristine state, of all kinds of animal and plant organisms that made contact with the sticky substance and became trapped in it. These fossils include such fragile organisms as nematodes and mushrooms that ordinarily are not preserved under normal processes of fossilization, as well as larger organisms like scorpions and lizards, and the fossils are preserved in their full three-dimensional form, complete with minute details of scales, mouth parts, antennae, and hairs. It has even been suggested that viable DNA may persist in some amber-trapped organisms." "This book is a compendium of all that we know about life found in amber. It surveys all life forms, from microbes to vertebrates and plants, that have been reported from amber deposits throughout the world, beginning with the earliest pieces dating from some 300 million years ago. It also describes the formation of amber and the location, geological history, and early exploration of the major world amber deposits, including those still being worked today." "The book also provides practical information on how to determine fake amber containing present-day forms of life. It can serve as a beginning for tracing the geological history of a particular group of animals or plants or even reconstructing ancient paleoenvironments, and because amber fossils are preserved so completely, in a transparent medium, they can be intimately compared with related living species. Finally, the book discusses what amber fossils can tell us about evolution and speciation, cellular preservation, and paleosymbiosis." "The book is illustrated with 37 color photographs, 154 black-and-white photographs and drawings, and 8 maps."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Fossils in Amber

Fossils in Amber PDF Author: David Penney
Publisher: Siri Scientific Press
ISBN: 095586366X
Category : Amber fossils
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description


Fossil Arachnids

Fossil Arachnids PDF Author: Jason A. Dunlop
Publisher: Siri Scientific Press
ISBN: 0956779549
Category : Arachnida, Fossil
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Fossil arachnids date back more than 400 million years to the Silurian period, making them one of the first animal groups to appear in terrestrial ecosystems. This book provides information on what the arachnids are and their relationships to one another.

Fossil Insects

Fossil Insects PDF Author: David Penney
Publisher: Siri Scientific Press
ISBN: 095745306X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Palaeoentomology represents the interface between two huge scientific disciplines: palaeontology – the study of fossils, and entomology – the study of insects. However, fossils rarely feature extensively in books on insects, and likewise, insects rarely feature in books about fossils. Similarly, college or university palaeontology courses rarely have an entomological component and entomology courses do not usually consider the fossil record of insects in any detail. This is not due to a lack of insect fossils. The fossil record of insects is incredibly diverse in terms of taxonomic scope, age range (Devonian to Recent), mode of preservation (amber and rock) and geographical distribution (fossil insects have been recorded from all continents, including Antarctica). In this book the authors aim to help bridge the palaeontology–entomology gap by providing a broadly accessible introduction to some of the best preserved fossil insects from a wide range of deposits from around the globe, many of which are beautifully illustrated by colour photographs. Also covered are insect behaviour and ecology in the fossil record, sub-fossil insects, trace fossils and insect species longevity. Just as insects are useful as ecological indicators today, the same can be expected to be true of the past. Such applications of the insect fossil record are briefly discussed. It is hoped that this book will encourage a few future researchers to enter the fascinating realm of palaeoentomology and to this end there is a section on how to become a palaeoentomologist. However, it is aimed at a much broader audience – those with an interest in fossils and/or insects in general, who will no doubt marvel at the diversity and excellent preservation of the fossils illustrated.

Fossil Ecosystems of North America

Fossil Ecosystems of North America PDF Author: Paul Selden
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1840765070
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
Most major recent advances in understanding the history of life on Earth have been through the study of exceptionally well preserved biotas (Fossil-Lagerstätten). These are windows on the history of life on Earth and can provide a fairly complete picture of the evolution of ecosystems through time. This book follows the success of Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems by the same authors which covered Fossil-Lagerstätten around the world. The success of the first book prompted this new book which draws on four localities from the original book and adds another ten, all located in North America. Following an introduction to Fossil-Lagerstätten, each chapter deals with a single fossil locality. Each chapter contains a brief introduction placing the Lagerstätte in an evolutionary context; there then follows a history of study of the locality; the background sedimentology, stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment; a description of the biota; discussion of the palaeoecology, and a comparison with other Lagerstätten of a similar age and/or environment. At the end of the book is an Appendix listing museums in which to see exhibitions of fossils from each locality and suggestions for visiting the sites.

Spider Research in the 21st Century

Spider Research in the 21st Century PDF Author: David Penney
Publisher:
ISBN: 0957453019
Category : Spiders
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
The result is a great increase in multi-disciplinary research and novel avenues incorporating spiders as model organisms.

Terrestrial Conservation Lagerstatten

Terrestrial Conservation Lagerstatten PDF Author: Nicholas Fraser
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1780465831
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
A collection of papers reviewing selected conservation Lagerstätten for terrestrial animals and plants throughout the Phanerozoic worldwide. The synthesis details recent progress in documenting the biodiversity of such extraordinary fossil deposits and elucidating the geological conditions for and biogeochemical processes behind their formation.

Treatise on Zoology - Anatomy, Taxonomy, Biology. The Myriapoda

Treatise on Zoology - Anatomy, Taxonomy, Biology. The Myriapoda PDF Author: Alessandro Minelli
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004156119
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
"The Myriapoda” is the first comprehensive monograph ever on all aspects of myriapod biology, including external and internal morphology, physiology, reproduction, development, distribution, ecology, phylogeny and taxonomy. It is thus of major interest for all zoologists and soil biologists.

Fossil Spiders

Fossil Spiders PDF Author: David Penney
Publisher: Siri Scientific Press
ISBN: 0955863651
Category : Amber fossils
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Compared to insects, fossil spiders have received only scant attention in the literature. Previously, the only works available were numerous scientific papers, many published in foreign languages. Most of these are basic descriptive taxonomic works, with very few considering broader biological concepts. Despite a significant increase in the discovery and description of fossil spiders within the last quarter Century this void remained unfilled. Thus, this short monograph aims to achieve several objectives. Firstly, to provide general and up to date background information on the overall importance and diversity of fossils spiders, including an indication of those groups for which the taxonomy is spurious and in need of reassessment. Secondly, to discuss the techniques available for working with fossil spiders and some of the problems encountered by palaeoarachnologists, including bias and limitations of the spider fossil record. Thirdly, the overall evolutionary history of spiders is summarized in the form of an evolutionary tree, which is subsequently used to address key issues of broad interest, such as origins, diversifications and extinctions, including the effects of mass extinctions and predator-prey co-radiations. Finally, the contribution that fossil data can make to understanding the past and present biogeography of the order is considered. This book should be of interest to both amateur and professional arachnologists and palaeontologists and will also serve as a general palaeontological reference work for neonologists studying extant spiders.