Nicholas P. Money
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195189711
- eISBN:
- 9780199790265
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189711.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Microbiology
This chapter explores the future of the ongoing competition between humans and fungi for control of the biosphere. The emerging diseases of white pine blister rust, sudden oak death, jarrah dieback, ...
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This chapter explores the future of the ongoing competition between humans and fungi for control of the biosphere. The emerging diseases of white pine blister rust, sudden oak death, jarrah dieback, soybean rust, and rice blast offer useful perspectives on the planet’s rotten present and rotten future. The use of fungi as agents of agricultural and biological warfare is also featured. The global impact of fungal disease is highlighted, with the idea that a fungal super-pathogen of Cretaceous plants may have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs.Less
This chapter explores the future of the ongoing competition between humans and fungi for control of the biosphere. The emerging diseases of white pine blister rust, sudden oak death, jarrah dieback, soybean rust, and rice blast offer useful perspectives on the planet’s rotten present and rotten future. The use of fungi as agents of agricultural and biological warfare is also featured. The global impact of fungal disease is highlighted, with the idea that a fungal super-pathogen of Cretaceous plants may have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Fred Feldman
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199571178
- eISBN:
- 9780191722547
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199571178.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Preferentism is the view that the concept of happiness can be explicated by appeal to the concepts of desire and satisfaction. There are subjective as well as objective forms. According to a typical ...
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Preferentism is the view that the concept of happiness can be explicated by appeal to the concepts of desire and satisfaction. There are subjective as well as objective forms. According to a typical objective form of preferentism, a person's level of happiness is equal to the extent to which his desires are satisfied. In this chapter a form of subjective preferentism due to Wayne Davis is explained. Arguments are presented to show that this form of preferentism goes wrong in certain types of case. Happiness involves more than just the belief that things are going as you want them to be going. Preferentism confronts a near‐paradox. This involves a person who has one desire: the desire to be unhappy. Davis's theory seems to imply (given certain natural assumptions) that this person believes he is happy if and only if he believes he is unhappy.Less
Preferentism is the view that the concept of happiness can be explicated by appeal to the concepts of desire and satisfaction. There are subjective as well as objective forms. According to a typical objective form of preferentism, a person's level of happiness is equal to the extent to which his desires are satisfied. In this chapter a form of subjective preferentism due to Wayne Davis is explained. Arguments are presented to show that this form of preferentism goes wrong in certain types of case. Happiness involves more than just the belief that things are going as you want them to be going. Preferentism confronts a near‐paradox. This involves a person who has one desire: the desire to be unhappy. Davis's theory seems to imply (given certain natural assumptions) that this person believes he is happy if and only if he believes he is unhappy.
David Deutsch
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199560561
- eISBN:
- 9780191721380
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560561.003.0022
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Philosophy of Science
A collection of classical universes — even if they interact — is still classical. For instance, it doesn't have entanglement; its elements don't have phases to their amplitudes; it doesn't have ...
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A collection of classical universes — even if they interact — is still classical. For instance, it doesn't have entanglement; its elements don't have phases to their amplitudes; it doesn't have continuous motion of discrete observables. The multiverse is not classical: it consists of much more than universes. Research into what is there in addition has already been fruitful and promises to be more so. Progress in understanding the quantum world more deeply through such research is also the key to resolving the long-running scandal of the slow take-up of Everett's theory by physicists and philosophers.Less
A collection of classical universes — even if they interact — is still classical. For instance, it doesn't have entanglement; its elements don't have phases to their amplitudes; it doesn't have continuous motion of discrete observables. The multiverse is not classical: it consists of much more than universes. Research into what is there in addition has already been fruitful and promises to be more so. Progress in understanding the quantum world more deeply through such research is also the key to resolving the long-running scandal of the slow take-up of Everett's theory by physicists and philosophers.
Neil M. Maher
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195306019
- eISBN:
- 9780199867820
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306019.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
The final chapter traces the CCC's legacy into the post–World War II period. It does so by focusing on the controversy, during the mid-to-late 1940s, surrounding the Bureau of Reclamation's plan to ...
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The final chapter traces the CCC's legacy into the post–World War II period. It does so by focusing on the controversy, during the mid-to-late 1940s, surrounding the Bureau of Reclamation's plan to construct a hydroelectric dam in Dinosaur National Monument's Echo Park, which straddles the Utah—Colorado border. While environmental historians have long viewed the defeat of the Echo Park dam as one of the founding moments of the American environmental movement, this chapter argues that this victory by environmentalists was predicated on the Corps and its conservation work during the New Deal period. For instance, during the 1930s the CCC developed Dinosaur National Monument for outdoor recreation, a process that later brought outdoor enthusiasts into the anti-dam camp. Criticism of Corps conservation work during the early 1940s, however, raised public concern about the destruction of wilderness and ecological balance in the region as well. When the federal government announced plans for the Echo Park dam during the late 1940s, these concerns resurfaced and guided environmentalist opposition. This chapter ends by discussing the declining power of the federal government within postwar conservation, and concludes, somewhat ironically, that the strong hand of the New Deal helped make what eventually became environmentalism a more democratic movement.Less
The final chapter traces the CCC's legacy into the post–World War II period. It does so by focusing on the controversy, during the mid-to-late 1940s, surrounding the Bureau of Reclamation's plan to construct a hydroelectric dam in Dinosaur National Monument's Echo Park, which straddles the Utah—Colorado border. While environmental historians have long viewed the defeat of the Echo Park dam as one of the founding moments of the American environmental movement, this chapter argues that this victory by environmentalists was predicated on the Corps and its conservation work during the New Deal period. For instance, during the 1930s the CCC developed Dinosaur National Monument for outdoor recreation, a process that later brought outdoor enthusiasts into the anti-dam camp. Criticism of Corps conservation work during the early 1940s, however, raised public concern about the destruction of wilderness and ecological balance in the region as well. When the federal government announced plans for the Echo Park dam during the late 1940s, these concerns resurfaced and guided environmentalist opposition. This chapter ends by discussing the declining power of the federal government within postwar conservation, and concludes, somewhat ironically, that the strong hand of the New Deal helped make what eventually became environmentalism a more democratic movement.
Robert W. Righter
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195149470
- eISBN:
- 9780199788934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195149470.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
The legacies of Hetch Hetchy are numerous. Without the fight, American national parks might be administered by the US Forest Service. The fight was instrumental in the passage of the National Parks ...
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The legacies of Hetch Hetchy are numerous. Without the fight, American national parks might be administered by the US Forest Service. The fight was instrumental in the passage of the National Parks Act of 1916, establishing the National Park Service and defining the mission of American national parks. Also without the Hetch Hetchy fight, dams may have been built in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, and on either end of Grand Canyon National Park. Over the years, the Hetch Hetchy fight has raised the consciousness of a nation. For the first time the nation questioned the meaning of progress, and in a sense, Hetch Hetchy was a national awakening. Since 1913, the fight has often been used by conservationists as an example of what should not happen to a spectacular mountain valley located in a national park.Less
The legacies of Hetch Hetchy are numerous. Without the fight, American national parks might be administered by the US Forest Service. The fight was instrumental in the passage of the National Parks Act of 1916, establishing the National Park Service and defining the mission of American national parks. Also without the Hetch Hetchy fight, dams may have been built in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, and on either end of Grand Canyon National Park. Over the years, the Hetch Hetchy fight has raised the consciousness of a nation. For the first time the nation questioned the meaning of progress, and in a sense, Hetch Hetchy was a national awakening. Since 1913, the fight has often been used by conservationists as an example of what should not happen to a spectacular mountain valley located in a national park.
Austin Sarat, Lawrence Douglas, and Martha Merrill Umphrey (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804756839
- eISBN:
- 9780804768344
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804756839.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law
The study of catastrophe is a growth industry. Today, cosmologists scan the heavens for asteroids of the kind that smashed into earth some ninety million years ago, leading to the swift extinction of ...
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The study of catastrophe is a growth industry. Today, cosmologists scan the heavens for asteroids of the kind that smashed into earth some ninety million years ago, leading to the swift extinction of the dinosaurs. Climatologists create elaborate models of the chaotic weather and vast flooding that will result from the continued buildup of greenhouse gases in the planet's atmosphere. Terrorist experts and homeland security consultants struggle to prepare for a wide range of possible biological, chemical, and radiological attacks: aerated small pox virus spread by a crop duster, botulism dumped into an urban reservoir, a dirty bomb detonated in a city center. Yet, strangely, law's role in the definition, identification, prevention, and amelioration of catastrophe has been largely neglected. The relationship between law and other limiting conditions—such as states of emergency—has been the subject of rich and growing literature. By contrast, little has been written about law and catastrophe. In devoting a volume to the subject, the chapters sketch the contours of a relatively fresh terrain of inquiry. This book begins the work of developing a jurisprudence of catastrophe.Less
The study of catastrophe is a growth industry. Today, cosmologists scan the heavens for asteroids of the kind that smashed into earth some ninety million years ago, leading to the swift extinction of the dinosaurs. Climatologists create elaborate models of the chaotic weather and vast flooding that will result from the continued buildup of greenhouse gases in the planet's atmosphere. Terrorist experts and homeland security consultants struggle to prepare for a wide range of possible biological, chemical, and radiological attacks: aerated small pox virus spread by a crop duster, botulism dumped into an urban reservoir, a dirty bomb detonated in a city center. Yet, strangely, law's role in the definition, identification, prevention, and amelioration of catastrophe has been largely neglected. The relationship between law and other limiting conditions—such as states of emergency—has been the subject of rich and growing literature. By contrast, little has been written about law and catastrophe. In devoting a volume to the subject, the chapters sketch the contours of a relatively fresh terrain of inquiry. This book begins the work of developing a jurisprudence of catastrophe.
David Weishampel (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242098
- eISBN:
- 9780520941434
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242098.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This revised edition of this book continues in the same vein as the first but encompasses recent spectacular discoveries that have continued to revolutionize this field. A thorough scientific view of ...
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This revised edition of this book continues in the same vein as the first but encompasses recent spectacular discoveries that have continued to revolutionize this field. A thorough scientific view of current world research, the volume includes comprehensive coverage of dinosaur systematics, reproduction, and life history strategies, biogeography, taphonomy, paleoecology, thermoregulation, and extinction. It contains definitive descriptions and illustrations of these magnificent Mesozoic beasts. The first section of the book begins with the origin of the great clade of these fascinating reptiles, followed by separate coverage of each major dinosaur taxon, including the Mesozoic radiation of birds. The second part of the volume navigates through broad areas of interest. Here we find comprehensive documentation of dinosaur distribution through time and space, discussion of the interface between geology and biology, and the paleoecological inferences that can be made through this link.Less
This revised edition of this book continues in the same vein as the first but encompasses recent spectacular discoveries that have continued to revolutionize this field. A thorough scientific view of current world research, the volume includes comprehensive coverage of dinosaur systematics, reproduction, and life history strategies, biogeography, taphonomy, paleoecology, thermoregulation, and extinction. It contains definitive descriptions and illustrations of these magnificent Mesozoic beasts. The first section of the book begins with the origin of the great clade of these fascinating reptiles, followed by separate coverage of each major dinosaur taxon, including the Mesozoic radiation of birds. The second part of the volume navigates through broad areas of interest. Here we find comprehensive documentation of dinosaur distribution through time and space, discussion of the interface between geology and biology, and the paleoecological inferences that can be made through this link.
Teresa Maryanska, Ralph E. Chapman, and David B. Weishampel
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242098
- eISBN:
- 9780520941434
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242098.003.0024
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Pachycephalosauria is a group of bipedal ornithischians with thickened bones of the skull roof. The group is widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, mostly in western North America and ...
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Pachycephalosauria is a group of bipedal ornithischians with thickened bones of the skull roof. The group is widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, mostly in western North America and central Asia, but also in Europe. This chapter examines the anatomy, phylogeny, and paleobiology of pachycephalosaurians. Pachycephalosaurians are often called dome-headed or thick-headed dinosaurs. They were bipedal herbivores with unspecialized teeth and their necks were thick and short. Pachycephalosaurians also have weakly curved dorsal ribs, broad pelvis, widely spaced femora, and unusually long ribs on the proximal caudal vertebrae, which indicate that they had a bulky trunk and a heavy tail.Less
Pachycephalosauria is a group of bipedal ornithischians with thickened bones of the skull roof. The group is widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, mostly in western North America and central Asia, but also in Europe. This chapter examines the anatomy, phylogeny, and paleobiology of pachycephalosaurians. Pachycephalosaurians are often called dome-headed or thick-headed dinosaurs. They were bipedal herbivores with unspecialized teeth and their necks were thick and short. Pachycephalosaurians also have weakly curved dorsal ribs, broad pelvis, widely spaced femora, and unusually long ribs on the proximal caudal vertebrae, which indicate that they had a bulky trunk and a heavy tail.
J. David Archibald and David E. Fastovsky
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242098
- eISBN:
- 9780520941434
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242098.003.0033
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
The disappearance of nonavian dinosaurs is only a small part of a greater class of extinctions known as “mass extinctions.” Mass extinctions are global events characterized by unusually high rates of ...
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The disappearance of nonavian dinosaurs is only a small part of a greater class of extinctions known as “mass extinctions.” Mass extinctions are global events characterized by unusually high rates of extinction. The five episodes of mass extinctions in Earth history are the Permo-Triassic extinction, the Late Ordovician extinction, the Late Devonian extinction, the Triassic-Jurassic extinction, and the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) extinction. This chapter focuses on patterns of geologic and biotic changes that occurred during the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) extinction. It also highlights the similarities and differences in interpretations of geologic and fossil records. It concludes with two scenarios explaining the differing views about dinosaur extinction.Less
The disappearance of nonavian dinosaurs is only a small part of a greater class of extinctions known as “mass extinctions.” Mass extinctions are global events characterized by unusually high rates of extinction. The five episodes of mass extinctions in Earth history are the Permo-Triassic extinction, the Late Ordovician extinction, the Late Devonian extinction, the Triassic-Jurassic extinction, and the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) extinction. This chapter focuses on patterns of geologic and biotic changes that occurred during the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) extinction. It also highlights the similarities and differences in interpretations of geologic and fossil records. It concludes with two scenarios explaining the differing views about dinosaur extinction.
John R. Horner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748610
- eISBN:
- 9780226748597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748597.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter examines dinosaur paleobiology and the interpretations of dinosaur evolution. It argues that dinosaur paleontologists were among the first to reach the evolutionary high table and ...
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This chapter examines dinosaur paleobiology and the interpretations of dinosaur evolution. It argues that dinosaur paleontologists were among the first to reach the evolutionary high table and provides a summary of the many exciting discoveries made in recent decades. This chapter also highlights the importance of the works of several paleontologists including Edwin Colbert, John Ostrom, and Robert Bakker in revolutionizing the thinking about dinosaurs.Less
This chapter examines dinosaur paleobiology and the interpretations of dinosaur evolution. It argues that dinosaur paleontologists were among the first to reach the evolutionary high table and provides a summary of the many exciting discoveries made in recent decades. This chapter also highlights the importance of the works of several paleontologists including Edwin Colbert, John Ostrom, and Robert Bakker in revolutionizing the thinking about dinosaurs.
Marcelo Sánchez
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520271937
- eISBN:
- 9780520952300
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520271937.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
The most important piece of equipment for most paleontologists, besides the hammer, is the microscope. The microscope enables the study of the tissue microstructure of fossils, in particular the ...
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The most important piece of equipment for most paleontologists, besides the hammer, is the microscope. The microscope enables the study of the tissue microstructure of fossils, in particular the bone, which has become an important matter of investigation concerning development in extinct taxa. This chapter discusses studies of fossil bone sections; dinosaur growth patterns and the origin of birds; the bones of the moas; bone development and locomotion in extinct species and in Galápagos iguanas; bones, cells, and genes; and the nature of teeth.Less
The most important piece of equipment for most paleontologists, besides the hammer, is the microscope. The microscope enables the study of the tissue microstructure of fossils, in particular the bone, which has become an important matter of investigation concerning development in extinct taxa. This chapter discusses studies of fossil bone sections; dinosaur growth patterns and the origin of birds; the bones of the moas; bone development and locomotion in extinct species and in Galápagos iguanas; bones, cells, and genes; and the nature of teeth.
David E. Fastovsky
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748610
- eISBN:
- 9780226748597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748597.003.0013
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter examines the social and political meaning of dinosaur paleontology in popular culture. It considers three case studies: the paleobiology of the large theropod T. rex, the discovery of ...
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This chapter examines the social and political meaning of dinosaur paleontology in popular culture. It considers three case studies: the paleobiology of the large theropod T. rex, the discovery of dinosaur maternity, nests, eggs, and embryos, and the dinosaur extinction. The analysis reveals that important discoveries about the biology, behavior, and extinction of dinosaurs were influenced not just by empirical developments, but also by the social climate of the times in which they were produced.Less
This chapter examines the social and political meaning of dinosaur paleontology in popular culture. It considers three case studies: the paleobiology of the large theropod T. rex, the discovery of dinosaur maternity, nests, eggs, and embryos, and the dinosaur extinction. The analysis reveals that important discoveries about the biology, behavior, and extinction of dinosaurs were influenced not just by empirical developments, but also by the social climate of the times in which they were produced.
J. P. Telotte
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125862
- eISBN:
- 9780813135540
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125862.003.0003
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter discusses a series of case studies that are arranged in a rough chronological fashion and focus on the problems and potentials of animating space. It takes a detailed look at the works ...
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This chapter discusses a series of case studies that are arranged in a rough chronological fashion and focus on the problems and potentials of animating space. It takes a detailed look at the works of Winsor McCay, a pioneer animator. It also frames the achievements his most famous and most studied film, Gertie the Dinosaur, which it represents in the context of his other key efforts.Less
This chapter discusses a series of case studies that are arranged in a rough chronological fashion and focus on the problems and potentials of animating space. It takes a detailed look at the works of Winsor McCay, a pioneer animator. It also frames the achievements his most famous and most studied film, Gertie the Dinosaur, which it represents in the context of his other key efforts.
Richard Hilton
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520233157
- eISBN:
- 9780520928459
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520233157.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
One of the most geologically complex and diverse states California spent much of the age of dinosaurs under water. While most of the fossils found in the state are those of reptiles that lived in the ...
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One of the most geologically complex and diverse states California spent much of the age of dinosaurs under water. While most of the fossils found in the state are those of reptiles that lived in the sea (thalattosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and turtles), some are those of birds and pterosaurs that soared above it. Other fossils come from terrestrial animals that died and were washed into the ocean. These include turtles, crocodiles, lizards, and dinosaurs such as armored ankylosaurs, duck-billed hadrosaurs, and a variety of carnivorous dinosaurs. This book tells the unsung story of the dinosaurs and reptiles of land, sea, and sky that lived in California and Baja California during the Mesozoic era (245 million–65 million years ago), in addition to the history of their discovery. This book provides geological and environmental details, describes the significance of the major fossils, and chronicles the adventures involved in the discovery, preparation, and publishing of the finds. The book also includes accounts of the scientists, teachers, students, ranchers, and weekend fossil hunters who endured (and continue to endure) harsh weather, fires, wild animals, and the usual challenges of fieldwork to collect fossil remains and make major discoveries. These enthusiasts managed to safeguard an abundance of fossil resources, some of which would otherwise have been destroyed by quarrying, paving, and housing developments.Less
One of the most geologically complex and diverse states California spent much of the age of dinosaurs under water. While most of the fossils found in the state are those of reptiles that lived in the sea (thalattosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and turtles), some are those of birds and pterosaurs that soared above it. Other fossils come from terrestrial animals that died and were washed into the ocean. These include turtles, crocodiles, lizards, and dinosaurs such as armored ankylosaurs, duck-billed hadrosaurs, and a variety of carnivorous dinosaurs. This book tells the unsung story of the dinosaurs and reptiles of land, sea, and sky that lived in California and Baja California during the Mesozoic era (245 million–65 million years ago), in addition to the history of their discovery. This book provides geological and environmental details, describes the significance of the major fossils, and chronicles the adventures involved in the discovery, preparation, and publishing of the finds. The book also includes accounts of the scientists, teachers, students, ranchers, and weekend fossil hunters who endured (and continue to endure) harsh weather, fires, wild animals, and the usual challenges of fieldwork to collect fossil remains and make major discoveries. These enthusiasts managed to safeguard an abundance of fossil resources, some of which would otherwise have been destroyed by quarrying, paving, and housing developments.
Kristina Curry Rogers (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520246232
- eISBN:
- 9780520932333
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520246232.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to walk the earth, and they represent a substantial portion of vertebrate biomass and biodiversity during the Mesozoic Era. The story of sauropod ...
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Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to walk the earth, and they represent a substantial portion of vertebrate biomass and biodiversity during the Mesozoic Era. The story of sauropod evolution is told in an extensive fossil record of skeletons and footprints that span the globe and 150 million years of earth history. This volume provides a scientific summary of sauropod evolution and paleobiology. The chapters explore sauropod anatomy, detail its variations, and question the myth that life at large size led to evolutionary stagnation and eventual replacement by more “advanced” herbivorous dinosaurs. Chapters address topics such as the evolutionary history and diversity of sauropods; methods for creating three-dimensional reconstructions of their skeletons; questions of sauropodherbivory, tracks, gigantism, locomotion, reproduction, growth rates, and more.Less
Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to walk the earth, and they represent a substantial portion of vertebrate biomass and biodiversity during the Mesozoic Era. The story of sauropod evolution is told in an extensive fossil record of skeletons and footprints that span the globe and 150 million years of earth history. This volume provides a scientific summary of sauropod evolution and paleobiology. The chapters explore sauropod anatomy, detail its variations, and question the myth that life at large size led to evolutionary stagnation and eventual replacement by more “advanced” herbivorous dinosaurs. Chapters address topics such as the evolutionary history and diversity of sauropods; methods for creating three-dimensional reconstructions of their skeletons; questions of sauropodherbivory, tracks, gigantism, locomotion, reproduction, growth rates, and more.
David B. Weishampel, Peter Dodson, and Halszka Osmólska
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242098
- eISBN:
- 9780520941434
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242098.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Research programs across the globe are broadening our understanding of dinosaur diversity and the range of the intellectual perspectives brought to dinosaur studies. This book is devoted to issues of ...
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Research programs across the globe are broadening our understanding of dinosaur diversity and the range of the intellectual perspectives brought to dinosaur studies. This book is devoted to issues of general concern about dinosaurs as a whole. It reflects the dynamic fields of dinosaur systematics, definition and diagnosis of Dinosauria, the origin of the clade, the interrelationships of the major dinosaurian groups, diagnostic features, anatomy, phylogeny, taphonomy, paleoecology, biogeography, physiology, and possible causes of their extinction. It also provides numerical cladistic analyses, complete with character descriptions and character-taxon matrices.Less
Research programs across the globe are broadening our understanding of dinosaur diversity and the range of the intellectual perspectives brought to dinosaur studies. This book is devoted to issues of general concern about dinosaurs as a whole. It reflects the dynamic fields of dinosaur systematics, definition and diagnosis of Dinosauria, the origin of the clade, the interrelationships of the major dinosaurian groups, diagnostic features, anatomy, phylogeny, taphonomy, paleoecology, biogeography, physiology, and possible causes of their extinction. It also provides numerical cladistic analyses, complete with character descriptions and character-taxon matrices.
Michael J. Benton
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242098
- eISBN:
- 9780520941434
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242098.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Dinosaurs belong within Archosauria, a wide group of extinct and extant reptiles that also includes modern crocodilians as well as pterosaurs and various basal groups of Triassic age. This chapter ...
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Dinosaurs belong within Archosauria, a wide group of extinct and extant reptiles that also includes modern crocodilians as well as pterosaurs and various basal groups of Triassic age. This chapter considers the origin of the dinosaurs in terms of phylogeny and the timing of events. It discusses the cladistic analysis of Archosauria, followed by an account of the evolutionary events that led to the radiation of the dinosaurs.Less
Dinosaurs belong within Archosauria, a wide group of extinct and extant reptiles that also includes modern crocodilians as well as pterosaurs and various basal groups of Triassic age. This chapter considers the origin of the dinosaurs in terms of phylogeny and the timing of events. It discusses the cladistic analysis of Archosauria, followed by an account of the evolutionary events that led to the radiation of the dinosaurs.
James M. Clark, Teresa Maryanska, and Rinchen Barsbold
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242098
- eISBN:
- 9780520941434
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242098.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter discusses the anatomy, evolution, stratigraphy, paleoecology, biogeography, and taxonomic nomenclature of therizinosauroids. Therizinosauroidea currently is represented by eleven species ...
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This chapter discusses the anatomy, evolution, stratigraphy, paleoecology, biogeography, and taxonomic nomenclature of therizinosauroids. Therizinosauroidea currently is represented by eleven species in ten genera, all but one from Asia. The ten definitive members of the group are from the Cretaceous, but Eshanosaurus deguchiianus, from the Lower Jurassic Lower Lufeng Series of China, is tentatively referred to Therizinosauroidea. Therizinosauroid discoveries, and the naming of taxa, can be divided into three historical groups: (1) discoveries of enigmatic, fragmentary material by the first American and Soviet expeditions to the dinosaur deposits of Asia in the 1920s and 1950s; (2) discoveries of more substantial specimens by Soviet-Mongolian expeditions in the 1970s, which signaled the presence of an endemic group of peculiar dinosaurs; and (3) discoveries of primitive members of the group in China, which have helped clarify relationships.Less
This chapter discusses the anatomy, evolution, stratigraphy, paleoecology, biogeography, and taxonomic nomenclature of therizinosauroids. Therizinosauroidea currently is represented by eleven species in ten genera, all but one from Asia. The ten definitive members of the group are from the Cretaceous, but Eshanosaurus deguchiianus, from the Lower Jurassic Lower Lufeng Series of China, is tentatively referred to Therizinosauroidea. Therizinosauroid discoveries, and the naming of taxa, can be divided into three historical groups: (1) discoveries of enigmatic, fragmentary material by the first American and Soviet expeditions to the dinosaur deposits of Asia in the 1920s and 1950s; (2) discoveries of more substantial specimens by Soviet-Mongolian expeditions in the 1970s, which signaled the presence of an endemic group of peculiar dinosaurs; and (3) discoveries of primitive members of the group in China, which have helped clarify relationships.
Jeffrey A. Wilson and Kristina Curry Rogers
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520246232
- eISBN:
- 9780520932333
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520246232.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This book investigates the sauropod systematics and paleobiology. It hopes to explain how their body plan was constructed, to explore its variations, and to dispel the myth that it led to ...
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This book investigates the sauropod systematics and paleobiology. It hopes to explain how their body plan was constructed, to explore its variations, and to dispel the myth that it led to evolutionary stagnation and eventual replacement by more “advanced” herbivorous dinosaurs. The sauropod fossil record has in part led the monolithic depiction of sauropods. It then attempts to gain new understanding of “nature's grandest extravagances.” Finally, an overview of the chapters included in this book is presented. This book documents what is currently known about sauropod evolutionary history, and also highlights deficiencies in the understanding. In that sense, it is hoped that this volume will spark interest, provoke questions, and provide fresh ground for continued research on sauropod dinosaurs.Less
This book investigates the sauropod systematics and paleobiology. It hopes to explain how their body plan was constructed, to explore its variations, and to dispel the myth that it led to evolutionary stagnation and eventual replacement by more “advanced” herbivorous dinosaurs. The sauropod fossil record has in part led the monolithic depiction of sauropods. It then attempts to gain new understanding of “nature's grandest extravagances.” Finally, an overview of the chapters included in this book is presented. This book documents what is currently known about sauropod evolutionary history, and also highlights deficiencies in the understanding. In that sense, it is hoped that this volume will spark interest, provoke questions, and provide fresh ground for continued research on sauropod dinosaurs.
Kevin Padian
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242098
- eISBN:
- 9780520941434
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242098.003.0013
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
The first animal universally accepted as a true bird is Archaeopteryx lithographica. In this chapter, the name Avialae is introduced to encompass Archaeopteryx and living birds, with Aves/Neornithes ...
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The first animal universally accepted as a true bird is Archaeopteryx lithographica. In this chapter, the name Avialae is introduced to encompass Archaeopteryx and living birds, with Aves/Neornithes considered the crown taxon. It focuses on basal birds and aims to summarize the early history of birds and their evolution from other theropod dinosaurs. It also discusses the diagnostic features, phylogeny, and biogeography of basal birds. The chapter also examines the phylogenetic transformation of feathers and the origin and adaptation of flight.Less
The first animal universally accepted as a true bird is Archaeopteryx lithographica. In this chapter, the name Avialae is introduced to encompass Archaeopteryx and living birds, with Aves/Neornithes considered the crown taxon. It focuses on basal birds and aims to summarize the early history of birds and their evolution from other theropod dinosaurs. It also discusses the diagnostic features, phylogeny, and biogeography of basal birds. The chapter also examines the phylogenetic transformation of feathers and the origin and adaptation of flight.
