The Emergence of Whales

Evolutionary Patterns in the Origin of Cetacea

Buch | Hardcover

477 Seiten

1998
Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers (Verlag)
978-0-306-45853-8 (ISBN)

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Research in whale origins is now in an explosive phase, with a cascade of discoveries adding to our understanding of the evolutionary pattern and a suite of new techniques being applied to address new questions. The objective of this volume is to provide a snapshot of this explosion. The volume paints the scene with a broad brush. Taken together the chapters clearly indicate that cetacean origins is a field that is dynamic, multidisciplinary, and that the end of the explosive phase is not in sight.

1 • Synopsis of the Earliest Cetaceans: Pakicetidae, Ambulocetidae, Remingtonocetidae, and Protocetidae.- 2 · Middle to Late Eocene Basilosaurines and Dorudontines.- 3 · Molecular Evidence for the Phylogenetic Affinities of Cetacea.- 4 · Cetaceans Are Highly Derived Artiodactyls.- 5 · Phylogenetic and Morphometric Reassessment of the Dental Evidence for a Mesonychian and Cetacean Clade.- 6 · Relationships of Cetacea to Terrestrial Ungulates and the Evolution of Cranial Vasculature in Cete.- 7 · Middle Eocene Cetaceans from the Harudi and Subathu Formations of India.- 8 · Postcranial Osteology of the North American Middle Eocene Protocetid Georgiacetus.- 9 · Homology and Transformation of Cetacean Ectotympanic Structures.- 10 · Biomechanical Perspective on the Origin of Cetacean Flukes.- 11 · Implications of Vertebral Morphology for Locomotor Evolution in Early Cetacea.- 12 · Structural Adaptations of Early Archaeocete Long Bones.- 13 · Evolution of Thermoregulatory Function in Cetacean Reproductive Systems.- 14 · Isotopic Approaches to Understanding the Terrestrial-to-Marine Transition of the Earliest Cetaceans.- 15 · Paleobiological Perspectives on Mesonychia, Archaeoceti, and the Origin of Whales.- 16 · Cetacean Origins: Evolutionary Turmoil during the Invasion of the Oceans.

Reihe/Serie	Advances in Vertebrate Paleobiology ; 1
Zusatzinfo	XIV, 477 p.
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 234 mm
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution
	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Zoologie
	Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Mineralogie / Paläontologie
ISBN-10	0-306-45853-5 / 0306458535
ISBN-13	978-0-306-45853-8 / 9780306458538
Zustand	Neuware