How did flying birds evolve from running dinosaurs, terrestrial trotting tetrapods evolve from swimming fish, and whales return to swim in the sea? These are some of the great transformations in the 500-million-year history of vertebrate life. And with the aid of new techniques and approaches across a range of fields—work spanning multiple levels of biological organization from DNA sequences to organs and the physiology and ecology of whole organisms—we are now beginning to unravel the confounding evolutionary mysteries contained in the structure, genes, and fossil record of every living species. This book gathers a diverse team of renowned scientists to capture the excitement of these new discoveries in a collection that is both accessible to students and an important contribution to the future of its field. Marshaling a range of disciplines—from paleobiology to phylogenetics, developmental biology, ecology, and evolutionary biology—the contributors attack particular transformations in the head and neck, trunk, appendages such as fins and limbs, and the whole body, as well as offer synthetic perspectives. Illustrated throughout, Great Transformations in Vertebrate Evolution not only reveals the true origins of whales with legs, fish with elbows, wrists, and necks, and feathered dinosaurs, but also the relevance to our lives today of these extraordinary narratives of change.
1120667711
Great Transformations in Vertebrate Evolution
How did flying birds evolve from running dinosaurs, terrestrial trotting tetrapods evolve from swimming fish, and whales return to swim in the sea? These are some of the great transformations in the 500-million-year history of vertebrate life. And with the aid of new techniques and approaches across a range of fields—work spanning multiple levels of biological organization from DNA sequences to organs and the physiology and ecology of whole organisms—we are now beginning to unravel the confounding evolutionary mysteries contained in the structure, genes, and fossil record of every living species. This book gathers a diverse team of renowned scientists to capture the excitement of these new discoveries in a collection that is both accessible to students and an important contribution to the future of its field. Marshaling a range of disciplines—from paleobiology to phylogenetics, developmental biology, ecology, and evolutionary biology—the contributors attack particular transformations in the head and neck, trunk, appendages such as fins and limbs, and the whole body, as well as offer synthetic perspectives. Illustrated throughout, Great Transformations in Vertebrate Evolution not only reveals the true origins of whales with legs, fish with elbows, wrists, and necks, and feathered dinosaurs, but also the relevance to our lives today of these extraordinary narratives of change.
How did flying birds evolve from running dinosaurs, terrestrial trotting tetrapods evolve from swimming fish, and whales return to swim in the sea? These are some of the great transformations in the 500-million-year history of vertebrate life. And with the aid of new techniques and approaches across a range of fields—work spanning multiple levels of biological organization from DNA sequences to organs and the physiology and ecology of whole organisms—we are now beginning to unravel the confounding evolutionary mysteries contained in the structure, genes, and fossil record of every living species. This book gathers a diverse team of renowned scientists to capture the excitement of these new discoveries in a collection that is both accessible to students and an important contribution to the future of its field. Marshaling a range of disciplines—from paleobiology to phylogenetics, developmental biology, ecology, and evolutionary biology—the contributors attack particular transformations in the head and neck, trunk, appendages such as fins and limbs, and the whole body, as well as offer synthetic perspectives. Illustrated throughout, Great Transformations in Vertebrate Evolution not only reveals the true origins of whales with legs, fish with elbows, wrists, and necks, and feathered dinosaurs, but also the relevance to our lives today of these extraordinary narratives of change.
Kenneth P. Dial is professor of biology at the University of Montana and founding director of the university’s Flight Laboratory and Field Station at Fort Missoula.
Neil Shubin is senior advisor to the president and the Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor of Anatomy at the University of Chicago. His books include The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People and Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body.
Elizabeth L. Brainerd is professor of medical science and director of the XROMM Technology Development Project at Brown University.
Table of Contents
Introduction Part I Origins and Transformations 1 Origin of the Vertebrate Dentition: Teeth Transform Jaws into a Biting Force Moya Meredith Smith and Zerina Johanson 2 Flexible Fins and Fin Rays as Key Transformations in Ray-Finned Fishes George V. Lauder 3 Major Transformations in Vertebrate Breathing Mechanisms Elizabeth L. Brainerd 4 Origin of the Tetrapod Neck and Shoulder Neil Shubin, Edward B. Daeschler, and Farish A. Jenkins Jr. 5 Origin of the Turtle Body Plan Ann Campbell Burke 6 Anatomical Transformations and Respiratory Innovations of the Archosaur Trunk Leon Claessens 7 Evolution of Hind Limb Posture in Triassic Archosauriforms Corwin Sullivan 8 Fossils, Trackways, and Transitions in Locomotion: A Case Study of Dimetrodon James A. Hopson 9 Respiratory Turbinates and the Evolution of Endothermy in Mammals and Birds Tomasz Owerkowicz, Catherine Musinsky, Kevin M. Middleton, and A. W. Crompton 10 Origin of the Mammalian Shoulder Zhe-Xi Luo 11 Evolution of the Mammalian Nose A.W. Crompton, Catherine Musinsky, and Tomasz Owerkowicz 12 Placental Evolution in Therian Mammals Kathleen K. Smith 13 Going from Small to Large: Mechanical Implications of Body Size Diversity in Terrestrial Mammals Andrew A. Biewener 14 Evolution of Whales from Land to Sea Philip D. Gingerich 15 Major Transformations in the Evolution of Primate Locomotion John G. Fleagle and Daniel E. Lieberman Part II Perspectives and Approaches 16 Ontogenetic and Evolutionary Transformations: Ecological Significance of Rudimentary Structures Kenneth P. Dial, Ashley M. Heers, and Terry R. Dial 17 Skeletons in Motion: An Animator’s Perspective on Vertebrate Evolution Stephen M. Gatesy and David B. Baier 18 Developmental Mechanisms of Morphological Transitions: Examples from Archosaurian Evolution Arhat Abzhanov 19 Microevolution and the Genetic Basis of Vertebrate Diversity: Examples from Teleost Fishes Sydney A. Stringham and Michael D. Shapiro 20 The Age of Transformation: The Triassic Period and the Rise of Today's Land Vertebrate Fauna Kevin Padian and Hans-Dieter Sues 21 How Do Homoplasies Arise? Origin and Maintenance of Reproductive Modes in Amphibians Marvalee H. Wake 22 Rampant Homoplasy in Complex Characters: Repetitive Convergent Evolution of Amphibian Feeding Structures David B. Wake, David C. Blackburn, and R. Eric Lombard Contributors Index
