Ice Age Florida: In Story and ArtBy: Robert W. Sinibaldi and illustrated by Hermann TrappmanFlorida's Ice Age was vastly different from what the North experienced. Ice Age Florida: In Story and Art investigates and illustrates the fascinating fossil record and history of the Gulf Coast compared to what most envision when the term Ice Age comes up. The author takes the reader along on his initial and developing interest in fossil diving and details his insatiable curiosity a...

A practical and fun identification manual for amateurs and professionals alike"Provides the beginning fossil vertebrate enthusiast with some valuable information about the fossils they are collecting."--Guy "Harley" Means, Florida Geological Survey"Illustrates how the dynamic story of ancient life and death and post-mortem utilization is accessible from the study of bone shapes. It is this very thing that made me want to be a paleontologist in the first place."--Pennilyn Hi...

An in-depth look at the origin and evolutionary radiation of the synapsids.About 320 million years ago a group of reptiles known as the synapsids emerged and forever changed Earth's ecological landscapes. This book discusses the origin and radiation of the synapsids from their sail-backed pelycosaur ancestor to their diverse descendants, the therapsids or mammal-like reptiles, that eventually gave rise to mammals. It further showcases the remarkable evolutionary his...

"An outstanding contribution. . . . The glossary and illustrations are excellent and most helpful. This book will be the standard for years to come." —Robert M. Timm, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, and past president, American Society of MammalogistsDouglas A. Kelt and James L. Patton provide a long-overdue update to Timothy E. Lawlor's Handbook to the Orders and Families of Living Mammals in their new, wholly original w...

What can we learn about the evolution of jaws from a pair of scissors? How does the flight of a tennis ball help explain how fish overcome drag? What do a spacesuit and a chicken egg have in common? Highlighting the fascinating twists and turns of evolution across more than 540 million years, paleobiologist Matthew Bonnan uses everyday objects to explain the emergence and adaptation of the vertebrate skeleton. What can camera lenses tell us about the eyes of marine reptiles? How does under...

"A unique review of the many unusual and nearly worldwide occurrences of sabertooths and their relatives over more than 50 million years." — ChoiceWith their spectacularly enlarged canines, sabertooth cats are among the most popular of prehistoric animals, yet it is surprising how little information about them is available for the curious layperson. What's more, there were other sabertooths that were not cats, animals with exotic names like nimravids, barbo...

Around 370 million years ago, a distant relative of a modern lungfish began a most extraordinary adventure—emerging from the water and laying claim to the land. Over the next 70 million years, this tentative beachhead had developed into a worldwide colonization by ever-increasing varieties of four-limbed creatures known as tetrapods, the ancestors of all vertebrate life on land. This new edition of Jennifer A. Clack's groundbreaking book tells the complex story of their emergence and evolu...

"For melittologists . . . as well as anyone interested in the conservation, ecology, biology, natural history, or simple appreciation of bumble bees." —Michael S. Engel, Entomologist's MonthlyMore than ever before, there is widespread interest in studying bumble bees and the critical role they play in our ecosystems. Bumble Bees of North America is the first comprehensive guide to North American bumble bees to be published in more than a century. R...

Extinct worlds live again in palaeoart: artworks of fossil animals, plants and environments carefully reconstructed from palaeontological and geological data. Such artworks are widespread in popular culture, appearing in documentaries, museums, books and magazines, and inspiring depictions of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals in cinema. This book outlines how fossil animals and environments can be reconstructed from their fossils, explaining how palaeoartists overcome gaps in fossil ...

It seems to the author that three kinds of work should be included in the elementary study of zoology. These three kinds are: (a) observations in the field covering the habits and behavior of animals and their relations to their physical surroundings, to plants, and to each other; (b) work in the laboratory, consisting of the study of animal structure by dissection and the observation of live specimens in cages and aquaria; and (c) work in the recitation- or lecture-room, where the signifi...

This book contains lab exercises used in BIOS 385, Parasitology, from 2006 to 2010 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Included are outcomes, tasks, materials, study questions, and vocabulary. These exercises are the basic ones used, but teaching assistants had quite a bit of freedom to modify them. TAs also gave weekly quizzes (not included in these exercises), some of which were practical. The lab was fully equipped with video, including video microscopes, and each student had his/her...

This book is about the time when giant reptiles ruled the world, on land (dinosaurs), in the sea (sea monsters), and in the air (pterosaurs). It was a unique period, never to be repeated once mammals became the dominant tetrapods. Birds and mammals first appeared as well, but remained insignificant until these reptiles were already extinct. The book is designed for a wide audience of age groups, ranging in age from seven years (my grandson Jake) to those of us at 77 (my age). The approach ...