Revision of the Miocene and Pliocene Equidae of North America

Revision of the Miocene and Pliocene Equidae of North America
Author: James Williams Gidley
Publisher:
Total Pages: 78
Release: 1907
Genre: Equidae
ISBN:

"In the foregoing revision the lines of comparison and study have been confined principally to characters of the teeth and skull, for the reason that by far the greater number of species of horses have been founded on tooth and skull material not associated with other parts of the skeleton. The expeditions of the last few years however are constantly increasing the collections and adding quantities of more complete material, including many specimens in which teeth and bones of the feet are associated. This class of material will greatly aid in working out more fully than has been done the characters of foot development of horses, and should result in throwing added light on the phyletic relations of the extremely varied groups which seem to have reached their culmination, as regards numbers of genera and species, in the Miocene period. The principal results attained by this study are, first, a better understanding and interpretation of the principal characters shown in the numerous and varied types representing the American Miocene horses; second, the reestablishment and better definition of several of the genera and species proposed by Leidy, the validity of which was questioned by Cope; and third, a reclassification of the entire family of the Equiidae. As at present understood, the fact seems to be fairly well established that there is a considerable phyletic hiatus between the groups of the Equidae as above subdivided, which are as yet not bridged over by intermediate forms. Such a hiatus seems especially marked between the Anchitheriinae and the Protohippinae, while these groups greatly overlap each other in time. So far as indicated by any known species the Anchitheriinae could not well have stood in direct ancestral line to the latter group or to the Equiinae. There seems also to be almost as decided a gap between the Anchitheriinae and the known species of the older group, the Hyracotheriinae. The Equiinae may well have been derived from some species of the Protohippus division of the Protohippinae"--Page 933-934

The Evolution of Perissodactyls

The Evolution of Perissodactyls
Author: Donald R. Prothero
Publisher:
Total Pages: 564
Release: 1989
Genre: Science
ISBN:

This new treatise is comprised of 24 papers covering virtually every recent development regarding fossil horses, rhinos, tapirs, and their extinct relatives. It includes materials currently available in no other reference, such as information on the oldest known rhino and the oldest known perissodactyl, as well as papers debunking myths about the evolution of horses, and strong evidence that hyraxes are not related to elephants. The summary chapter includes useful charts which show the relationships of all perissodactyl genera, their distribution in time and space, and a new classification of the order.

Cenozoic Mammals of Africa

Cenozoic Mammals of Africa
Author: Lars Werdelin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 1008
Release: 2010-07-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0520257219

"This impressively comprehensive volume is a long-awaited and worthy successor to the now outdated 1978 classic, Evolution of African Mammals. A must-have reference work for everyone interested in mammalian evolution." David Pilbeam, Harvard University and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology --

Fossil Horses of South America

Fossil Horses of South America
Author: José Luis Prado
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 157
Release: 2017-04-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319558773

This book provides an update on the phylogeny, systematics and ecology of horses in South America based on data provided over the past three decades. The contemporary South American mammalian communities were shaped by the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama and by the profound climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene. Horses were a conspicuous group of immigrant mammals from North America that arrived in South America during the Pleistocene. This group is represented by 2 genera, Hippidion and Equus, which include small species (Hippidion devillei, H. saldiasi, E. andium and E. insulatus) and large forms (Equus neogeus and H. principale). Both groups arrived in South America via 2 different routes. One model designed to explain this migration indicates that the small forms used the Andes corridor, while larger horses used the eastern route and arrived through some coastal areas. Molecular dating (ancient DNA) suggests that the South American horses separated from the North American taxa (caballines and the New World stilt-legged horse) after 3.6 - 3.2 Ma, consistent with the final formation of the Panamanian Isthmus. Recent studies of stable isotopes in these horses indicate an extensive range of 13C values cover closed woodlands to C4 grasslands. This plasticity agrees with the hypothesis that generalist species and open biome specialist species from North America indicate a positive migration through South America.

Out of Africa I

Out of Africa I
Author: John G Fleagle
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2010-08-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9048190363

For the first two thirds of our evolutionary history, we hominins were restricted to Africa. Dating from about two million years ago, hominin fossils first appear in Eurasia. This volume addresses many of the issues surrounding this initial hominin intercontinental dispersal. Why did hominins first leave Africa in the early Pleistocene and not earlier? What do we know about the adaptations of the hominins that dispersed - their diet, locomotor abilities, cultural abilities? Was there a single dispersal event or several? Was the hominin dispersal part of a broader faunal expansion of African mammals northward? What route or routes did dispersing populations take?

Living Fossils

Living Fossils
Author: N. Eldredge
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461382718

The case history approach has an impressive record of success in a variety of disciplines. Collections of case histories, casebooks, are now widely used in all sorts of specialties other than in their familiar appli cation to law and medicine. The case method had its formal beginning at Harvard in 1871 when Christopher Lagdell developed it as a means of teaching. It was so successful in teaching law that it was soon adopted in medical education, and the collection of cases provided the raw material for research on various diseases. Subsequently, the case history approach spread to such varied fields as business, psychology, management, and economics, and there are over 100 books in print that use this approach. The idea for a series of Casehooks in Earth Science grew from my experience in organizing and editing a collection of examples of one variety of sedimentary deposits. The prqject began as an effort to bring some order to a large number of descriptions of these deposits that were so varied in presentation and terminology that even specialists found them difficult to compare and analyze. Thus, from the beginning, it was evident that something more than a simple collection of papers was needed. Accordingly, the nearly fifty contributors worked together with George de Vries Klein and me to establish a standard format for presenting the case histories.

Biodiversity of Angola

Biodiversity of Angola
Author: Brian J. Huntley
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 552
Release: 2019-02-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030030830

This open access multi-authored book presents a 'state of the science' synthesis of knowledge on the biodiversity of Angola, based on sources in peer-reviewed journals, in books and where appropriate, unpublished official reports. The book identifies Angola as one of the most biologically diverse countries in Africa, but notes that its fauna, flora, habitats and the processes that drive the dynamics of its ecosystems are still very poorly researched and documented. This 'state of the science' synthesis is for the use of all students of Angola's biodiversity, and for those responsible for the planning, development and sustainable management of the country's living resources. The volume brings together the results of expeditions and research undertaken in Angola since the late eighteenth century, with emphasis on work conducted in the four decades since Angola's independence in 1975. The individual chapters have been written by leaders in their fields, and reviewed by peers familiar with the region.