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This book offers a comprehensive review of the entire field of taphonomy, the science of fossil preservation. It describes the formation of plant and animal fossils in oceanic, terrestrial and river settings and how this affects deciphering the ecology and extinction of past lifeforms and the environments in which they lived. Coverage emphasizes a process approach to the subject and reviews the taphonomic behavior of all important taxa, both plant and animal. The book will be of main interest to advanced students and professionals working in paleontology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, climate modeling and biogeochemistry. It will also appeal to anyone interested in the preservation of fossils and the formation of fossil assemblages.
List of contents
Preface; 1. Introduction: the science of taphonomy; 2. Biostratinomy I: necrolysis, transport and abrasion; 3. Biostratinomy II: dissolution and diagenesis; 4. Bioturbation; 5. Time-averaging of fossil assemblages: taphonomy and temporal resolution; 6. Exceptional preservation; 7. Sedimentation and stratigraphy; 8. Megabiases I: cycles of preservation and biomineralization; 9. Megabiases II: secular trends in preservation; 10. Applied taphonomy; 11. Taphonomy as an historical science; References.
Summary
This is the first book to review the entire field of taphonomy, or the science of fossil preservation. It will be useful to anyone interested in the preservation of fossils and is aimed primarily at advanced students and professionals working in paleontology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, climate modeling and biogeochemistry.
