Exceptional Fossil Preservation - A Unique View on the Evolution of Marine Life

Informationen zum Autor Edited by David J. Bottjer! Walter Etter! James W. Hagadorn! and Carol M. Tang Klappentext Most nonscientists are usually aware of fossils! and it is commonly believed that they are extremely rare. In fact! fossils are exceptionally common in many sedimentary rocks and are used extensively in geology for age dating! interpretation of ancient environments! and the discovery of natural resources. However! there is another type of fossil deposit that is truly rare. These rare fossil deposits! called Lagerstätten! preserve the remains of the soft tissues or the articulated skeletal remains of ancient creatures in truly astonishing fine detail. Some of these deposits are world-famous! such as the Burgess Shale! or Solnhofen but there are others dating from many different geological eras from the Paleozoic! up to the Eocene. Recently! a concerted effort has been made to understand the overall significance of these rare fossil deposits. Whereas in the past these deposits were considered novelties! modern researchers are trying to understand what they can tell us about ancient life and environments. New sophisticated techniques (including image and geochemical analyses) are providing enormous new contributions to our knowledge of Lagerstätten sites and to paleobiology in general. This volume describes many of the most famous Lagerstätten locations worldwide and is complete with over 70 superb halftones showing some of these exotic fossils in all their glory. Paleontologists are beginning to understand why such deposits occur! how they have varied since the advent of marine metazoan life! and how their presence effects our understanding of the evolution of life in the Earth's oceans. In this way! the study of Lagerstätten continues to move towards the mainstream of paleobiological! biological! and geological research! and away from its former status as the examination of mere curiosities. All those interested in these beautiful and sometimes enigmatic deposits will want to own this book. Zusammenfassung This photographically rich volume provides a synthetic overview of a wide sample of Lagerstatten from marine environments reaching back in time to the Precambrian! more than 500 million years ago. These occurrences of exceptional fossil preservation are providing scientists with a new source of evidence to understand how life has evolved in the Earth's oceans. Inhaltsverzeichnis Foreword! by Alfred G. FischerFossil-Lagerstätten: Jewels of the Fossil Record! by David Jè. Bottjer! Walter Etter! James W. Hagadorn! and Carol M. TangEnigmatic Ediacara Fossils: Ancestors or Aliens?! by David J. BottjerChengjiang: Early Record of the Cambrian Explosion! by James W. HagadornThe Burgess Shale: Cambrian Explosion in Full Bloom! by James W. HagadornBurgess Shale-Type Localities: The Global Picture! by James W. HagadornOrsten Deposits from Sweden: Miniature Late Cambrian Arthropods! by Carol M. TangBeecher's Trilobite Bed: Ordovician Pyritization for the Other Half of the Trilobite! by Walter EtterThe Hunsrück Slate: Widespread Pyritization of a Devonian Fauna! by Walter EtterBear Gulch: An Exceptional Upper Carboniferous Plattenkalk! by James W. HagadornMazon Creek: Preservation in Late Paleozoic Deltaic Environments! by Stephen A. SchellenbergGrès à Voltzia: Preservation in Early Mesozoic Deltaic and Marginal Marine Environments! by Walter EtterMonte San Giorgio: Remarkable Triassic Marine Vertebrates! by Walter EtterBerlin-Ichthyosaur: Preserving Some of the Earth's Largest Marine Vertebrates! by David J. BottjerOsteno: Jurassic Preservation to the Cellular Level! by Carol M. TangPosidonia Shale: Germany's Jurassic Marine Park! by Walter Etter and Carol M. TangLa Voulte-Sur-Rhône: Exquisite Cephalopod Preservation! by Walter EtterOxford Clay: England's Jurassic Marine Park! by Carol M. TangSolnhofen: Plattenkalk Preservati...

Product details

• Authors: David Etter Bottjer, David J. Bottjer, David J. Etter Bottjer, Walter Etter, James W. Hagadorn
• Assisted by: David Bottjer (Editor), David J. Bottjer (Editor), Walter Etter (Editor), James Hagadorn (Editor), James W. Hagadorn (Editor), Carol Tang (Editor), Carol (Director Tang (Editor), Carol M. Tang (Editor)
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 27.08.2002
• EAN: 9780231102551
• ISBN: 978-0-231-10255-1
• No. of pages: 424
• Series: The Critical Moments and Perspectives in Earth History and Paleobiology; Critical Moments and Perspecti; The Critical Moments and Perspectives in Earth History and Paleobiology; Critical Moments and Perspecti
• Subject: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Palaeontology