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This is the first comprehensive source of information about Mexican fossils to be published in English. The book offers updated information in the fields of stratigraphy, sedimentology, tectonics, paleobiogeography, paleoclimatology and evolution. Included is an extensive bibliography of almost 1000 references related to the central topic, a tribute to two centuries of research.
List of contents
1. Geological setting and phytodiversity in Mexico; Cevallos-Ferriz, Sergio R. S. and González-Torres, Enrique A.
2. Tertiary Palynofloristic correlations between Mexican Formations with emphasis in dating the Balsas Group; Martínez-Hernández, Enrique and Ramírez-Arriaga, Elia.
3. Mesozoic Corals of Mexico; Filkorn, Harry F.
4. Rudists of Mexico: Historical Aspects and Selected Areas of Research; García-Barrera, Pedro.
5. Mesozoic and Tertiary Decapod Crustacea of Mexico; Vega, Francisco J.; Nyborg, Torrey G. and Perrilliat, María del Carmen.
6. Cretaceous Echinoids of Mexico; Nieto-López, Itzia and García-Barrera, Pedro.
7. Fossil Ophiuroids of Mexico; Martín-Medrano, Leonora and García-Barrera, Pedro.
8. Fossil record of Upper Paleozoic Marine Invertebrates from Mexico; Quiroz-Barroso, Sara A. and Sour-Tovar, Francisco.
9. Mesozoic Osteichthyans of Mexico; Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús; González-Rodríguez, Katia; Blanco-Piñón, Alberto; Espinosa-Arrubarrena, Luis and Ovalles-Damián, Ernesto.
10. Research on fossil amphibians and reptiles in Mexico, from 1869 to early 2004 (including marine forms but excluding pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and obviously, birds); Reynoso, Víctor-Hugo.
11. A review of the Dinosaurian Record from Mexico; Rivera-Sylva, Héctor E.; Rodríguez-de La Rosa, R. and Ortiz-Mendieta, Jorge A.
12. Mexican Fossil Mammals, Who, Where and When? Montellano-Ballesteros, Marisol and Jiménez-Hidalgo, E.
13. Revision of Recent Investigations in the Tlayúa Quarry; Applegate, Shelton P.; Espinosa-Arrubarrena, Luis; Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús and Benammi, Mouloud.
About the author
Dr. Francisco J. Vega was Head of the Geology Department, Instituto de Geología, UNAM, and Secretary of the Paleontological Society (South Central Section). His contributions deal with biostratigraphy and systematics of Cretaceous and Tertiary Crustacea and Mollusca.
Torrey Nyborg received his MS degree from Kent State University. He works with decapod crustaceans and fossil mammal and bird tracks. Torrey is currently working towards his PhD from Loma Linda University.
Dr. María del Carmen Perrilliat is a prominent specialist on Cretaceous and Tertiary Mollusca. She is the Elected President of the Mexican Paleontological Society (SOMEXPAL).
Summary
During the last few years, the number of contributions to the Paleontology of Mexico has increased considerably. Paleontological work in Mexico has been focused on providing important information for petroleum exploration and specific studies dealing with pollen, foraminifera, radiolaria, dinoflagellates, rudists, and ammonites. Often these reports were published only in local or regional journals and therefore not available to the scientific community at large. The purpose of this book is to offer an updated review of the fossil groups from Mexico, providing their significance to the stratigraphy, tectonics, sedimentology, evolution and paleontology of Mexico whose study has proved to be relevant in stratigraphy, tectonics, sedimentology, and evolution. The fossil record of Mexico ranges from Precambrian to Pleistocene. Almost every Mexican State has reported fossil localities with ongoing studies and potential for the discovery of new localities. Even those localities that have been studied since the eighteen-century, such as the early Cretaceous San Juan Raya, have recently reported new fossil groups. Unfortunately, much of the fossil reports from Mexico have been published in Spanish from local journals, which represent a language barrier to the international community. There is little doubt that the paleontological history of Mexico deserves to be known in other countries. By making this book available to the international scientific community we hope that interest in the fossil record of Mexico will grow.
