The story of life in 25 fossils : tales of intrepid fossil hunters and the wonders of evolution

Summary: Every fossil tells a story. Prothero recounts the adventures behind the discovery of twenty-five famous, beautifully preserved fossils and explains their significance within the larger fossil record, creating a riveting history of life on our planet.

Record details

ISBN: 9780231171908
ISBN: 0231171900
ISBN: 9780231539425
Physical Description: print
viii, 389 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Publisher: New York : Columbia University Press, [2015]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Planet of the scum. The first fossils ; Cryptozoon -- Garden of Ediacara. The first multicellular life ; Charnia -- "Little shellies." The first shells ; Cloudina -- Oh, give me a home, when the trilobites roamed. The first large shelled animals ; Olenellus -- Is it a worm or an arthropod? The origin of arthropods ; Hallucigenia -- Is it a worm or a mollusc? The origin of molluscs ; Pilina -- Growing from the sea. The origin of land plants ; Cooksonia -- A fishy tale. The origin of vertebrates ; Haikouichthys -- Mega-jaws. The largest fish ; Carcharocles -- Fish out of water. The origin of amphibians ; Tiktaalik -- "Frogamander." The origin of frogs ; Gerobatrachus -- Turtle on the half-shell. The origin of turtles ; Odontochelys -- Walking serpents. The origin of snakes ; Haasiophis -- King of the fish-lizards. The largest marine reptile ; Shonisaurus -- Terror of the seas. The largest sea monster ; Kronosaurus -- Monster flesh-eater. The largest predator ; Giganotosaurus -- Land of the giants. The largest land animal ; Argentinosaurus -- A feather in stone. The first bird ; Archaeopteryx -- Not quite a mammal. The origin of mammals ; Thrinaxodon -- Walking into the water. The origin of whales ; Ambulocetus -- Walking manatees. The origin of sirenians ; Pezosiren -- Dawn horses. The origin of horses ; Eohippus -- Rhinoceros giants. The largest land mammal ; Paraceratherium -- The ape's reflection? The oldest human fossil ; Sahelanthropus -- Lucy in the sky with diamonds. The oldest human skeleton ; Australopithecus afarensis -- Appendix. The best natural history museums.