Avian Evolution The Fossil Record of Birds and Its Paleobiological Significance 1st Edition by Gerald Mayr 1119020738 9781119020738

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ISBN-10 :  1119020738 

ISBN-13 :  9781119020738

Author: Gerald Mayr 

Knowledge of the evolutionary history of birds has much improved in recent decades. Fossils from critical time periods are being described at unprecedented rates and modern phylogenetic analyses have provided a framework for the interrelationships of the extant groups. This book gives an overview of the avian fossil record and its paleobiological significance, and it is the only up-to-date textbook that covers both Mesozoic and more modern-type Cenozoic birds in some detail. The reader is introduced to key features of basal avians and the morphological transformations that have occurred in the evolution towards modern birds. An account of the Cenozoic fossil record sheds light on the biogeographic history of the extant avian groups and discusses fossils in the context of current phylogenetic hypotheses. This review of the evolutionary history of birds not only addresses students and established researchers, but it may also be a useful source of information for anyone else with an interest in the evolution of birds and a moderate background in biology and geology.

Avian Evolution: The Fossil Record of Birds and Its Paleobiological Significance 1st Table of contents:

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Birds, the Geological Settings of Their Evolution, and the Avian Skeleton
Birds are Evolutionarily Nested within Theropod Dinosaurs
The Geological Settings of Avian Evolution in a Nutshell
Characteristics of the Avian Skeleton
Chapter 2: The Origin of Birds
Archaeopteryx: The German “Urvogel” and Its Bearing on Avian Evolution
The Closest Maniraptoran Relatives of Birds
Feather Evolution
The Origin of Avian Flight
Chapter 3: The Mesozoic Flight Way towards Modern Birds
Jeholornithids: Early Cretaceous Long-Tailed Birds
Confuciusornis, Sapeornis, and Kin: Basal Birds with a Pygostyle
Ornithothoraces and the Origin of Sustained Flapping Flight Capabilities
The Ornithuromorpha: Refinement of Modern Characteristics
Ornithurae and the Origin of Modern Birds
Chapter 4: Mesozoic Birds: Interrelationships and Character Evolution
The Interrelationships of Mesozoic Birds: Controversial Phylogenetic Placements and Well-Supported Clades
Character Evolution in Mesozoic Birds
Ontogenetic Development of Mesozoic Birds
Chapter 5: The Interrelationships and Origin of Crown Group Birds (Neornithes)
Phylogenetic Interrelationships of Neornithine Birds
The Mesozoic Fossil Record of Neornithine-Like and Neornithine Birds
Chapter 6: Palaeognathous Birds (Ostriches, Tinamous, and Allies)
The Interrelationships of Extant Palaeognathae
Early Cenozoic Palaeognathous Birds of the Northern Hemisphere
Long-Winged Ostriches, Rheas, and Tinamous
Short-Winged Palaeognathous Birds
Biogeography: A Textbook Example of Gondwanan Vicariance Has Been Dismantled
Chapter 7: Galloanseres: “Fowl” and Kin
Galliformes: From Herbivorous Forest Dwellers to Seed Eaters of Open Landscapes
The Waterfowl
Gastornithids: Giant Herbivorous Birds in the Early Paleogene of the Northern Hemisphere
Dromornithids (Mihirungs or Thunderbirds): Gastornis-Like Birds from Australia
Pelagornithids: Bony-Toothed Birds
Chapter 8: The “Difficult-to-Place Groups”: Biogeographic Surprises and Aerial Specialists
The Columbiform Birds: Doves, Sandgrouse, … and Mesites?
The Hoatzin: A South American Relict Species
Turacos and Cuckoos
Bustards
The “Wonderful” Mirandornithes, or How Different Can Sister Taxa Be?
Strisores: The Early Diversification of Nocturnal Avian Insectivores
Chapter 9: Shorebirds, Cranes, and Relatives
Charadriiformes: One of the Most Diverse Groups of Extant Birds
From Rail to Crane
Chapter 10: Aequornithes: Aquatic and Semi-Aquatic Carnivores
Loons: Foot-Propelled Divers of the Northern Hemisphere
Pelagic Tubenoses and Albatrosses
Penguins: More Than 60 Million Years of Flightlessness
The Polyphyletic “Pelecaniformes” and “Ciconiiformes”
Late Cenozoic Turnovers in Marine Avifaunas
Chapter 11: Cariamiforms and Diurnal Birds of Prey
Seriemas and Allies: Two Species Now, Many More in the Past
Diurnal Birds of Prey: Multiple Cases of Convergence among Raptorial Birds
Chapter 12: The Cenozoic Radiation of Small Arboreal Birds
The Courol and Mousebirds: Two African Relict Groups
The Long Evolutionary History of Owls
Parrots and Passerines: An Unexpected Sister Group Relationship and Its Potential Evolutionary Implications
Trogons, Rollers, and Woodpeckers: Cavity-Nesters with Diverse Foot Morphologies
Chapter 13: Insular Avifaunas Now and Then, on Various Scales
Islands and Isolated Continents as Refugia
The Evolution of Flightlessness in Predator-Free Environments
Insular Gigantism and Islands as Cradles of Unusual Morphologies

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Tags: Avian Evolution, The Fossil Record, Paleobiological Significance, Gerald Mayr