The literature on Chinese fossil vertebrates is extremely difficult for Westernscholars to assimilate and interpret. In part this is because much of thatliterat... » 

The literature on Chinese fossil vertebrates is extremely difficult for Westernscholars to assimilate and interpret. In part this is because much of thatliterature is in Chinese and few useful reviews exist in Western languages.Yet China has an extensive vertebrate fossil record one that plays a key rolein understanding the evolution of vertebrates. Spencer Lucas gives an uptodate review and synthesis of the Chinese vertebrate fossil record that willgreatly facilitate an understanding of and further research into thisoutstanding fossil record. The book provides the reader with a comprehensivechronologically ordered review of Chinas vertebrate fossil record. It alsopresents a history of vertebrate paleontological studies in China and an entreto some important issues of systematics evolutionary history paleoecologytaphonomy and functional anatomy best elucidated by Chinas fossils. Thisvolume should therefore become an indispensable part of the library of anystudent of vertebrate evolution. «