<strong>Fossil Invertebrates</strong> introduces readers to the biosphere as it washundreds of millions of years ago when seas teemed with animal forms bothfami... » 

Fossil Invertebrates introduces readers to the biosphere as it washundreds of millions of years ago when seas teemed with animal forms bothfamiliar and strange ammonites and corals mollusks and sponges crinoids andtrilobites. On land terrestrial forms were beginning to make their markleaving behind traces such as burrows and track ways and other fossil evidenceof the important transition to life on land. The plates in this book capturethe incredibly detailed impressions and casts of ancient life contrasting themwith forms such as the horseshoe crab and the chambered nautilus that persisttoday virtually unchanged. The shells and hard exoskeletons ofinvertebrates make them excellent candidates for fossilization and the amateurfossil collectors are more likely to uncover an invertebrate fossil than anyother kind. The fossilized remains of invertebrates dominate universitycollections and museum holdings worldwide and their study continues to yieldimportant insights into the nature of evolutionary change and the impact ofclimate change on biodiversity as great explosions of diversity were succeededby mass extinctions. Paul D. Taylor and David N. Lewis both of the NaturalHistory Museum London have written a comprehensive and accessible resourceone that provides undergraduates and amateur fossil enthusiasts with a means tounderstand and interpret this rich fossil record. «