Vertebrate LifeFor courses in Vertebrate Zoology, Vertebrate Biology Function, as well as specialty courses such as Paleontology and Herpetology. Widely praised for its comprehensive coverage and exceptionally clear writing style, this best-selling exploration of vertebrate life is the only text that integrates the ecology, behavior, morphology and physiology of vertebrates in a phylogenetic context. It focuses on how animals work and the consequences - in ecological and evolutionary time - of working one way versus another. *NEW - Expands the cladistic classification - especially in our treatment of anatomy and physiology. *NEW - Simplifies cladograms. - Prunes excessive detail while retaining information about the geologic time span for the lineages illustrated. *NEW - Updates literature citations - with many references from 1995 onward. *Presents information in a phylogenetic (evolutionary) context *Integrates ecology, behavior, physiology and morphology to present a view of animals as functioning systems *Offers a cladistic perspective, reflecting the widespread adoption of phylogenetic systematics (cladistics) as the basis for determining the evolutionary relationships of organisms *Includes |
Contents
Traditional and Cladistic Classifications | 21 |
The Effect of Human Population Growth on Vertebrate Diversity | 27 |
The Origin of Vertebrates | 33 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
adult amniotes amphibians ancestral animals aquatic arch Archaeopteryx archosaurs areas behavior biology bipedal birds blood body temperature bones bony brain brates carnivorous cells Cenozoic changes Chapter Chondrichthyes chordates Cretaceous crocodilians cynodonts derived Devonian diapsids dinosaurs diversity dorsal early ectotherms eggs endotherms energy evolution evolutionary evolved extant extinct feeding female Figure fins fishes foraging forms fossil frogs function gill glands gnathostomes habitats hagfishes hatch heat herbivorous humans increase jawless lampreys Late limbs lineages living lizards locomotion lungs male mammalian mammals marine marsupials Mesozoic metabolic meters monotremes morphological muscles nest North America notochord organisms oxygen pectoral percent phylogenetic Physiology placentals posterior predators prey primitive probably produce radiation reproductive reptiles salamanders sharks skin skull snakes specialized species squamates structure surface synapsids tadpoles tail teeth teleosts terrestrial tetrapods therapsids thermoregulation tion tissue tortoises Triassic turtles ventral verte vertebrates wing