The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of EvolutionArmored fishes and monster sharks, fishes with arms and fishes that breathe air--these and many other strange creatures are part of the remarkable story told in this book. In The Rise of Fishes, John Long traces the evolutionary history of fishes over the course of 500 million years, describes the discovery of extraordinary fossil remains, and explains the techniques used in their interpretation. Featuring more than 300 color illustrations, the book includes photographs of fossils from around the world as well as the author's dramatic color illustrations of what the fish may have actually looked like. Long tells the story of how these creatures lived and developed and why their rise from the waters of the archaic seas and rivers onto land was so momentous an event in the evolution of life on earth. He combines current scientific information with entertaining stories about his own field work in Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Antarctica. Detailed, accessible, and lavishly illustrated, The Rise of Fishes is a book for anyone with an interest in evolution, fossils, or fish. |
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acanthodians actinopterygians agnathans amphibians anatomy animals Antarctica antiarchs armour arthrodires body bony fishes braincase canal Carboniferous cartilage characterised cheek chondrichthyans coelacanths conodont cosmine Cretaceous crossopterygians cusps dentine dermal bones dipnoans dorsal fin earliest Early Devonian evolution evolutionary evolved example fin spines fish fossils forms fossil fossil fishes galeaspids genus gill arch girdle Gogo Gondwana head shield heterostracans holocephalans jaw bones jawed fishes jawless fishes John known lampreys Late Devonian layer living lower jaw lungfishes median Mesozoic Middle Devonian million years ago Mount Howitt nostrils Order ossified osteichthyan fishes osteolepiform osteostracans Palaeozoic palate panderichthyid pectoral fins pelvic fins Permian phyllolepid placoderms plates porolepiforms predators preserved primitive ray-finned fishes rays Reconstruction rhizodontiforms rocks Sandstone scales sharks Silurian skeleton skull roof snout South Wales specialised species specimen Suborder tail teeth teleosts tetrapods thelodonts tissues tooth tooth-plates trunk shield ventral vertebrates Victoria Western Australia Western Australian Museum