Product Description

Our knowledge of the origin and early evolution of birds has exploded since the late 1980s. In the 1990s alone, scientists became aware of approximately three times more species of early birds than were previously known, marking the first 85 million years of avian development as a period of remarkable species diversity. Assembling work by an international group of scientists, this text provides a wide-ranging source on early avian evolution. It provides a comprehensive examination of the known fossil record and is also a guide to the fast-paced developments in research. The text covers a wide range of topics, including discussions of avian origins, the fossil record of feathers and footprints, bone histology, and locomotor evolution. Controversial taxa such as Protoavis, Caudipteryx, and Mononykus receive special treatment. But the heart of the volume presents the anatomy, relationships, and paleobiology of the Mesozoic aviary. The book features descriptions and illustrations of taxa that previously have received only brief notice, such as the alvarezsaurid Shuvuuia; the enantiornithines Sinornis; Eoalulvis, Vorona, and Patagopteryx; and the hesperornithiform Enaliornis.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #520169 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 576 pages

Review
"Mesozoic Birds is the first book to bring together world-renowned specialists on fossil birds and their importance to avian origins and, more importantly, it stresses a unified approach (cladistics) and presents the most anatomically detailed analyses available to date. No other study or collection of studies has ever done so much. How could the project not be welcomed by its audience of paleontologists, ornithologists, and evolutionary biologists!"-David Weishampel, editor of The Dinosauria

About the Author
Luis M. Chiappe is Associate Curator and Chairman of the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. He is the coauthor of Walking on Eggs (2001) and The Tiniest Giants (1999). Lawrence M. Witmer is Associate Professor of Anatomy at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine and author of The Search for the Origin of Birds (1995).