Page 68 - Introduction to Paleobiology and The Fossil Record

FOSSILS IN TIME AND SPACE 55

Briggs, D.E.G. & Crowther, P.R. (eds) 2003. Palaeobiol-
Review questions ogy II – A Synthesis. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.
(Modern and updated synthesis of most aspects of
1 The stratigraphic frameworks we use
today have been assembled over the last contemporary paleontology; completely revised with
new material.)
200 years and are based on litho- and Bruton, D.L. & Harper, D.A.T. (eds) 1992. Fossils in
biostratigraphy. Fossils remain our main fold belts. Terra Nova 4 (thematic issue). (Collection
tool to correlate rock strata. Are they of papers on the importance and use of fossils in
likely to remain as important for correla- mountain belts.)
tion over the next 200 years? Cox, B.C. & Moore, P.D. 2005. Biogeography. An Eco-
2 Cyclostratigraphy is rapidly becoming an logical and Evolutionary Approach, 7th edn. Black-
important tool for long-distance and well Publishing, Oxford. (Up-to-date review of
precise correlation particularly in Meso- biogeography, past and present, and its biological
zoic and Cenozoic strata. What caused signifi cance.)

these fine-scale sedimentary rhythms that Cutler, A. 2003. The Seashell on the Mountaintop. A
can sometimes be traced for thousands of Story of Science, Sainthood, and the Humble Genius
who Discovered a New History of the Earth. Heine-
kilometers? mann, London. (Accessible account of the life of
3 The past distributions of fossil animals Steno.)
and plants have provided a reliable method Doyle, P. & Bennett, M.R. (eds) 1998. Unlocking the
to analyze the changing geography of our Stratigraphical Record. Advances in Modern Stratig-
planet through time. But some fossil raphy. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK. (Multi-
groups are more helpful than others. author text covering all the main areas of modern
Which types of animals and plants provide stratigraphic practice.)
the clearest biogeographic signals, and Fortey, R.A. & Cocks, L.R.M. 2003. Palaeontological
why? evidence bearing on global Ordovician-Silurian con-
4 Islands are unique ecosystems and some tinental reconstructions. Earth Science Reviews 61,
such environments can be recognized in 245–307. (Comprehensive review of the use of pale-
ontological data in early Paleozoic geographic
the fossil record. How important were reconstructions.)
islands for understanding the development Gradstein, F., Ogg, J. & Smith, A. 2004. A Geologic
of biodiversity and evolution of marine Time Scale 2004. Cambridge University Press, Cam-
and non-marine biotas? bridge. (Current in a series of snapshot reviews of
5 Fossils within mountain belts are hard to the geological time scale.)
find and collect, they often occur in remote, Hammer, Ø. & Harper, D.A.T. 2005. Paleontological

near-inaccessible regions, and are often Data Analysis. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. (Over-
sheared and poorly preserved. Why is it view of many of the numerical techniques available to
so important to collect and study these paleontologists; linked to software package, PAST.)
fossils? Lieberman, B.S. 2000. Paleobiogeography: Using Fossils
to Study Global Change, Plate Tectonics and Evolu-
tion. Plenum Press/Kluwer Academic Publishers,
New York. (New, particularly numerical, approaches
to the study of paleobiogeography and its wider
Further reading
signifi cance.)
Ager, D.V. 1993. The Nature of the Stratigraphical Valentine, J.W. 1973. Evolutionary Paleoecology of the
Record, 3rd edn. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, Marine Biosphere. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,
UK. (Provocative and stimulating personal view of New Jersey. (Visionary study of the marine biosphere
the stratigraphic record.) through time.)
Benton, M.J. (ed.) 1993. Fossil Record 2. Chapman &
Hall, London. (Massive compilation of diversity
change through time at the family level.) References
Brenchley, P.J. & Harper, D.A.T. 1998. Palaeoecology:
Ecosystems, Environments and Evolution. Chapman Astini, R.A., Benedetto, J.L. & Vaccari, N.E. 1995. The
& Hall, London. (Readable paleoecology text with early Paleozoic evolution of the Argentine Precordil-
chapter devoted to paleobiogeography.) lera as a Laurentian rifted, drifted, and collided
Briggs, D.E.G. & Crowther, P.R. (eds) 1990. Palaeobiol- terrane; a geodynamic model. GSA Bulletin 107,
ogy – A Synthesis. Blackwell Scientifi c Publications, 253–73.
Oxford. (Modern synthesis of many aspects of con- Benton, M.J. 2005. Vertebrate Palaeontology. Wiley-
temporary paleontology.) Blackwell, Oxford.