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Cover image of The Rise of Placental Mammals
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The Rise of Placental Mammals

Origins and Relationships of the Major Extant Clades

edited by Kenneth D. Rose and J. David Archibald

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From shrews to blue whales, placental mammals are among the most diverse and successful vertebrates on the Earth. Arising sometime near the Late Cretaceous, this broad clade of mammals contains more than 1,000 genera and approximately 4,400 extant species. Although much studied, the origin and diversification of the placentals continue to be a source of debate.

Paleontologists Kenneth D. Rose and J. David Archibald have assembled the world's leading authorities to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date evolutionary history of placental mammals. Focusing on anatomical evidence, the contributors...

From shrews to blue whales, placental mammals are among the most diverse and successful vertebrates on the Earth. Arising sometime near the Late Cretaceous, this broad clade of mammals contains more than 1,000 genera and approximately 4,400 extant species. Although much studied, the origin and diversification of the placentals continue to be a source of debate.

Paleontologists Kenneth D. Rose and J. David Archibald have assembled the world's leading authorities to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date evolutionary history of placental mammals. Focusing on anatomical evidence, the contributors present an unbiased scientific account of the initial radiation and ordinal relationships of placental mammals, representing both the consensus and significant minority viewpoints. This book will be invaluable to paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, mammalogists, and students.

Contributors: J. David Archibald, San Diego State University; Robert J. Asher, Institut für Systematische Zoologie; Jonathan I. Bloch, University of Michigan; Douglas M. Boyer, University of Michigan; Daryl P. Domning, Howard University; Eduardo Eizirik, National Cancer Institute; Robert J. Emry, Smithsonian Institution; Jörg Erfurt, Martin-Luther-University; John J. Flynn, The Field Museum; Timothy J. Gaudin, University of Tennessee; Emmanuel Gheerbrant, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Philip D. Gingerich, The University of Michigan; Patricia A. Holroyd, University of California, Berkeley; J. J. Hooker, The Natural History Museum; Léo F. Laporte, University of California, Santa Cruz; Jin Meng, American Museum of Natural History;William J. Murphy, National Cancer Institute; Jason C. Mussell, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Michael J. Novacek, American Museum of Natural History; Stephen J. O'Brien, National Cancer Institute; Kenneth D. Rose, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Guillermo W. Rougier, University of Louisville; Eric J. Sargis, Yale University; Mary T. Silcox, University of Winnipeg; Nancy B. Simmons, American Museum of Natural History; Mark S. Springer, University of California, Riverside; Gerhard Storch, Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg; Pascal Tassy, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Jessica M. Theodor, Illinois State Museum; Gina D. Wesley, The University of Chicago; John R. Wible, Carnegie Museum of Natural History; André Wyss, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Reviews

Reviews

The volume should be welcome bedside reading for all mammal systematicists and anyone interested in the evolution of mammals.

An excellent summary of current thinking about the higher levels of mammalian evolution.

Not only an up-to-date textbook, but a detailed source of reference for all readers interested in mammals and their evolution.

I give this book a glowing review and a high recommendation.

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
8.5
x
11
Pages
280
ISBN
9780801880223
Illustration Description
24 halftones, 59 line drawings
Table of Contents

List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Womb With a View: The Rise f Placentals
Chapter 2. Looking Back at the Record: George Gaylord Simpson and Paleomammalogy
Chapter 3. Anatomical Evidence for

List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Womb With a View: The Rise f Placentals
Chapter 2. Looking Back at the Record: George Gaylord Simpson and Paleomammalogy
Chapter 3. Anatomical Evidence for Superordinal/Ordinal Eutherian Taxa in the Cretaceous
Chapter 4. Molecular Evidence for Major Placental Clades
Chapter 5. Insectivoran-Grade Placentals
Chapter 6. Macroscelidea and Tubulidentata
Chapter 7. Paenungulata (Sirenia, Proboscidea, Hyracoidea, and Relatives)
Chapter 8. Xenarthra and Pholidota
Chapter 9. Euarchonta (Dermoptera, Scandentia, Primates)
Chapter 10. Glires (Lagomorpha, Rodentia)
Chapter 11. Chiroptera
Chapter 12. Carnivora
Chapter 13. Perissodactyla
Chapter 14. Artiodactyla
Chapter 15. Cetacea
Index

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Kenneth D. Rose, Ph.D.

Kenneth D. Rose is a professor at the Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a research associate at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.
Featured Contributor

J. David Archibald, Ph.D.

J. David Archibald is a professor of biology and curator of mammals at San Diego State University and coeditor of The Rise of Placental Mammals: Origins and Relationships of the Major Extant Clades, also published by Johns Hopkins.