Functional Morphology in Vertebrate Paleontology

by Jeffrey J. Thomason (Editor)

A crucial task for paleontologists and paleobiologists is the reconstruction of the appearance, movements, and behavior of extinct vertebrates from studies of their bones or other, more rarely preserved parts. A related issue is the boundary between the scientific evidence for reconstruction and the need to resort to imagination. In this book, sixteen paleontologists and biologists discuss these questions, review the current status of functional studies of extinct vertebrates in the context of similar work on living animals, and present a broad philosophical view of the subject's development within the framework of phylogenetic analysis. The authors describe and debate methods for making realistic inferences of function in fossil vertebrates, and present examples where we may be confident that our reconstructions are both detailed and accurate.

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 27, 1995

Reviews

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides an excellent dissertation on the chronological morphology of crocodiles (academically referred to as crocodilians). I never would have fathomed that at a point in time their snouts were as flat as a platypus's.

Morphology is certainly the most mysterious of sciences. I have read (and seen in videos) that bio-paleontologists are completely unaware as to how dinosaurs morphed into their gigantic size. The only prevailing theory is a very weak one that suggests that because dinosaurs were in isolation, that the isolation forced them to eat more. This of course does not answer how a Brontosaurus achieved a neck height of over sixty feet.