Darwin's Lost World The Hidden History of Animal Life image
Darwin's Lost World The Hidden History of Animal Life Brasier, Martin Edition: 2009 Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated Number of Pages: 288 ISBN10: 0199548978 ISBN13: 9780199548972 Dimensions: 5.75" w x 8.75" l x 1.00" h Weight: 1.19 lbs. Binding: Trade Cloth Language: English List Price: 34.95

Description

Martin Brasier is Professor of Palaebiology at the University of Oxford. He holds numerous other professional appointments including Adjunct Professor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and membership of NASA Exobiology/Evolutionary Biology Peer Review Panel. His research concernsevolution of the earliest biosphere from the origins of life to the emergence of animals during the Cambrian e...Martin Brasier is Professor of Palaebiology at the University of Oxford. He holds numerous other professional appointments including Adjunct Professor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and membership of NASA Exobiology/Evolutionary Biology Peer Review Panel. His research concernsevolution of the earliest biosphere from the origins of life to the emergence of animals during the Cambrian explosion. His previous publications include iThe Precambrian-Cambrian Boundary/i (co-written with Cowie, J.W.; 1989), and iMicrofossils/i 2nd Edition (co-written with Armstrong, H.C.;2005).It greatly puzzled Darwin that the most ancient rocks, those dating before the Cambrian period, seemed to be barren of fossils when he would expect them to be teeming with life. Decades of work by modern paleontologists have indeed brought us amazing fossils from far beyond the Cambrian, from the depths of the Precambrian. Yet hidden in these depths is a great mystery--something happened around the Cambrian to dramatically speed up evolution and produce many of the early forms of animals we know today--and scientists don't really know what provided that spark. In this vibrantly written book, Martin Brasier, a leading paleontologist working on early life, takes us into the deep, dark ages of the Precambrian to explore Darwin's Lost World. Brasier is a master storyteller. As he explains what we now know of the strange creatures of these truly ancient times--540 million years ago--he takes readers to many far flung places around the globe, interweaving an engaging account of cutting-edge science with colorful and amusing anecdotes from his expeditions to Siberia, Outer Mongolia, and other remote places. As he shows, decoding the evidence in these ancient rocks--piecing together the puzzle of the Cambrian Explosion--is very challenging work. What they have discovered is that, just at the beginning of the Cambrian period, animals (mostly worms) began burrowing into the mud. Why they suddenly began burrowing, and how this might have changed the atmosphere, may be important clues to the mystery. Brasier gives his own take on the emerging answers, as one of the leading players in the field. A richly readable account of far-flung expeditions and leading-edge science, Darwin's Lost World is a must-have book for all natural history buffs. (more) (less)

Table of Contents

Preface
List of Figures
List of Colour Plates
In Search of Lost Worlds
The Devil's Toenail
A Fossilized Jelly Baby
The First Terror with Teeth
A Worm that Changed the World
A Mistaken Point
Reign of the Snow Queen
Through a Lens, Darkly
Torridon
Notes
References
Index

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