Palaeobiology of Giant Flightless Birds

ISBN-13: 9781785481369 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 296 str.

Delphine Angst; Eric Buffetaut

Opis

Palaeobiology of Extinct Giant Flightless Birds reviews what is known of the palaeobiology of various groups of giant flightless birds that lived at different periods of the geological past, from a few hundred years ago to the late Cretaceous, some 70 million years ago. They include the moas of New Zealand and the elephant birds of Madagascar, the dromornithids of Australia, the terror birds of South America, the gastornithids of Laurasia and Gargantuavis from Europe. Their biology, ecology and extinction are reconstructed on the basis of evidence from sources ranging from paleontology to functional morphology, geochemistry and ancient DNA. The giant flightless birds of the past have attracted the attention of both paleontologists and the general public since the 19th century, and recent investigations have resulted in considerable advances in our understanding of the biology and ecological of these unusual birds. The authors summarize what is currently known about the various ways in which these flightless birds adapted to terrestrial environments in different parts of the world at different periods of geological time.

• Focuses on the giant flightless birds that evolved independently in different parts of the world since the Cretaceous period
• Covers a number of different families with different evolutionary histories, providing a source of interesting comparisons
• Provides emphasis on the palaeobiology of these birds, including their evolution, adaptations, mode of life, ecology and extinction

Recenzje

"This book is an important contribution to these wonderful questions and a must for anyone with a fascination for this anachronistic body plan." --Quarterly Review of Biology

Spis treści

1. General Introduction 2. Dinornithiformes 3. Aepyornithiformes 4. Dromornithidae 5. Phorusrhacidae 6. Brontornithidae 7. Gastornithidae 8. Gargantuavis

O autorze

Delphine Angst is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Her work currently focuses on the study of paleobiology and paleoecology of giant flightless birds through a multidisciplinary approach. Eric Buffetaut is Director of Research Emeritus at the National Center of Scientific Research (Geology Department of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris). After working on crocodiles, dinosaurs and pterosaurs, he is now mainly interested in the paleobiology of extinct birds.