New discoveries of ancient vertebrates, filling in gaps in the fossil record, are quickly eroding the traditionally recognized differences between the principal groups of vertebrates for example, between dinosaurs and birds and radically changing our understanding of the evolutionary history of the major group of animals to which our species belongs. This book describes this changing scientific landscape and contributes to the revolution in our knowledge of the developmental mechanisms that underlie evolutionary transformation.

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The early Mesozoic period was a critical period in the evolution of life on land when most of todays major groups of terrestrial vertebrates arose and dinosaurs and pterosaurs rose to prominence. In recent years this period has received a great deal of attention from palaeontologists, and it is now felt that the small vertebrates which lived in the shadows of the first dinosaurs tell us a great deal about the evolution of modern terrestrial ecosystems. This book is an attempt to collate all the information on the small vertebrates and features contributions by experts with international...