More than three hundred million years agoa relatively recent date in the two billion years since life first appearedvertebrate animals first ventured onto land. This usefully illustrated book describes how some finned vertebrates acquired limbs, giving rise to more than 25,000 extant tetrapod species. Michel Laurin uses paleontological, geological, physiological, and comparative anatomical data to describe this monumental event. He summarizes key concepts of modern paleontological research, including biological nomenclature, paleontological and molecular dating, and the methods used to infer...

Biological nomenclature is an essential tool for storing and retrieving biological information. Yet, traditional nomenclature poorly reflects evolutionary theory. The proposed book will reach a broader readership of those using nomenclature but unaware of its theoretical foundations.