ENGLISH

When the Invasion of Land Failed : The Legacy of the Devonian Extinctions

By Jr. , George R. , McGhee

Book information

Publisher
McGhee, Jr., George R. eISBN: 9780231536363 Publisher: Columbia University Press
Year
2013
ISBN
9780231160575
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
4 MB (4572933 bytes)
Pages
345\345
Topic
Geology
Time added
2015-07-08 21:28:18
Catastrophes Geology Extinction Biology Paleontolo

Description

The invasion of land by ocean-dwelling plants and animals was one of the most revolutionary events in the evolution of life on Earth, yet the animal invasion almost failed -- twice -- because of the twin mass extinctions of the Late Devonian Epoch. Some 359 to 375 million years ago, these catastrophic events dealt our ancestors a blow that almost drove them back into the sea. If those extinctions had been just a bit more severe, spiders and insects might have become the ecologically dominant forms of animal life on land. This bookexamines the profound evolutionary consequences of the Late Devonian extinctions, which shaped the composition of the modern terrestrial ecosystem. Only one group of four-limbed vertebrates now live on Earth while other tetrapod-like fishes are extinct. This gap is why the idea of "fish with feet" seems so peculiar yet these animals were once a vital part of our world.

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