There is a difference between fact and speculation. Unfortunately, scientists and science media often fail to make the distinction everywhere they should. This is especially true within paleontology. Paleontologists often develop theories which, while interesting or even exciting, lack supporting evidence, or are even flat out contradicted by available evidence.
Fossil Forensics: Separating Fact from Fantasy in Paleontology brings you face to face with fossils of all kinds and from every layer of the fossil record. Photographs, diagrams, illustrations, and in-depth descriptions help you get acquainted with not only the fossils but also the organisms behind them and how they affect our understanding of natural history.
In Fossil Forensics, biology professor Dr. Jerry Bergman examines many claims that have been made about fossil discoveries to determine what the rock record does and does not show about organisms, their ancestry, and their evolution. In this book, Dr. Bergman examines claims about general features of fossils such as teeth and feathers as well as claims about the origins and lineages of groups of all kinds, including whales, bats, birds, and insects.
|Publisher:||Bartlett Publishing OK|
|Product dimensions:||6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.74(d)|
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction
Part I: General Fossil Considerations
Chapter 2. Teeth—Witness to the Fossil Record
Chapter 3. Feathers—A Case Study in Complex Structure
Chapter 4. Intermediate Forms and Functions
Part II: The Invertebrates
Chapter 5. Invertebrates—An Overview
Chapter 6. Arthropods—Progress or Persistence?
Chapter 7. Insects—Ancient and Modern
Part III: The Vertebrates
Chapter 8. Fish—Common Inhabitants of the Fossil Record
Chapter 9. Amphibians—Persistence in the Fossil Record
Chapter 10. Dinosaurs—Separating Conjecture from Confirmation
Chapter 11. Birds—Sky Creatures in the Rocks
Chapter 12. Bats—Flight, Echolocation, and Other Features
Chapter 13. Whales—Speculation and Evidence