Knowledge of the evolutionary history of birds has much improved in recent decades. Fossils from critical time periods are being described at unprecedented rates and modern phylogenetic analyses have provided a framework for the interrelationships of the extant groups. This book gives an overview of the avian fossil record and its paleobiological significance, and it is the only up-to-date textbook that covers both Mesozoic and more modern-type Cenozoic birds in some detail. The reader is introduced to key features of basal avians and the morphological transformations that have occurred in the evolution towards modern birds. An account of the Cenozoic fossil record sheds light on the biogeographic history of the extant avian groups and discusses fossils in the context of current phylogenetic hypotheses. This review of the evolutionary history of birds not only addresses students and established researchers, but it may also be a useful source of information for anyone else with an interest in the evolution of birds and a moderate background in biology and geology.

About the Author

Gerald Mayr is a German paleontologist who is Curator of Ornithology at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse. He has published extensively on fossil birds, especially the Paleogene avifauna of Europe. He is an expert on the Eocene fauna of the Messel pit.

Reviews
"Of all the works on the evolution of birds, it is the most modern, complete summary, with just enough fossil figures (no reconstructions), including 16 central color pencils, morphological descriptions and of genealogical trees. A mine of reflections that illuminate our current settlements" Ornithos, 24:5 (2017)



Book Information
ISBN 9781119020769
Author Gerald Mayr
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 885g
Dimensions(mm) 249mm * 198mm * 23mm