Evolution__3rd_Edition

554 PART 5 / Macroevolution
Further reading
Texts on fossils include Clarkson (1998) for invertebrates, Carroll (1988, 1997) and
Benton (2000a) for vertebrates, and Kemp (1999) for evolutionary ideas. Briggs &
Crowther (2001) and Singer (1999) are encyclopedic introductions to paleobiology
and paleontology, respectively. Fortey (2002) is a popular introduction. Martin (2000)
is about taphonomy. McPhee (1998) is a literary book on the geological history of
North America.
A further topic, not considered in this chapter, is the completeness or adequacy of
the fossil record. See the general books above, also Donovan & Paul (1998) which is a
multiauthor volume on it. Benton (2001) is a more recent approach. We also look at
this topic in relation to the time of mammal origins in Chapter 23. A special issue of
Paleobiology (2001), vol. 27, pp. 187–310 considers how phylogenies are being used in
paleobiological research.
On the history of life, I have structured the narrative in this chapter taxonomically.
Maynard Smith & Szathmáry (1995, 1999) provide a more conceptual narrative a they
look at the main transitions in the way heredity occurs. From the origin of life to about
the Cambrian explosion their narrative is structured much like the chapter here, but
from then on the structure differs. The later book is written for a broader audience.
Nature February 22, 2001 (vol. 409, pp. 1083–109) contains an “insight” section with
several relevant reviews a on early life and habitats, extremophiles, and the rise of
morphological complexity in animals.
On the origin of life, recent books include Wills & Bada (2000) and Fenchel (2002):
Wills & Bada is more “popular,” Fenchel more “professional.” The relevant chapters in
Maynard Smith & Szathmáry (1995, 1999) are good introductory summaries. Science
March 15, 2002, pp. 2006–7 contains a journalistic profile of Wächtershäuser, who has
influential alternative ideas about the prebiotic soup. Joyce (2002) is a recent review of
the RNA world.
Schopf (1999) is a popular book on Precambrian fossils and research about them.
Nature June 20, 2002, pp. 782–4 and December 5, 2002, pp. 476–8, and Science March 8,
2002, pp. 1812–13 and May 24, 2002, pp. 1384–5, contain news articles on Brasier et al.’s
(2002) critique of Schopf’s (1993) interpretation of the Apex Chert fossils or artifacts.
For the Cambrian explosion and origin of animals, Knoll & Carroll (1999) is an
authoritative overview. Budd & Jensen (2000) look critically at the fossil evidence for
an explosion. These two references also make a good “compare and contrast” on the
influence of oxygen concentration. Hoffman & Schrag (2000) is an introduction to
“snowball Earth” by two of its originators, and Runnegar (2000) provides a brief overview.
Another recent hypothesis is that Precambrian life was limited by low concentrations
of inorganic nutrients in the ocean (Anbar & Knoll 2002). The key molecular dating
paper is by Wray et al. (1996). Cooper & Fortey (1998) look at molecular and fossil evidence,
and how they can be reconciled. Gould (1989) and Conway Morris (1998) are two
books on Cambrian life. Raff (1996) surveys views about the Ediacaran fauna. Nielsen
(2001) is a book about the evolutionary relations between the main animal groups.
Ahlberg (2001) is about early vertebrates. On the colonization of land, see the books
by Zimmer (1998) and Clack (2002) for vertebrates, and Kenrick & Crane (1997) for
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