Beasts Before Us

Download or Read eBook Beasts Before Us PDF written by Elsa Panciroli and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-06-10 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle.
Beasts Before Us
Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages : 321
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781472983978
ISBN-13 : 1472983971
Rating : 4/5 (78 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Beasts Before Us by : Elsa Panciroli

Book excerpt: For most of us, the story of mammal evolution starts after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, but over the last 20 years scientists have uncovered new fossils and used new technologies that have upended this story. In Beasts Before Us, palaeontologist Elsa Panciroli charts the emergence of the mammal lineage, Synapsida, beginning at their murky split from the reptiles in the Carboniferous period, over three-hundred million years ago. They made the world theirs long before the rise of dinosaurs. Travelling forward into the Permian and then Triassic periods, we learn how our ancient mammal ancestors evolved from large hairy beasts with accelerating metabolisms to exploit miniaturisation, which was key to unlocking the traits that define mammals as we now know them. Elsa criss-crosses the globe to explore the sites where discoveries are being made and meet the people who make them. In Scotland, she traverses the desert dunes of prehistoric Moray, where quarry workers unearthed the footprints of Permian creatures from before the time of dinosaurs. In South Africa, she introduces us to animals, once called 'mammal-like reptiles', that gave scientists the first hints that our furry kin evolved from a lineage of egg-laying burrowers. In China, new, complete fossilised skeletons reveal mammals that were gliders, shovel-pawed Jurassic moles, and flat-tailed swimmers. This book radically reframes the narrative of our mammalian ancestors and provides a counterpoint to the stereotypes of mighty dinosaur overlords and cowering little mammals. It turns out the earliest mammals weren't just precursors, they were pioneers.


Beasts Before Us Related Books

Beasts Before Us
Language: en
Pages: 321
Authors: Elsa Panciroli
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-06-10 - Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For most of us, the story of mammal evolution starts after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, but over the last 20 years scientists have uncovered n
The Origin and Evolution of Mammals
Language: en
Pages: 342
Authors: T. S. Kemp
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2005 - Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Mammals are the dominant large animals of today, occurring in virtually every environment. This book is an account of the remarkable 320 million year long fossi
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
Language: en
Pages: 338
Authors: Steve Brusatte
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-04-24 - Publisher: HarperCollins

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"THE ULTIMATE DINOSAUR BIOGRAPHY," hails Scientific American: A thrilling new history of the age of dinosaurs, from one of our finest young scientists. "A maste
Dinosaur Paleobiology
Language: en
Pages: 354
Authors: Stephen L. Brusatte
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-04-30 - Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The study of dinosaurs has been experiencing a remarkable renaissance over the past few decades. Scientific understanding of dinosaur anatomy, biology, and evol
I, Mammal
Language: en
Pages: 353
Authors: Liam Drew
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-11-02 - Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Humans are mammals. Most of us appreciate that at some level. But what does it mean for us to have more in common with a horse and an elephant than we do with a