Vertebrate Evolution and Palaeontology from an African Perspective

Julien Benoit is a Senior Researcher in palaeontology at the Evolutionary Studies Institute of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He is a specialist in fossil mammals and their ancestors, which he studies using state of the art X-ray imaging in order to understand their ancient behaviour, the anatomy of their brain, and their biology. Viktor Radermacher is a PhD candidate at the University of Minnesota and an affiliate of the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His research interests focus on using X-ray imaging to study dinosaur anatomy, biology, and macroevolution. He has been on numerous field trips, excavated new dinosaur specimens, produced artwork for multiple species, and recently found a new dinosaur ancestor in South Africa from the early Triassic rocks of the Free State.

List of figures Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: The 'age of fish' Before fish: The origin story of vertebrates The rise of 'jawless fish': The Agnatha Evolving a jaw: The Gnathostomata The 'armoured jawed fish' The advent of teeth: The origin of Chondrichthyes True sharks and their allies Chapter 2: From sea to land Actinopterygii: The typical fish The Sarcopterygii and the origin of Tetrapoda What is a missing link? The first Tetrapoda: The amphibians The Amniota: The birth of the egg Chapter 3: The Sauropsida, or reptiles Early Sauropsida: The reptiles with an anapsid skull Sauropsida with a diapsid skull: The origin of Chelonia Sauropsida with a diapsid skull: Snakes, lizards and tuatara Sauropsida with a euryapsid skull: The Mesozoic marine reptiles Sauropsida with an archosaur skull: The Archosauromorpha Crocodiles and their ancestors Pterosauria: The flying sauropsids Chapter 4: The Dinosauria Ornithischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda, and the origin of birds Aves: The birds So, what is a dinosaur? Chapter 5: Amniotes with a synapsid skull: The 'mammal-like reptiles' Pelycosauria: The earliest synapsids The early Therapsida Theriodontia Cynodontia: The origin of mammals The evolution of warm-bloodedness in mammals Chapter 6: Mammalia The division between Monotremes, Marsupialia and Placentalia Paenungulates Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla Micromammals and carnivores Primates: Origin and evolution Hominini: The palaeontology of humankind Placental mammal phylogeny Conclusion: Mass extinctions and the onset of the Anthropocene Principles of phylogenetics Glossary Bibliography Reference list for figures Index