Fossils and Life Evolution
is a textbook addressed to the non-major undergraduate students that make the first steps in the study of life evolution as inferred from the fossil record.
The first four chapters include a presentation of the scientific nature of fossils, major fossil groups and a brief history on how the fossilized organisms were interpreted in the past. There are presented data about fossil classification and stratigraphical ranges in the context of the geological time scale. A distinct chapter deals with different aspect related to the Theory of Evolution and how paleontological data contribute to its study; in addition, there are presented ideas on how the Theory of Evolution can be integrated in fossil classification.
Emergence of life on Earth from inorganic substances and its earlier evolution are two of the main topics. In this context there are presented major events in life history, such as evolution of stromatolites that completely changed the atmosphere's character, evolution of eukaryotic organisms and sexual reproduction mechanism, evolution of algal and animal multicellularity, and life diversification that resulted in the evolution of modern phyla. The last three chapters present the evolution of the major groups of fossils, separated as invertebrates, vertebrates and plants.
The textbook data are supported by exquisite color photographs and diagrams, which help filling the gap between practical and theoretical knowledge that is so important for the non-major undergraduates.