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- ISBN: 9780470656662 | 0470656662
- Cover: Hardcover
- Copyright: 4/25/2011
The scope of this book ranges widely, from bio-molecular aspects of avian biology to details of the anatomy of dinosaurs. However, it is not just a simple compilation of current material. Its purpose is to help bridge a gap that has developed between those who study birds as fossils and those who study the living animals.Each chapter of this book puts current understanding in context with directions that research may take over the next few years. The first section of the book reviews the early ancestry of birds and the conditions under which they and their nearest relatives diversified in the Cretaceous. The second section is intended to provide ornithologists with an overview of the fossil record. It contrasts with the third section which focuses on the development of features that have contributed to the success of living forms. By bringing together such a wide range of topics in one volume, the reader will find this book an invaluable entr_e into less familiar topics and will gain an appreciation of the potential value of linkages among seemingly unrelated approaches to the study of avian evolution.