Zusatztext "Thewissen provides an excellent balance between the science and the narrative. . . . an excellent read." Informationen zum Autor J. G. M. "Hans" Thewissen is Ingalls-Brown Endowed Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Northeast Ohio Medical University. His main research interest is the study of whales, particularly their adaptations to life in water and their origin as land mammals. He discovered in 1994 the skeleton of the first-known whale that could walk on land (Ambulocetus), and he has led more than ten field expeditions each to Pakistan and India, collecting fossil whales. He is coeditor of Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2002), Emergence of Whales (1998), and Sensory Evolution on the Threshold (UC Press, 2008). Klappentext Hans Thewissen, a leading researcher in the field of whale paleontology and anatomy, gives a sweeping first-person account of the discoveries that brought to light the early fossil record of whales. As evidenced in the record, whales evolved from herbivorous forest-dwelling ancestors that resembled tiny deer to carnivorous monsters stalking lakes and rivers and to serpentlike denizens of the coast. Thewissen reports on his discoveries in the wilds of India and Pakistan, weaving a narrative that reveals the day-to-day adventures of fossil collection, enriching it with local flavors from South Asian culture and society. The reader senses the excitement of the digs as well as the rigors faced by scientific researchers, for whom each new insight gives rise to even more questions, and for whom at times the logistics of just staying alive may trump all science. In his search for an understanding of how modern whales live their lives, Thewissen also journeys to Japan and Alaska to study whales and wild dolphins. He finds answers to his questions about fossils by studying the anatomy of otters and porpoises and examining whale embryos under the microscope. In the book's final chapter, Thewissen argues for approaching whale evolution with the most powerful tools we have and for combining all the fields of science in pursuit of knowledge. Zusammenfassung Hans Thewissen! a leading researcher in the field of whale paleontology and anatomy! gives a sweeping first-person account of the discoveries that brought to light the early fossil record of whales. As evidenced in the record! whales evolved from herbivorous forest-dwelling ancestors that resembled tiny deer to carnivorous monsters stalking lakes and rivers and to serpentlike denizens of the coast. Thewissen reports on his discoveries in the wilds of India and Pakistan! weaving a narrative that reveals the day-to-day adventures of fossil collection! enriching it with local flavors from South Asian culture and society. The reader senses the excitement of the digs as well as the rigors faced by scientific researchers! for whom each new insight gives rise to even more questions! and for whom at times the logistics of just staying alive may trump all science. In his search for an understanding of how modern whales live their lives! Thewissen also journeys to Japan and Alaska to study whales and wild dolphins. He finds answers to his questions about fossils by studying the anatomy of otters and porpoises and examining whale embryos under the microscope. In the book's final chapter! Thewissen argues for approaching whale evolution with the most powerful tools we have and for combining all the fields of science in pursuit of knowledge. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1. A Wasted Dig Fossils and War A Whale Ear 2. Fish! Mammal! or Dinosaur? The King Lizard of Cape Cod Basilosaurid Whales* Basilosaurids and Evolution 3. A Whale with Legs The Black and White Hills A Walking Whale 4. Learning to Swim Meeting the Killer Whale From Dog-Paddle to Torped...

Autorentext

J. G. M. "Hans" Thewissen is Ingalls-Brown Endowed Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Northeast Ohio Medical University. His main research interest is the study of whales, particularly their adaptations to life in water and their origin as land mammals. He discovered in 1994 the skeleton of the first-known whale that could walk on land (Ambulocetus), and he has led more than ten field expeditions each to Pakistan and India, collecting fossil whales. He is coeditor of Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2002), Emergence of Whales (1998), and Sensory Evolution on the Threshold (UC Press, 2008).

Klappentext

Hans Thewissen, a leading researcher in the field of whale paleontology and anatomy, gives a sweeping first-person account of the discoveries that brought to light the early fossil record of whales. As evidenced in the record, whales evolved from herbivorous forest-dwelling ancestors that resembled tiny deer to carnivorous monsters stalking lakes and rivers and to serpentlike denizens of the coast. Thewissen reports on his discoveries in the wilds of India and Pakistan, weaving a narrative that reveals the day-to-day adventures of fossil collection, enriching it with local flavors from South Asian culture and society. The reader senses the excitement of the digs as well as the rigors faced by scientific researchers, for whom each new insight gives rise to even more questions, and for whom at times the logistics of just staying alive may trump all science. In his search for an understanding of how modern whales live their lives, Thewissen also journeys to Japan and Alaska to study whales and wild dolphins. He finds answers to his questions about fossils by studying the anatomy of otters and porpoises and examining whale embryos under the microscope. In the book's final chapter, Thewissen argues for approaching whale evolution with the most powerful tools we have and for combining all the fields of science in pursuit of knowledge.

Inhalt

1. A Wasted Dig
   Fossils and War
   A Whale Ear

2. Fish, Mammal, or Dinosaur?
   The King Lizard of Cape Cod
   Basilosaurid Whales*
   Basilosaurids and Evolution

3. A Whale with Legs
   The Black and White Hills
   A Walking Whale

4. Learning to Swim
   Meeting the Killer Whale
   From Dog-Paddle to Torpedo
   Ambulocetid Whales*
   Ambulocetus and Evolution

5. When the Mountains Grew
   The High Himalayas
   Kidnapping in the Hills
   Indian Whales

6. Passage to India
   Stranded in Delhi
   Whales in the Desert
   A 150-Pound Skull

7. A Trip to the Beach
   The Outer Banks
   A Fossilized Coast

8. The Otter Whale
   The Whale with No Hands
   Remingtonocetid Whales*
   Building a Beast out of Bones

9. The Ocean Is a Desert
   Forensic Paleontology
   Drinking and Peeing
   Fossilized Drinking Behavior
   Walking with Ambulocetus

10. The Skeleton Puzzle
    If Looks Could Kill
    How Many Bones Make a Skeleton?
    Finding Whales' Sisters

11. The River Whales
    Hearing in Whales
    Pakicetid Whales*
    September 11, 2001

12. Whales Conquer the World
    A Molecular SINE
    The Black Whale
    Protocetid Whales*
    Protocetids and History

13. From Embryos to Evolution
    A Dolphin with Legs
    The Marine Park at Taiji
    Shedding Limbs
    Whaling in Taiji

14. Before Whales
    The Widow's Fossils
    The Ancestors of Whales
    Indohyus*
    A Trust for Fossils

15. The Way Forward
    The Big Question
    Tooth Development
    Baleen as Teeth

Notes
Index
*These six headings summarize the biology of the six fossil groups that form the transition between whales and their terrestrial ancestors. Their relationships to each other and to the living families of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are given in figure 66.