Book Description
This one-semester text is designed for an upper-level majors course. Vertebrates features a unique emphasis on function and evolution of vertebrates, complete anatomical detail, and excellent pedagogy. Vertebrate groups are organized phylogenetically, and their systems discussed within such a context. Morphology is foremost, but the author has developed and integrated an understanding of function and evolution into the discussion of anatomy of the various systems.
Customer Reviews:
Your own history is inside........2006-03-16
Your own history is inside, not in simple easy words, so you will have to read, study and you will see how evolution creates so many variations of the vertebrate body plan. Good for teachers and students of general biology, zoology, comparative anatomy and evolution. Darwin would have read this book very happy.
Good improvement from last edition.......2002-08-07
This is the book that I used to teach comparative vertebrate anatomy. The previous major flaw of the book was the many inaccuracies in the figures. However many of these appear to be changed. All in all this book is a good book to reference to for a variety of questions about vertebrates. Not the easiest of books to wade through for a beginner but Kardong for the most part does a good job in explanations and descriptions for a book of this level
A very good text, but...........2001-11-25
I've used Kadong from the first edition and admire much about the text. As another reviewer commented, one has to be deliberate about the organization or the first time reader might feel as if he were going in circles. However, the single greatest shortcoming of this comparative anatomy text is the chapter on muscles which is inadequate and confusing unless one has already studied this subject. Kardong simply fails to provide an arganized description of trunk and appendicular muscles of the primary vertebrate models. The begining student would be well advised to turn to Walker, Kent or Romer for this topic.
I took the Comparative Anatomy class from Kardong........2001-02-17
I took the class from which this book was written for. When I took the comparative anatomy class from Kardong he was giving us photocopies from his work in progress and still had editors notes and omissions on the papers. Just from reading all those photocopies, I couldn't wait for this book to come out. I recieved my B.S. in Zoology before this book ever came out and when I recieved my first copy, I was elated. If your serious about zoology, this is a good book for you. However, this book is not for light reading or the beginning zoology student.
Vertebrate morphology supreme.......2000-11-27
This university textbook on vertebrate morphology is clearly written and is actually suitable for the general reader with no experience in the subject. Basic concepts such as morphological concepts, phylogeny, paleontology and evolution are discussed at the start of the book. A good overview is presented regarding theories of chordate emergence. Early vertebrates are then presented, starting with a reconstruction of a conodont animal. Chapters on biological design (ie, what adaptations are actually possible) and embryology then follow. Chapters describing and comparing organ systems in various vertebrates then follow, and include the integument (ie, skin), skeletal system, muscular system, respiratory system, circulatory system, digestive system, urogenital system, endocrine system, nervous system and sensory organs.
Book Description
This high-quality laboratory manual may accompany any comparative anatomy text, but especially Kardong's Vertebrates: Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution or Kent/Carr's Comparative Anatomy. This text carefully guides students through dissections and is richly illustrated.
Customer Reviews:
A great improvement.......2001-08-24
Having written a rather scathing review of the previous edition of this guide, I thought it only appropriate that I write a review for this fantastic rewrite. My biggest problem with the previous edition was the quality of the images. However, the majority of the poor images of the previous edition have been replaced by wonderful drawings for this latest edition. There are still a few problematic pictures (such as the alligator skull with many of the sutures not drawn), but as a whole I give the new pictures 5 stars because of the extreme detail and the ease of use. The addition of repeating the most important images at the back of the book add to this books use. And, the fact that the pages are perforated, means that a student could easily put the pictures in any order that they please. Although I had been planning on changing lab texts, I now see no point as Kardong and Zalisko, 3rd ed. is the best out there.
Excellent art, very clear directions.......2001-08-16
This 3rd edition is filled with updated art that in many respects exceeds any of its competition. Further, nearly every piece of art is printed again in the back of the laboratory manual to allow the figures to be sorted and reviewed separate from the laboratory text. This feature is especially attractive to my students.
The skeletal material is well illustrated and includes detailed descriptions of turtles and alligators not addressed in other laboratory manuals. The text is succinct and clearly organized. Especially unique and useful are the numerous short boxed essays describing particular aspects of structure-function relationships and the evolution of the specific anatomy under examination.
I strongly recommend this manual as an attractive, clearly written, and thoroughly illustrated manual to support any course in comparative vertebrate anatomy. It also makes for a wonderful reference book for vertebrate biologists.
Book Description
VERTEBRATE DISSECTION, Ninth Edition, provides exceptionally thorough and student-tested descriptions of dissection procedures and the steps needed to find all structures. It encourages and facilitates active and self-directed learning by the students so that instructors can teach more effectively and efficiently. The manual emphasizes dissection procedures that preserve as many structures as possible for later review of the entire specimens. This approach is an excellent preparation for students who will subsequently take anatomy courses in the health and animal sciences. Moreover, this manual places the observed material into an evolutionary and functional context. Students will understand the biological role, physiology, and embryonic development of each organ system and its parts, and how the various organ systems have evolved over time and in different animals. Organized by organ systems, this text brings the anatomy alive for students by interspersing narrative text throughout and explaining how the shape and structure of an organ relates to its function, and how evolutionary processes have transformed the form and function of organs. Additionally, the authors introduce a new feature, Anatomy in Action boxes, which contain interesting supplemental material that provides a broader context. Some of these boxes relate to functional anatomy, some make comparisons between different animals, and some address general biological questions that may include comparisons to the anatomy and biology of human beings.
Customer Reviews:
Good but some of pictures are tough to discern.......2002-08-07
Having taught Comparative Anatomy Lab with this book I would not recommend it to someone who is going through dissection for the first time and alone. A good sense of terms (ie. medial, caudal etc)and such is a must. Even having gone through dissections of hundreds of cats some things are still difficult to find. However I like how it ties things together and shows step wise evolution of vertebrates from lampreys to cats.
Book Description
Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy
Evolution and Adaptation
Second Edition
Ann B. Butler and William Hodos
The Second Edition of this landmark text presents a broad survey of comparative vertebrate neuroanatomy at the introductory level, representing a unique contribution to the field of evolutionary neurobiology. It has been extensively revised and updated, with substantially improved figures and diagrams that are used generously throughout the text. Through analysis of the variation in brain structure and function between major groups of vertebrates, readers can gain insight into the evolutionary history of the nervous system. The text is divided into three sections:
* Introduction to evolution and variation, including a survey of cell structure, embryological development, and anatomical organization of the central nervous system; phylogeny and diversity of brain structures; and an overview of various theories of brain evolution
* Systematic, comprehensive survey of comparative neuroanatomy across all major groups of vertebrates
* Overview of vertebrate brain evolution, which integrates the complete text, highlights diversity and common themes, broadens perspective by a comparison with brain structure and evolution of invertebrate brains, and considers recent data and theories of the evolutionary origin of the brain in the earliest vertebrates, including a recently proposed model of the origin of the brain in the earliest vertebrates that has received strong support from newly discovered fossil evidence
Ample material drawn from the latest research has been integrated into the text and highlighted in special feature boxes, including recent views on homology, cranial nerve organization and evolution, the relatively large and elaborate brains of birds in correlation with their complex cognitive abilities, and the current debate on forebrain evolution across reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy is geared to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in neuroanatomy, but anyone interested in the anatomy of the nervous system and how it corresponds to the way that animals function in the world will find this text fascinating.
Customer Reviews:
Classic.......2005-01-02
This is one of the best textbooks in neuroscience, although some neuroscience students may have never heard of it. It covers the nervous systems of all vertebrate classes and offers a systematic treatment of all of them, from cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays) to various mammalian orders. The nervous systems are treated not as a progression from "primitive" to "advanced", but rather as evolutionary adaptions that determine a type of perception and behavior that are optimal for the species' ecological niche. Any nervous system, including the human nervous system, cannot be understood without comparative neuroanatomy, since any new nervous system is a modification of the previous plan and carries with it the load of neural structures that have been used in past environments. This book is truly unique and is likely to remain such for decades to come. The illustrations, although black-and-white, are superb in clarity. This book deserves future editions. (In contrast, "The Central Nervous System of Vertebrates" edited by R. Nieuwenhuys and others, is a marketing disaster and can be afforded only by lawyers dabbling in neuroscience.)
November 2005: While attending the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, I was more than thrilled to come across the Second Edition of this book. I bought it with no hesitation. It seems the second edition is even better than the first one. This is my first impression, anyway. I may add more comments later.
(By the way, if you wonder what is happening in the brains of all these creatures at the Georgia Aquarium, this book will give you answers.)
A good starting point for vertebrate neuroanatomy.......2000-11-26
While the title of this reference may sound formidable, it is actually suitable for the motivated general reader, and is far clearer than typical neuroanatomy textbooks. Neuroanatomy across the vertebrate lines is considered, with explanations of underlying neuronal and neuroanatomical principles.
Very approachable.......1999-11-25
This ambitious evolutionary approach to the vertebrate nervous system gives the student all the tools needed to proceed with the advanced (3-volume)works of Crosby, et al (paleo) and Niuwenhuys, et al(neo). The text is well organized and has only a slight amount of redundancy. Would hope the next edition would have improved and possibly colorful figures. This will become the only "one volume" classic of vertebrate comparative neuroanatomy.
Average customer rating:
- Don't buy this book if you want a textbook!
- Detailed to say the least
- Update of an inadequate text
- Interesting, but a disappointing lack of detail.
|
Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates
George C Kent , and
Robert K. Carr
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Vertebrates
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Basic Science
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Basic Sciences
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy & Physiology
| Biological Sciences
| Sciences
| New & Used Textbooks
| Stores
| Books
Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Sciences
| New & Used Textbooks
| Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Medicine
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Atlas and Dissection Guide for Comparative Anatomy
-
Comparative Anatomy: Vertebrate Dissection Manual
-
Vertebrate Dissection
-
Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy: A Laboratory Dissection Guide
-
MP: Van De Graaff Human Anatomy 6/e + OLC password card + ESP + Strete/Creek's Atlas to Human Anatomy
ASIN: 0073038695 |
Book Description
Deemed a classic for its reading level and high-quality illustrations, this respected text is ideal for your one-semester Comparative Anatomy course. For the ninth edition, George Kent is joined by new co-author Bob Carr.
Customer Reviews:
Don't buy this book if you want a textbook!.......2006-08-09
This book is NOT Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates as listed. It is Cram101 Textbook Review to accompany a textbook. This is very false advertising and Amazon should correct the listing so that further people are not misled.
Detailed to say the least.......2003-09-25
I have to say this text is very interesting but not clear at all times. It's got loads of information jammed into a book that's rather thin for a college text but it's very informative. My only problem? It's so detailed that you can barely make out what any of it means. Also, the glossary is not as complete as it should be, but it does give plenty of latin prefixes and suffixes to help aid in the translation of scientific jargon. If they had put in about five or so more chapters (or at least that amount in pages) they could have explained confusing concepts more and avoid just jamming as many neurocranial bones as they can figure out in one paragraph.
Update of an inadequate text.......1999-04-14
I have not read this edition of Dr. Kent's book, but as a former student of Dr. Kent's, I was forced to buy his text when I took his comparative anatomy course. At the time, I found it a difficult read of marginal usefulness. When he left Louisiana State, a different, far better text was introduced. If this is merely an update of that volume, I echo others who recommend other sources.
Interesting, but a disappointing lack of detail........1998-08-04
Though this book is a decent introductory guide to comparative vertebrate anatomy, there is a significant lack of detail in certain sections. The text is very condensed, and difficult to read at certain parts. I recommend using a similar book by Walker.
Book Description
This book introduces students to the groups of vertebrates and explores the anatomical evolution of vertebrates within the context of the functional interrelationships of organs and the changing environments to which vertebrates have adapted. The text contains all of the material taught in classic comparative anatomy courses, but integrates this material with current research in functional anatomy. This integration adds a new dimension to our understanding of structure and helps students understand the evolution of vertebrates.
Customer Reviews:
Comprehensive and clear.......2007-07-14
This book is well-organized and clearly written, and includes some truly fascinating revelations about the vertebrates, especially relating to biomechanics. It is, however, really too encyclopedic for undergraduates to read cover to cover. As a supplement to a lecture course, I find it excellent; if the lecturer expects students to learn most of the material from the text alone, they are in for a difficult time. The main difficulty is that the most important material is not necessarily emphasized in the text, so that the instructor using this text must be clear about what main points students need. As a reference for further study after class, and to look up things not understood the first time, this book is great. As a primary teaching tool with no outline or emphasis to guide study, there is simply far too much information for a one-semester undergraduate course.
Anatomy of a textbook.......2006-11-10
Students already familiar with vertebrate anatomy will probably find this a useful reference, however students who are learning about vertebrate anatomy for the first time will likely be a bit frustrated with the book. Often, long wordy paragraphs describe structures rather than having an emphasis on diagrams. Material and terminology is frequently introduced without stating function or relevance until later on. Diagrams are only in a few different colors and usually lack spatial depth, which I personally found difficult for understanding the 3 dimensional layout of many oddly shaped structures. There are no photographs making identification of real life structures a bit of a challenge. There is also the occasional mislabeled diagram, but those are likely being remedied in the next edition.
I'm a bit disappointed at the organization of this book and it's emphasis on descriptions via text, however it is useful once you gain a good understanding of the material. The text goes into a nice amount of detail and covers a lot of material. However, if I had a choice of textbooks to use form my anatomy course, I would likely look at something else.
Average customer rating:
|
The Skull, Volume 2: Patterns of Structural and Systematic Diversity (Skull)
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Developmental Biology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Basic Science
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Basic Sciences
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Medicine
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Skull, Volume 3: Functional and Evolutionary Mechanisms (Skull)
-
The Skull, Volume 1: Development (Skull)
ASIN: 0226315703 |
Book Description
In this authoritative three-volume reference work, leading researchers bring together current work to provide a comprehensive analysis of the comparative morphology, development, evolution, and functional biology of the skull.
Average customer rating:
|
Comparative Correlative Neuroanatomy of the Vertebrate Telencephalon
Elizabeth C. Crosby
Manufacturer: Macmillan Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Anatomy
| Basic Science
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Basic Sciences
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Neuroanatomy
| Basic Sciences
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Neurobiology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0023256907 |
Customer Reviews:
A useful College lab text.......2005-09-30
This lab manual was a supplement text that I was not required to buy however we ended up relying on it heavily in the laboratory so much that I found I needed my own copy, rather than the limited few available. It is fully color and all the structures of Necturus, Squalus and the cat are shown in high detail photographs that are extremely useful when you are looking at your own sample. They also provide more explanation about the function and location of each structure.
The one disadvantage that this manual has though is that it does not provide instruction in dissection to see these samples (one reason why my college does not rely on it as a main laboratory manual) and only covers three vertebrate systems and none of the hemichordates.
I believe that it is a worthwhile investment though if you are taking a comparative anatomy course (Such as the one at Florida Tech....) to have this text as reference.
Average customer rating:
- Badly dated--should not have been published
- Badly dated--should not have been published
- Clear and Insightful
- Great Book!
|
Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates: A History of the Backboned Animals Through Time
Edwin H. Colbert ,
Michael Morales , and
Eli C. Minkoff
Manufacturer: Wiley-Liss
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Fossils
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Paleontology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Vertebrate
| Paleontology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Geology
| Earth Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0471384615 |
Book Description
Vertebrate evolution is studied through comparative anatomy and functional morphology of existing vertebrates as well as fossil records. Since the publication of the previous edition of Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates: A History of the Backboned Animals Through Time, there have been significant advances in the knowledge surrounding backboned animals. This latest edition of the classic text is completely revised to offer the most recent discoveries in this continually evolving field of science. Covering the various aspects of vertebrate life, from skeletal system to ecology, behavior, and physiology, the Fifth Edition includes new sections on conodonts, dinosaurs, primates, and the origin of birds, and discusses:
- Analysis of morphological and molecular data
- Early diversification of vertebrates
- The evolution of dinosaurs
- The origin of mammals
- Early ruling reptiles
- Basic adaptation of ungulates
Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates, Fifth Edition carries on its legacy as an invaluable reference for professionals in evolutionary biology and paleontology, as well as an ideal textbook for students in those fields.
Customer Reviews:
Badly dated--should not have been published.......2002-01-16
I knew and liked Ned Colbert, and loved the early editions of this once-classic book. He passed away on November 15, 2001, shortly after this edition appeared, so it makes it even more difficult to be honest and frank. But it is necessary, since this is a clear case of a publisher trying to push an outdated, badly conceived project on the market, and few but professional vertebrate paleontologists will realize how problematic this book has become.
In its first edition (written in 1955), Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates was an excellent non-technical review of vertebrate evolution as it was known almost 50 years ago. The second (1969) edition and third (1980) edition began to become more and more outdated, since Colbert retired in the 1960s, and became less and less connected to the latest developments (both in discoveries and in philosophy) that had occurred in vertebrate paleontology. By the time of the fourth edition (published in 1991), the publisher brought in Mike Morales as a younger co-author, but it made no difference-the book was badly out of date in both its approach and its facts. Most of us hoped that this would be its last edition, since there was little that could be done to salvage it. But in this edition, they have added a third author, Eli Minkoff, a biologist who is not a vertebrate paleontologist and who clearly has not kept up with the important developments that have occurred in the past decades. Consequently, the book is full of errors of both omission and commission in every chapter, and should not have been published, let alone used by anyone to teach a modern course in fossil vertebrates.
The problems are so numerous that I cannot list them all in a brief review, but I will mention a few of the more important ones here. It starts with the authors' ambivalence toward the cladistic revolution, which in the past 20 years has completely transformed the way we think about fossil vertebrates. In places, they attempt to be current by paying lip-service to cladograms, but their fundamentally old-fashioned philosophy is unchanged everywhere else. On page 16, they mention (but never explain) cladistics in one brief paragraph, and then throughout the book they place Colbert's 50-year-old diagrams (with no resolution of phylogenetic relationships) side-by-side with a cladogram of some of the same taxa-or use one of the outdated diagrams with no attempt to show more recent hypotheses at all. Again and again, they make anachronistic statements suggesting that we can't know anything about phylogeny because of a lack of a suitable ancestor, or statements like "no clear indication of relationships among gnathostomous fishes can be determined from their stratigraphic order of occurrence in the rocks" (p. 48)-as if it ever could in a group with such a poor fossil record!
Certainly, they have a right to disagree with the prevailing philosophy in their profession if they so choose, although they end up painting a very unrepresentative and inaccurate picture of what we have learned as a consequence. Even more disturbing is the clear evidence that none of the authors keep up with the new discoveries made in past 20 years. Certainly, I haven't seen any of them at the meetings of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology during that time, and apparently they don't read the journals, either. It is jarring to read, page after page, statements, ideas, or taxonomic concepts that have become grossly outdated, and should have disappeared long ago. Among the numerous examples are: the discredited notion that jaws are derived from gill arches (p. 38); Romer's idea that tetrapods left the water to escape drying pools, or chase prey, when all the recent discoveries of Acanthostega show that the tetrapod limb appeared in fully aquatic animals long before there was any need to crawl out on land (p. 85); the idea that anthracosaurs like Seymouria had anything to do with amniote origins, when recent discoveries like Westlothiana (not even mentioned in this book) have shifted the focus elsewhere (p. 105); the failure to note (p. 154) that the latest fossils show that snakes are descended from mosasaurs; a grossly antiquated approach to Mesozoic mammals and their relationships in Chapter 19, with almost no mention of the last decade of amazing discoveries; a carnivore "phylogeny" (p. 379) that treats "Fissipedia" as a natural group, and fails to show that pinnipeds are clearly descended from bears, not from the carnivoran stem; no mention (p. 394) of Ambulocetus and all the other recent spectacular transitional whale discoveries (all published long before this book went to press); the outdated notion (p. 428) that protoceratids are related to tragulids, rather than camels; the idea that perissodactyls have anything to do with phenacodonts (p. 452), instead of the recent discoveries of Chinese taxa like Radinskya, which point in a whole new direction; the outdated idea (p. 467) that brontotheres survived the Eocene (thanks to revisions of the time scale completed a decade ago), or that chalicotheres dug up roots (p. 469) with their peculiar claws (debunked by Coombs 20 years ago); the complete failure to mention (p. 480) all the new primitive elephants like Numidotherium and Phosphatherium, which push proboscideans back to the Paleocene of North Africa. The list could go on and on, but these are among the more glaring examples of a failure to recognize or incorporate any of the past 20 years of discoveries.
Equally jarring is the repeated use of taxa that were manifestly unnatural even in 1955, and have not been used by vertebrate paleontologists in many years. The examples are too numerous to mention, but it feels like going through a time warp to read about "chondrosteans," "holosteans," "labyrinthodonts," "thecodonts," "Prototheria," "eupantotheres," "condylarths," "palaeodonts," as if anyone still practicing vertebrate paleontology took those taxa seriously. Symptomatic of this problem is the use of the archaic term "mammal-like reptiles," a misnomer that reflects several serious misconceptions. Synapsids (the "mammal-like reptiles") and the true reptiles are two distinct lineages that originated separately and simultaneously in the mid-Carboniferous, so synapsids have never been members of, or descended from reptiles (in even the broadest sense of the word). Call them "protomammals" if you will-but they are not, and have never been, reptiles!
These problems might not matter if this were just a trade book intended for the popular audience, who might not care if it is accurate or up-to-date in every detail. But I know of several institutions where paleontologists (not vertebrate paleontologists) still use this book to teach classes in vertebrate evolution, completely unaware of how grossly outdated this book had become. Nor is it the only choice on the market written at this level. Michael Benton's Vertebrate Paleontology (2nd edition, 2000, Blackwell) is fully up-to-date and much more affordable [...]. Clearly, the editors at Wiley-Liss are trying to extend their franchise long beyond its useful life, and instead of consulting with qualified vertebrate paleontologists who could have made the book up-to-date, they foisted this sad shadow of a former classic on the unsuspecting profession.
Donald R. Prothero
Department of Geology
Occidental College
Los Angeles, CA 90041
[....]
Badly dated--should not have been published.......2002-01-16
I knew and liked Ned Colbert, and loved the early editions of this once-classic book. He passed away on November 15, 2001, shortly after this edition appeared, so it makes it even more difficult to be honest and frank. But it is necessary, since this is a clear case of a publisher trying to push an outdated, badly conceived project on the market, and few but professional vertebrate paleontologists will realize how problematic this book has become.
In its first edition (written in 1955), Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates was an excellent non-technical review of vertebrate evolution as it was known almost 50 years ago. The second (1969) edition and third (1980) edition began to become more and more outdated, since Colbert retired in the 1960s, and became less and less connected to the latest developments (both in discoveries and in philosophy) that had occurred in vertebrate paleontology. By the time of the fourth edition (published in 1991), the publisher brought in Mike Morales as a younger co-author, but it made no difference-the book was badly out of date in both its approach and its facts. Most of us hoped that this would be its last edition, since there was little that could be done to salvage it. But in this edition, they have added a third author, Eli Minkoff, a biologist who is not a vertebrate paleontologist and who clearly has not kept up with the important developments that have occurred in the past decades. Consequently, the book is full of errors of both omission and commission in every chapter, and should not have been published, let alone used by anyone to teach a modern course in fossil vertebrates.
The problems are so numerous that I cannot list them all in a brief review, but I will mention a few of the more important ones here. It starts with the authors' ambivalence toward the cladistic revolution, which in the past 20 years has completely transformed the way we think about fossil vertebrates. In places, they attempt to be current by paying lip-service to cladograms, but their fundamentally old-fashioned philosophy is unchanged everywhere else. On page 16, they mention (but never explain) cladistics in one brief paragraph, and then throughout the book they place Colbert's 50-year-old diagrams (with no resolution of phylogenetic relationships) side-by-side with a cladogram of some of the same taxa-or use one of the outdated diagrams with no attempt to show more recent hypotheses at all. Again and again, they make anachronistic statements suggesting that we can't know anything about phylogeny because of a lack of a suitable ancestor, or statements like "no clear indication of relationships among gnathostomous fishes can be determined from their stratigraphic order of occurrence in the rocks" (p. 48)-as if it ever could in a group with such a poor fossil record!
Certainly, they have a right to disagree with the prevailing philosophy in their profession if they so choose, although they end up painting a very unrepresentative and inaccurate picture of what we have learned as a consequence. Even more disturbing is the clear evidence that none of the authors keep up with the new discoveries made in past 20 years. Certainly, I haven't seen any of them at the meetings of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology during that time, and apparently they don't read the journals, either. It is jarring to read, page after page, statements, ideas, or taxonomic concepts that have become grossly outdated, and should have disappeared long ago. Among the numerous examples are: the discredited notion that jaws are derived from gill arches (p. 38); Romer's idea that tetrapods left the water to escape drying pools, or chase prey, when all the recent discoveries of Acanthostega show that the tetrapod limb appeared in fully aquatic animals long before there was any need to crawl out on land (p. 85); the idea that anthracosaurs like Seymouria had anything to do with amniote origins, when recent discoveries like Westlothiana (not even mentioned in this book) have shifted the focus elsewhere (p. 105); the failure to note (p. 154) that the latest fossils show that snakes are descended from mosasaurs; a grossly antiquated approach to Mesozoic mammals and their relationships in Chapter 19, with almost no mention of the last decade of amazing discoveries; a carnivore "phylogeny" (p. 379) that treats "Fissipedia" as a natural group, and fails to show that pinnipeds are clearly descended from bears, not from the carnivoran stem; no mention (p. 394) of Ambulocetus and all the other recent spectacular transitional whale discoveries (all published long before this book went to press); the outdated notion (p. 428) that protoceratids are related to tragulids, rather than camels; the idea that perissodactyls have anything to do with phenacodonts (p. 452), instead of the recent discoveries of Chinese taxa like Radinskya, which point in a whole new direction; the outdated idea (p. 467) that brontotheres survived the Eocene (thanks to revisions of the time scale completed a decade ago), or that chalicotheres dug up roots (p. 469) with their peculiar claws (debunked by Coombs 20 years ago); the complete failure to mention (p. 480) all the new primitive elephants like Numidotherium and Phosphatherium, which push proboscideans back to the Paleocene of North Africa. The list could go on and on, but these are among the more glaring examples of a failure to recognize or incorporate any of the past 20 years of discoveries.
Equally jarring is the repeated use of taxa that were manifestly unnatural even in 1955, and have not been used by vertebrate paleontologists in many years. The examples are too numerous to mention, but it feels like going through a time warp to read about "chondrosteans," "holosteans," "labyrinthodonts," "thecodonts," "Prototheria," "eupantotheres," "condylarths," "palaeodonts," as if anyone still practicing vertebrate paleontology took those taxa seriously. Symptomatic of this problem is the use of the archaic term "mammal-like reptiles," a misnomer that reflects several serious misconceptions. Synapsids (the "mammal-like reptiles") and the true reptiles are two distinct lineages that originated separately and simultaneously in the mid-Carboniferous, so synapsids have never been members of, or descended from reptiles (in even the broadest sense of the word). Call them "protomammals" if you will-but they are not, and have never been, reptiles!
These problems might not matter if this were just a trade book intended for the popular audience, who might not care if it is accurate or up-to-date in every detail. But I know of several institutions where paleontologists (not vertebrate paleontologists) still use this book to teach classes in vertebrate evolution, completely unaware of how grossly outdated this book had become. Nor is it the only choice on the market written at this level. Michael Benton's Vertebrate Paleontology (2nd edition, 2000, Blackwell) is fully up-to-date and much more affordable (especially since Wiley is charging $145 for this book!). Clearly, the editors at Wiley-Liss are trying to extend their franchise long beyond its useful life, and instead of consulting with qualified vertebrate paleontologists who could have made the book up-to-date, they foisted this sad shadow of a former classic on the unsuspecting profession ...
Clear and Insightful.......2001-11-01
"The book points out very cleary the climatic and geological conditions, and environment that allowed the various taxa of vertebrates to evolve and thrive. The clarity and insightfulness of the authors are highly recommended." --W.H. Tam, University of Western Ontario
Great Book!.......2001-11-01
"Eminently readable and lavishly illustrated (with Lois Darling's classic drawings of reconstructed species plus up-to-date cladograms), Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates is the perfect book for students of vertebrate paleontology. Unlike encyclopedic reference texts which are full of confusing jargon, this is a book that can be read by the non-specialist. Colbert tells--and shows--the fascinating story of vertebrate evolution and diversity, with all of the major groups represented. With thorough yet uncluttered text and well-chosen figures, with complete coverage of paleoecology, stratigraphy, and taphonomy, this book is perfect for anyone who wishes to learn more about our "extended" family tree." --Alexander J. Werth, Ph.D., Hampden-Sydney College
Books:
- What Mad Pursuit: A Personal View of Scientific Discovery (Sloan Foundation Science)
- YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger
- An Introduction to Systems Biology: Design Principles of Biological Circuits (Chapman & Hall/Crc Mathematical and Computational Biology Series)
- Analysis and Management of Animal Populations
- Analysis and Management of Animal Populations
- Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach, Eighth Edition
- Arthur's Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics
- Atlas of Mouse Development
- Basic Histology: Text & Atlas (Basic Histology)
- Biology of Cancer
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Sons of the Dark: Outcast - Book #3
- Natural Born Charmer
- Evolution And Ethics: Human Morality In Biological And Religious Perspective
- Elektrodynamische Maassbestimmungen insbesondre über elektrische schwingungen
- History: Fiction or Science
- Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law
- Hand-Feeding and Raising Baby Birds: Breeding, Hand-Feeding, Care, and Management
- The Architecture of O'Neil Ford: Celebrating Place
- Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters
- The Future of Beef Production in the European Community
Vertebrate Life (7th Edition)
