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Fossils: The Evolution and Extinction of Species
Fossils are a window into time, revealing unexpected insights into the evolution of the staggering variety of forms that life has taken on our planet. This fascinating exploration of fossils overturns the traditional view as a slow and inevitable process and shows that lifeforms generally do not evolve to any significant degree until after massive extinction. This rhythm of life - stability punctuated by bursts of change - is revealed by the fossilized remains of the earth's ancient flora and fauna. Author Niles Eldredge, Curator of the Department of Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, has for twenty-five years been in the scientific forefront, forging a synthesis between this modern understanding of the fossil record and classical evolutionary theory. As one of the leading paleontologists of our day, his work is based on two of Darwin's great underlying the biological kinship of all organisms and their modification through natural selection. Murray Alcosser, one of America's most distinguished still-life photographers, augments Eldredge''s text by providing 160 luminous colorplates illustrating more than 250 different fossil specimens.
220 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
148 people want to read
About the author
Niles Eldredge
51 books26 followersNiles Eldredge (born August 25, 1943) is an American biologist and paleontologist, who, along with Stephen Jay Gould, proposed the theory of punctuated equilibrium in 1972.
Eldredge began his undergraduate studies in Latin at Columbia University. Before completing his degree he switched to the study of anthropology under Norman D. Newell. It was at this time that his work at the American Museum of Natural History began, under the combined Columbia University-American Museum graduate studies program.
Eldredge graduated summa cum laude from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1965, and enrolled in the university's doctoral program while continuing his research at the museum. He completed his PhD in 1969.
In 1969, Eldredge became a curator in the Department of Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, and subsequently a curator in the Invertebrate Paleontology section of Paleontology, a position from which he recently retired. He was also an Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York. His specialty was the evolution of mid-Paleozoic Phacopida trilobites: a group of extinct arthropods that lived between 543 and 245 million years ago.
Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed punctuated equilibria in 1972. Punctuated equilibrium is a refinement to evolutionary theory. It describes patterns of descent taking place in "fits and starts" separated by long periods of stability.
Eldredge went on to develop a hierarchical vision of evolutionary and ecological systems. Around this time, he became focused on the rapid destruction of many of the world's habitats and species.
Throughout his career, he has used repeated patterns in the history of life to refine ideas on how the evolutionary process actually works. Eldredge is proponent of the importance of environment in explaining the patterns in evolution.
Eldredge is a critic of the gene-centric view of evolution. His most recent venture is the development of an alternative account to the gene-based notions of evolutionary psychology to explain human behavior.
He has published more than 160 scientific articles, books, and reviews, including Reinventing Darwin, an examination of current controversies in evolutionary biology, and Dominion, a consideration of the ecological and evolutionary past, present, and future of Homo sapiens.
Eldredge enjoys playing jazz trumpet and is an avid collector of 19th century cornets. He shares his home in Ridgewood, New Jersey with his wife and more than 500 cornets. He also has two sons, two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren.
Eldredge possesses a chart of the historical development of cornets (the musical instruments), which he uses as a comparison with that of the development of trilobites. The differences between them are meant to highlight the failures of intelligent design by comparing a system that is definitely designed, with a system that is not designed.
Eldredge began his undergraduate studies in Latin at Columbia University. Before completing his degree he switched to the study of anthropology under Norman D. Newell. It was at this time that his work at the American Museum of Natural History began, under the combined Columbia University-American Museum graduate studies program.
Eldredge graduated summa cum laude from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1965, and enrolled in the university's doctoral program while continuing his research at the museum. He completed his PhD in 1969.
In 1969, Eldredge became a curator in the Department of Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, and subsequently a curator in the Invertebrate Paleontology section of Paleontology, a position from which he recently retired. He was also an Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York. His specialty was the evolution of mid-Paleozoic Phacopida trilobites: a group of extinct arthropods that lived between 543 and 245 million years ago.
Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed punctuated equilibria in 1972. Punctuated equilibrium is a refinement to evolutionary theory. It describes patterns of descent taking place in "fits and starts" separated by long periods of stability.
Eldredge went on to develop a hierarchical vision of evolutionary and ecological systems. Around this time, he became focused on the rapid destruction of many of the world's habitats and species.
Throughout his career, he has used repeated patterns in the history of life to refine ideas on how the evolutionary process actually works. Eldredge is proponent of the importance of environment in explaining the patterns in evolution.
Eldredge is a critic of the gene-centric view of evolution. His most recent venture is the development of an alternative account to the gene-based notions of evolutionary psychology to explain human behavior.
He has published more than 160 scientific articles, books, and reviews, including Reinventing Darwin, an examination of current controversies in evolutionary biology, and Dominion, a consideration of the ecological and evolutionary past, present, and future of Homo sapiens.
Eldredge enjoys playing jazz trumpet and is an avid collector of 19th century cornets. He shares his home in Ridgewood, New Jersey with his wife and more than 500 cornets. He also has two sons, two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren.
Eldredge possesses a chart of the historical development of cornets (the musical instruments), which he uses as a comparison with that of the development of trilobites. The differences between them are meant to highlight the failures of intelligent design by comparing a system that is definitely designed, with a system that is not designed.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 3, 2023
This is a pictorial book with plenty of interesting fossil photos to illustrate Eldredge's punctuated equilibrium theory. He began with photos of trilobites fossils which he researched for his doctoral dissertation. His doubts with gradualism view of evolution came from his findings that tribolites went through 8 million years with hardly any changes. Not only there was no changes in his trilobites fossils. Instead of gradual transformation, there seemed to be associated with little side branches of new species from the main stock, I.e., speciation, and these descendants lived side by side the main branch. The long period of stasis with no transformation and the branching of speciation eventually are how Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould coined the term "puntuated equilibrium". Equilibrium suggests long stasis and puntuated suggests speciation branching from the original species.
The book contains 6 chapters on adaptation, origin of species , human evolution , living fossils and macroevolution. The chapter on living fossils is fascinating. It is about species still living bearing a strong resemblance to its fossil forebearers such as living lung fish and its fossil forbearers or fish thought to have extincted millions years before suddenly appeared today, e.g., coelcanths.
Eldredge is a specialist in extinction which he thinks is an integrated part of evolution. He holds various causes of extinction such as habitat change or loss, global cooling or warming are related different aspects of the same phenomena. It is global cooling that leads to habitat loss or change resulting in species to extinct if they could not relocate to new habitat. Extinction can also caused by multiple factors. The cretaceous period ending by extraterrestrial body impacting the earth was also preceded by ecosystem changing. So the mass extinction can be attributed to both terrestrial and extraterrestrial factors.
In the chapter on macroevolution, the phenomenon of large scale evolutionary change is presented, as seen in whales changing from a land carnivores to a sea mammal in 50 million years between Eocene period to modern whales, showing pronounced anatomical changes. Also discussed is the whole spectrum of invertebrate species explosion to inaugurate the cambrian period when new habitat was presented.
The book contains 6 chapters on adaptation, origin of species , human evolution , living fossils and macroevolution. The chapter on living fossils is fascinating. It is about species still living bearing a strong resemblance to its fossil forebearers such as living lung fish and its fossil forbearers or fish thought to have extincted millions years before suddenly appeared today, e.g., coelcanths.
Eldredge is a specialist in extinction which he thinks is an integrated part of evolution. He holds various causes of extinction such as habitat change or loss, global cooling or warming are related different aspects of the same phenomena. It is global cooling that leads to habitat loss or change resulting in species to extinct if they could not relocate to new habitat. Extinction can also caused by multiple factors. The cretaceous period ending by extraterrestrial body impacting the earth was also preceded by ecosystem changing. So the mass extinction can be attributed to both terrestrial and extraterrestrial factors.
In the chapter on macroevolution, the phenomenon of large scale evolutionary change is presented, as seen in whales changing from a land carnivores to a sea mammal in 50 million years between Eocene period to modern whales, showing pronounced anatomical changes. Also discussed is the whole spectrum of invertebrate species explosion to inaugurate the cambrian period when new habitat was presented.
September 6, 2020
My only reason for not giving this book a five star rating is that in the almost 30 years since its publication the facts of paleontology and geology have progressed enough so that some of Eldredge's words have been overtaken by recent discoveries. The photographs are another story; they remain a stunning display of life's diversity, and are unlikely to ever be superseded. Eldredge is a clear and compelling writer, and presents a well-reasoned argument for his view of evolution. And the photographs by Murray Alcosser are an absolute delight.
March 14, 2022
Beautifully written and illustrated large format book of the author's latest theories of evolution. My only criticisms are that the illustrations lack a scale so the reader can get an idea of the actual size of the specimens. Also, the illustrations frequently have no seeming connection with the surrounding text.
January 27, 2008
The pictures in this book are amazing!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews