192-203: Paleobiology 31(1)

Paleobiology 31/1:

The importance of museum collections in paleobiology. Warren D. Allmon, pages 1–5.

Among other things, museum collections are valuable because they allow morphological studies. “Morphological studies are crucial bases for evolutionary conclusions at a wide variety of temporal and taxonomic scales and would be impossible (logistically and/or economically) without existing collections.”

Pulsed origination and extinction in the marine realm. Michael Foote, pages 6–20.

That's origination of new species.

Estimating paleodiversities: a test of the taxic and phylogenetic methods. Abigail Lane, Christine M. Janis, and J. John Sepkoski Jr., pages 21–34.

Evolution and speciation.

The morphological diversification of carnivores in North America. Gina D. Wesley-Hunt, pages 35–55.

Evolution and speciation. Gina's cool.

Were there pack-hunting canids in the Tertiary, and how can we know?. Ki Andersson, pages 56–72.

By examining the morphology of fossil canids, Andersson shows that the certain extinct sub-families are more similar to solitary hunting felines, and may have hunted similarly, unlike the pack hunting now common in canids. Evolutionary adaptation and common descent combine to tell us about the behavior of species we never saw.

Early Jurassic climate change and the radiation of organic-walled phytoplankton in the Tethys Ocean. Bas van de Schootbrugge, Trevor R. Bailey, Yair Rosenthal, Miriam E. Katz, James D. Wright, Kenneth G. Miller, Susanne Feist-Burkhardt, and Paul G. Falkowski, pages 73–97.

The macroevolutionary patterns behind the evolution of dinoflagellates correlate with the opening of the ancient Paleopacific to Tethys, the ocean which came to surround the planet, and other tectonic events.

Faunal invasions as a source of morphological constraints and innovations? The diversification of the early Cardioceratidae (Ammonoidea; Middle Jurassic). Nicolas Navarro, Pascal Neige, and Didier Marchand, pages 98–116.

What is the course of morphological evolution and diversification?

Patterns of segregation and convergence in the evolution of fern and seed plant leaf morphologies. C. Kevin Boyce, pages 117–140.

Evolution of leaf shapes.

Contrasting seasonal patterns of carbon gain in evergreen and deciduous trees of ancient polar forests. Dana L. Royer, Colin P. Osborne, and David J. Beerling, pages 141–150.

The conditions of ancient forests and their evolutionary effects is impossible to observe, so they did an experiment by elevating carbon dioxide in a forest. They used closely related species for the most accurate comparison. Common descent = evolution.

Arm regeneration in Mississippian crinoids: evidence of intense predation pressure in the Paleozoic?. Forest J. Gahn and Tomasz K. Baumiller, pages 151–164.

Predation drives theories about the evolution of extinct species. By examining damage and regeneration of ancient crinoid arms, we can learn about predation and its evolutionary importance in the past.

Probable Proterozoic fungi. Nicholas J. Butterfield, pages 165–182.

The oldest known fungi. They share certain distinct characters with modern fungi.