The Dawn of Animal Life A Biohistorical Study [Paperback]

This 1985 book examines the origin of the present diversity of marine invertebrate animals.This 1985 book examines the origin of the present diversity of marine invertebrate animals. A review of the early stages in the history of life discussing the time-scale of the relevant geological periods alongside corresponding events in the evolutionary sequence is followed by an overview of the early diversification of marine life.This 1985 book examines the origin of the present diversity of marine invertebrate animals. A review of the early stages in the history of life discussing the time-scale of the relevant geological periods alongside corresponding events in the evolutionary sequence is followed by an overview of the early diversification of marine life.This 1985 book examines the origin of the present diversity of marine invertebrate animals. A brief review of the early stages in the history of life discusses the time-scale of the relevant geological periods alongside corresponding events in the evolutionary sequence. These views of the early history of life are then matched against the fossil record and conjectures drawn from the living fauna, enabling the author to attempt an overview of the early diversification of marine animal life. Transitions to the succeeding assemblages of shellbearing fossils in Palaeozoic rocks are discussed and a number of stratigraphic adjustments are suggested for the period in which evolutionary events had their greatest impact on oceans and marine rock strata. The need for an interdisciplinary approach to early evolution is emphasized.List of figures and tables; Preface; 1. Precambrian life and its environment: a review: i. Theories about the origin of life and its environment; ii. The Precambrian, its subdivisions, and the dating of biohistoric events; iii. The preservation and recognition of organic remains in rocks: chemofossils, fossil organisms, pseudofossils; iv. The cell: organization and life processes. The 'kingdoms' of orgaló<