Vertebrate Life

For courses in Vertebrate Zoology, Vertebrate Biology Function, and Paleontology Widely praised for its comprehensive coverage and exceptionally clear writing style, this best-selling text explores how the anatomy, physiology, ecology, and behavior of animals interact to produce organisms that function effectively in their environments and how lineages of organisms change through evolutionary time. The Ninth Edition features dozens of new figures and photos, updated information from molecular data and evolutionary development, and expanded discussions on global climate change, extinction, and conservation.I. VERTEBRATE DIVERSITY, FUNCTION, AND EVOLUTION 1. The Diversity, Classification, and Evolution of Vertebrates 2. Vertebrate Relationships and Basic Structure 3. Early Vertebrates: Jawless Vertebrates and the Origin of Jawed Vertebrates II. NON-AMNIOTIC VERTEBRATES: FISHES AND AMPHIBIANS 4. Living in Water 5. Radiation of the Chondrichthyes 6. Dominating Life in Water: The Major Radiation of Fishes 7. Geography and Ecology of the Paleozoic Era 8. Living on Land 9. Origin and Radiation of Tetrapods 10. Salamanders, Anurans, and Caecilians III. SAUROSPIDA: TURTLES, LEPIDOSAURS, AND ARCHOSAURS 11. Synapsids and Sauropsids: Two Approaches to Terrestrial Life 12. Turtles 13. The Lepidosaurs: Tuatara, Lizards, and Snakes 14. Ectothermy: A Low-Cost Approach to Life 15. Geography and Ecology of the Mesozoic Era 16. Mesozoic Diapsids: Dinosaurs, Crocodilians, Birds, and Others 17. Avian Specializations IV. SYNAPSIDA: THE MAMMALS 18. The Synapsida and the Evolution of Mammals 19. Geography and Ecology of the Cenozoic Era 20. Mammalian Diversity and Characteristics 21. Mammalian Specializations 22. Endothermy: A High-Energy Approach to Life 23. Body Size, Ecology, and Sociality of Mammals 24. Primate Evolution and the Emergence of Humans 25. The Impact of Humans on Other Species of Vertebrates