Eocene-Oligocene climatic and biotic evolution /

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Bibliographic Details
Imprint:Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1992.
Description:xiv, 568 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.
Language:English
Series:Princeton series in geology and paleontology
Subject:Paleontology -- Eocene
Paleontology -- Oligocene
Geology, Stratigraphic -- Eocene
Geology, Stratigraphic -- Oligocene
Paleoclimatology
Eocene Geologic Epoch.
Eocene-Oligocene boundary.
Geology, Stratigraphic.
Oligocene Geologic Epoch.
Paleoclimatology.
Paleontology.
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/1388894
Hidden Bibliographic Details
Other authors / contributors:Prothero, Donald R.
Berggren, William A.
ISBN:0691025428 (pbk. : alk. paper) : $49.95
0691087385 (alk. paper) : $99.50
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Review by Choice Review

The Eocene and Oligocene are two successive epochs (intervals of earth history) lasting from roughly 55 to 25 million years ago, nearly half the time since the extinction of the dinosaurs. As the editors note in the preface, the Eocene was a time of warm, "greenhouse" climate worldwide, while the Oligocene saw stronger climatic zonation, generally cooler temperatures, and a lower diversity of animal life. This book consists of 28 papers (by nearly 50 authors from the US and 7 other countries) that grew out of two 1989 conferences to discuss the history of the two epochs and the transition between them. The editors' introduction provides a preview of the main conclusions, organized into four sections: chronology, climatic change, and effects on the marine and terrestrial biomes, respectively. In the first, there is broad agreement that the boundary between the two epochs should be redated to 34 (rather than nearly 37) million years ago, which has implications for global time scales and studies of evolutionary rates. The studies of terrestrial, mainly mammalian, faunas are of high quality, covering most world regions other than South America. A technical book, but one from which students can gain an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of modern earth science analyses. Recommended. Advanced undergraduate through faculty. E. Delson; Herbert H. Lehman College, CUNY

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review