The Eocene-Oligocene transition : paradise lost /

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. The boundary between them is marked by a time of major climatic disruption, when the generally warm (paradisiacal) environments of the Eocene gave way to the colder Oligocene. This interval saw extinctions of a variety of animals and plants, both terrestrial and aquatic. In this engagingly written essay-style book, Prothero tells the story of the changing pattern of fauna and flora, explains the geological reasons for the change, and introduces the scientists who traced out the riddles. This book is essentially a popularization of Eocene-Oligocene Climatic and Biotic Evolution, ed. by Prothero and William A. Berggren (CH, Apr'93). Prothero is an expert on fossil mammals, their environments, and the means to date them, but he has enlarged that perspective to include discussions of such topics as extinctions in general, especially those potentially caused by asteroid impacts; means of reconstructing climate from the shape of leaves or the oxygen isotopic content of deep-sea microshells; and the history of the recovery of mammalian and other fossils. Well suited as a case study in paleontology courses or to introduce the modern study of evolution. Highly recommended. General, undergraduate; graduate.