Paleontology – Books – Dr. Friedrich Pfeil Publishing

The Horse – Head, Dentition and Limbs

scheungrab@pfeil-verlag.de — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 12:41:27 +0000

Nikos Solounias ist deeply involved with horses and their ancient relatives of times long past. For several decades he ventured out into the world to learn everything he can about the history of the equids. His approach of in-depth examination of the modern horse and constant comparison with paleontologic findings afford him rare insights into anatomy and function. In this book the focus is set on three remarkable discoveries in the head, the dentition and the limbs of the modern horse.

In the equine head the the interaction of nasal cavity, the nostrils but especially of the preorbital fossa and the nasal diverticulum are examined in detail. This not only allows new insights into the abilities and functions of the nose but also gives insights into the evolution of the anatomy of the equid face.

In the case of the dentition the interaction between the teeth and the vegetation while chewing provides new insights that explain the structure of the teeth. Additionally new theories about hypsodonty give further insight into the anatomy and evolution of the teeth.

His research on the lower limbs of the horse provide the perhaps most striking results. Investigations of embryos andpaelontologic finds support the novel five-digit scenario of the metacarpals and metatarsals. This reveals misunderstandings and new ideas about monodactyly.

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HPI 8A • Actinopterygii I

Markus Pfeil — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 10:23:19 +0000

The Actinopterygii together with the Sarcopterygii are the two sister groups within the Osteichthyes or bony fishes. Today, actinopterygians are the most diverse and speciose vertebrates on the planet and account for the majority (96 %) of living fishes. In earlier time, actinopterygians were divided into three grades: the “Chondrostei”, Holostei, and Teleostei. Historically, the grade “Chondrostei” included all primitive actinopterygians whereas today the taxon Chondrostei is limited to the Acipenseroidei and their relatives corresponding to the characterization by MÜLLER (1845A). In the volume, Eric J. HILTON and Lance GRANDE are responsible for these fishes.

The majority of the historic grade “Chondrostei” comprise the Palaeoniscimorpha LUND et al. 1995 (= Basal Actinopteri ), which are the main focus of this volume. Today, the Holostei and Teleostei are considered monophyletic taxa a result that differs from PATTERSON (1973) who dismissed the holosteans as a grade and placed the Halecomorphi as sister group of the Teleostei. Currently, we recognize three monophyletic taxa; the Chondrostei, Holostei and Teleostei in the sense of MÜLLER (1845A).

The extant polypterids and chondrosteans are included in this volume together with their fossil relatives and the palaeoniscimorphs. In addition, we will deal with basal actinopterygians and basal osteichthyans, where the placement into Actinopterygii, Sarcopterygii or basal Osteichthyes is debated.

This published work and the nomenclatural acts it contains (replacement of preoccupied names) have been registered in ZooBank, the online registration system for the ICZN. The ZooBank LSIDs (Life Science Identifiers) can be resolved and the associated information viewed through any standard web browser by appending the LSID to the prefix http://zoobank.org/. The LSID for this publication is: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0F2C9D33-9584-4739B914-5C4C243E0B1F.

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HPI 5 • Acanthodii, Stem Chondrichthyes – Revised and extended version

Markus Pfeil — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 10:11:37 +0000

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Ancient Fishes and their Living Relatives

Markus Pfeil — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 09:46:12 +0000

Knowledge of fossil sharks (chondrichthyans) has advanced tremendously over the past decade, giving scientists a window into a historically understudied branch of the evolutionary tree of fishes, and revealing anatomies and ecologies just as diverse and fascinating as those of bony fishes (osteichthyans). This volume assembles cutting-edge research on the biology, anatomy, and evolution of sharks and bony fishes, featuring works by paleobiologists and associated researchers from 11 countries, spanning topics from taxonomy to statistical methodology, in honor of Professor John G. Maisey, for his pioneering work on Paleozoic chondrichthyan anatomy, taxonomy, and paleobiogeography over his half-century career at the American Museum of Natural History. With an introduction and 16 chapters, this volume erects two new families and two new genera, and provides 160 figures and illustrations, and 29 plates, including the most comprehensive collection of high-resolution images of a rare fossil shark held predominantly in private collections.

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TRIAS

Markus Pfeil — Sat, 17 Jul 2021 09:47:37 +0000

Mit der Trias begann nach dem größten Massenaussterben in der Erdgeschichte das Mesozoikum bzw. Erdmittelalter. Der »Aufbruch in das Erdmittelalter« markiert eine neue Ära in der Geschichte der Erde und des Lebens, in der sich Pflanzen- und Tierwelt neu organisierten, bis hin zur Entstehung der Dinosaurier und Säugetiere am Ende der Periode. Die faszinierende und von der heutigen völlig verschiedene Welt am Beginn des Erdmittelalters wird unter einer Fülle von Aspekten vor den Leserinnen und Lesern aufgerollt.

S. 1-356

Teilband 1 enthält neben dem Vorwort und der Einleitung mit einem historischen Abriss zur »Trias« die Beiträge zu den Themenschwerpunkten
A Paläogeographie, Stratigraphie und Fazies sowie
B Lebewelt.

S. 357-668

Teilband 2 enthält die Beiträge zu den Themenschwerpunkten
C Fossilfundorte und Fossillagerstätten sowie
D Wirtschaftliche Nutzung
ferner das Gesamtliteraturverzeichnis und das Register.

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Mammalian Teeth

Markus Pfeil — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 14:18:37 +0000

Teeth are the hardest and most durable parts of the mammalian body. Even after millions of years they provide a wealth of paleobiologic information. Teeth reflect the interaction of mammals with the environment, as evident from their shape and traces of mastication on their surface. Teeth of fossil and extant mammals provide information on the diet, mode of food processing, biomechanics of mastication, and energy gain. Modern analytical and visualization techniques such as micro-computed tomography, high-resolution surface analysis, and 3D imaging have greatly boosted the research on dental function in recent years. The book “Mammalian Teeth – Form and Function” offers a comprehensive synopsis of the latest advances in the field of dental function research. It will be of interest not only to paleontologists and biologists, but also to students and scholars in archeology, animal nutrition, and dentistry.

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EUROPASAURUS

Markus Pfeil — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 15:22:20 +0000

Ready for an exciting journey 154 million years back in time? In the late Jurassic period, when Central Europe was a subtropical island kingdom, voracious predatory dinosaurs, nimble small mammals and the dwarf giant dinosaur Europasaurus roamed the landscape in what is now northern Germany.

Impressive pictures tell the story of a young dinosaur and, based on many years of research on excellently preserved fossils, provide scientifically correct insights into a long-gone animal and plant world. The graphic novel is complemented by a factual section that provides easily understandable background information.

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Francis Hamilton’s Gangetic Fishes

Markus Pfeil — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 15:17:47 +0000

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Erdgeschichten

Michael Deinhardt — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 11:40:19 +0000

Wäre es besser gewesen, die Erde wäre ein glühend heißer Feuerball geblieben, oder musste eine richtige Wetterküche mit Wolken, Sturm und Regen her? Sind Algen wirklich eine gute Methode, um Bakterien aus der Ursuppe zu bekämpfen? Sollte man sich darüber freuen, wenn immer mehr Tiere und Pflanzen das Land besiedeln, oder ist hier Vorsicht und Unkraut rupfen angesagt? Der »Erdteufel«, die »Wetterhexe«, das »Wasserweib« und der »Lebensgeist« erleben in den »Erdgeschichten«, wie sich ihre Umgebung immer wieder verändert und sind darüber oft geteilter Meinung. So lässt es den Erdteufel zwar kalt, wenn Tiere aussterben und sich in »Steinvieh« verwandeln, besonders die Saurier gehen ihm nämlich gewaltig auf die Nerven. Als sich jedoch die Kontinente zusammenschieben, macht er sich ernsthaft Sorgen, denn er befürchtet, die Erde könne platzen. Beim Ausbruch der Eiszeiten beschwert sich das Wasserweib über Kälte und Wassermangel, während sich die Wetterhexe darüber freut, ihren Schneebesen mal so richtig ausprobieren zu können. Der Lebensgeist beobachtet mit Freude, wie Tiere immer größer und klüger werden, doch bei den Menschen beginnt auch er zu zweifeln, ob ihr Treiben wirklich gut für diese Erde ist.

Die Erlebnisse der vier Figuren zeigen Kindern ab dem Grundschulalter in Form eines Märchens, was auf der Erde von ihrer Entstehung bis heute geschehen ist. Geologische Sachverhalte werden bei diesem Streifzug durch die Erdgeschichte einfach und kinderleicht erklärt und durch die vielen liebevoll gestalteten farbigen Illustrationen veranschaulicht. Unabhängig davon, ob Kinder das Buch selber lesen oder ob es ihnen vorgelesen wird, sie werden Vergnügen daran haben, die Vorlesenden natürlich ebenfalls.

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Fossil fishes worldwide – Fossile Fische weltweit

Markus Pfeil — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 09:59:56 +0000

The book is aimed at both philatelists and collectors of fossil fish. It gives a detailed account of all stamps, postmarks and postal stationery known to date. To explain the philatelic material, a short description of the appearance, size and distribution as well as a photograph of the fossil are included. Here it was our endeavour to photographically document the same species if possible, or a closely related species of the same genus if it could not be attained.

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