The Emergence Of Whales: Evolutionary Patterns In The Origin Of Cetacea (advances In Vertebrate Paleobiology)

Research in whale origins is now in an explosive phase, with a cascade of discoveries adding to our understanding of the evolutionary pattern and a suite of new techniques being applied to address new questions. The objective of this volume is to provide a snapshot of this explosion. The volume paints the scene with a broad brush. Taken together the chapters clearly indicate that cetacean origins is a field that is dynamic, multidisciplinary, and that the end of the explosive phase is not in sight. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Synopsis of the Earliest Cetaceans....Pages 1-28 Middle to Late Eocene Basilosaurines and Dorudontines....Pages 29-61 Molecular Evidence for the Phylogenetic Affinities of Cetacea....Pages 63-111 Cetaceans Are Highly Derived Artiodactyls....Pages 113-131 Phylogenetic and Morphometric Reassessment of the Dental Evidence for a Mesonychian and Cetacean Clade....Pages 133-161 Relationships of Cetacea to Terrestrial Ungulates and the Evolution of Cranial Vasculature in Cete....Pages 163-212 Middle Eocene Cetaceans from the Harudi and Subathu Formations of India....Pages 213-233 Postcranial Osteology of the North American Middle Eocene Protocetid Georgiacetus ....Pages 235-267 Homology and Transformation of Cetacean Ectotympanic Structures....Pages 269-301 Biomechanical Perspective on the Origin of Cetacean Flukes....Pages 303-324 Implications of Vertebral Morphology for Locomotor Evolution in Early Cetacea....Pages 325-351 Structural Adaptations of Early Archaeocete Long Bones....Pages 353-378 Evolution of Thermoregulatory Function in Cetacean Reproductive Systems....Pages 379-397 Isotopic Approaches to Understanding the Terrestrial-to-Marine Transition of the Earliest Cetaceans....Pages 399-422 Paleobiological Perspectives on Mesonychia, Archaeoceti, and the Origin of Whales....Pages 423-449 Cetacean Origins....Pages 451-464 Back Matter....Pages 465-477