Retrograde Evolution During Major Extinction Crises
This book is the first of its kind, providing in-depth analysis of the retrograde evolution occurring during major extinction periods. The text offers a non-strictly adaptative explanation of repetition of phyla after the major extinctions, utilizing a st
- PDF / 4,457,919 Bytes
- 89 Pages / 439.43 x 666.14 pts Page_size
- 17 Downloads / 177 Views
Jean Guex
Retrograde Evolution During Major Extinction Crises
123
SpringerBriefs in Evolutionary Biology
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10207
Jean Guex
Retrograde Evolution During Major Extinction Crises
Jean Guex Institut des sciences de la Terre UNIL Bâtiment Géopolis Lausanne Switzerland
ISSN 2192-8134 ISSN 2192-8142 (electronic) SpringerBriefs in Evolutionary Biology ISBN 978-3-319-27916-9 ISBN 978-3-319-27917-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-27917-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015959946 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
To Catherine, Suzanne, and Raphael
Abstract Most of the evolutionary trends described in the following pages concern more or less gradual geometrical and ornamental transformations occurring over long periods of ecologically stable periods. Such trends are discussed in Chapter 1 of this study. By contrast, major evolutionary jumps in several invertebrate groups occur during massive extinction periods, which are characterised by the appearance of primitive forms resembling remote ancestors of their immediate progenitors. These forms are defined as atavistic. Homeomorphic species generated during sublethal environmental stress can be separated from the ancestral group by several millions of years. In this paper we present a new theoretical model of retrograde evolutionary changes during sublethal environmental stress and analyse the evolutionary patterns of some planktonic foraminifera, radiolarians, nautiloids, conodonts, corals and ammonoids during major extinction periods. In ecologically stable periods, the transformations of the skeletons are characterised by an increase of shell curvature, corresponding to an increase in the apparent geome
Data Loading...
