The Origin, Radiation, and Diversification Evolution of Life: Insights from the Chinese Fossil Record

Author: Rong Jiayu, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-09-01
Features: This book is one of the comprehensive achievements of the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) "Origin, Radiation, Extinction, and Recovery of Biota during Major Geological Periods" (2000-2005). Based primarily on fossil evidence from China, the book explores the process of biological evolution, including the origin and early evolution of certain biological groups, the radiation of biota during major geological periods, and the evolution of marine biodiversity. It attempts to seek insights into biological evolution from the fossil record of China. The radiation of biota, one of the key focuses of this book, is a very important component of the history of life but is rarely systematically discussed in evolutionary textbooks. Chinese materials provide many important pieces of evidence. The evolution of prehistoric marine biodiversity has not been comprehensively studied domestically. Based on the establishment of databases for various disciplines, this book preliminarily explores the pre-Neoproterozoic era in South China for the first time.