An Introduction To Paleobotany
The preparation of this book was motivated by a longfelt need for a concise yet fairly comprehensive textbook of paleobotany for use in American colleges and universities. Although separate courses in paleobotany are not offered in many institutions, fossil plants are frequently treated in regular courses in botany and paleontology. In these courses both student and instructor are often compelled to resort to widely scattered publications, which are not always conveniently avail-able. Lack of ready access to sources of information has retarded instruction in paleobotany and has lessened the number of students specializing in this field. Another effect no less serious has been the frequent lack of appreciation by botanists and paleontologists of the importance of fossil plants in biological and geological science.
The two works of reference principally used by British and American students of paleobotany within recent decades have been Sewards Fossil Plants and Scotts Studies in Fossil Botany, the former consisting of four volumes published at intervals between 1898 and 1917, and the latter of two volumes, the last edition of which appeared in 1920 and 1923. Both are now out of print, and although they will continue to occupy a prominent place among the great works in paleobotany, they, are already in many respects obsolete. Since the publication of the last edition of Scotts Studies, many new and important discoveries have been made, which have not only added greatly to our knowledge of fossil plants but which have altered our interpretations of some of them. Many of the newer contributions have resulted from techniques scarcely known to the writers of the, first quarter of the present century. These new techniques have also brought about certain shifts of emphasis, which are evident when one colapares certain portions of this book with the writings of 30 years ago.
The arrangement and scope of the subject matter is in part the result of 17 years of experience in teaching a small course in paleobotany open to advanced undergraduate and graduate students, most of whom were majors or minors in botany or biology. The approach to the subject is therefore essentially botanical. Paleobotany as a subdivision of paleontology can be treated either biologically or geologically, but the two approaches are so different that to try to combine them would result only in confusion and lack of clarity. The present arrangement, therefore, is followed partly because of the necessity of making a choice, but mostly because of the authors conviction that it is best for instructional purposes. The author is not unaware of the preoccupation with paleobotany of many geologists who might with good reason prefer a presentation following the geologic time scale. Their requirements are met to some extent by the inclusion of the chapter on The Sequence of the Plant World in Geologic Time, in which an effort is made to summarize the floras of the eras and periods. Then, in dealing with some of the plant groups, the most ancient members are described first, thereby giving some idea of the major steps in development from their first appearance down to the present.
In making selections of subject matter an author can hardly avoid being partial to his particular interests to the neglect of other material. In spite of an effort to avoid bias, the ready admission is made that this book is not free from it. In order to keep the volume within practical size limits, much important material had to be rejected arbitrarily. The work of Americans has been heavily drawn upon because there is a wealth of information on fossil plants of the Western Hemisphere that has been only casually, if at all, utilized by European textbook writers and that deserves to be emphasized in a book intended to meet the needs of American students. Wherever possible North American plants are used for description and illustration in place of the more familiar and more often figured Old World forms. This book, therefore, will not serve as a substitute for the larger and more comprehensive works on paleobotany, which advanced students will still find indispensable. For them its main value will be the presentation of new developments and new points of view.
Although American fossil plants have been given more emphasis than heretofore, the author has not neglected to stress discoveries which have come to be looked upon as landmarks in paleobotany. Brongniarts classification of Paleozoic fernlike foliage, Grand Eurys elucidation of the Paleozoic gymnosperms, the discovery of the seed-ferns by Oliver and Scott, and the labors of Kidston and Lang on the plants of the Rhynie Chert all taken together constitute a major part of the framework of present-day paleobotany, and failure to place due emphasis on them would give a distorted and incomplete view of the whole subject.
Whenever possible new and original illustrations are provided, but when previously published ones are used an effort has been made to select those which have not been previously copied in textbooks. The reader may notice that many of the familiar textbook figures are absent. With only two or three exceptions all the original photographs were made by the author, as were also most of the line drawings and diagrams. Some of the more difficult drawings were prepared by Eduardo Salgado, Philippine botanical artist employed at the University of Michigan. Most of the photographed specimens are in the collections of the Museum of Paleontology of the same institution.
Because most of the manuscript was written during the course of the Second World War, it was not possible to correspond as freely as was desired with foreign paleobotanists, and consequently the author has been forced to rely upon his own judgment concerning some matters where counsel from colleagues abroad would have been of value. Dr. Ralph W. Chaney very obligingly read and gave constructive criticisms of the chapter on flowering plants. For this the author is indeed grateful. For photographs and figures submitted by others, individual acknowledgments are made where they appear in the text.
Geological names, when applied to North America, conform in most instances to the accepted practice of the United States Geological Survey. For foreign countries the terminology current in each country is used.
Arnold AC
555
Table of Contents..
- Introduction
- How Plants Become Fossils
- The Nonvascular Plants
- The Early Vascular Plants
- The Ancient Lycopods
- Ancient Scouring Rushes and their Relatives
- Paleozoic Fernlike Foliage
- The Ancient Ferns
- The Pteridosperms
- Cycadophytes and Ginkgos
- The Cordaitales
- The Ancient Conifers
- Ancient Flowering Plants
- The Sequence of the Plant World in Geologic Time
- Fossil Plants and Environment
- Paleobotanical Systematics. Index
Book Details
Book Title:
An Introduction To Paleobotany
An Introduction To Paleobotany
Book Type:
TEXT-CUM-REFERENCES BOOK
TEXT-CUM-REFERENCES BOOK
No Of Pages:
444
444
Color Pages :
0
0
Color Pages :
0
0
Book Size:
DEMY (5.5X8.5)
DEMY (5.5X8.5)
Weight:
700 Gms
700 Gms
Copyright Holder:
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
Imprint:
M/s AGROBIOS (INDIA)
M/s AGROBIOS (INDIA)
Readership:
PG STUDENTS | UG STUDENTS |
PG STUDENTS | UG STUDENTS |