Description
For courses in Vertebrate Zoology, Vertebrate Biology Function, and Paleontology
Widely praised for its comprehensive coverage and exceptionally clear writing style, this best-selling text explores how the anatomy, physiology, ecology, and behavior of animals interact to produce organisms that function effectively in their environments and how lineages of organisms change through evolutionary time. The Ninth Edition features dozens of new figures and photos, new end-of-chapter discussion questions, thoroughly updated information from molecular data and evolutionary development, and expanded discussions on the conservation status of vertebrates, including new information on the effects of global climate change.
Table of Contents
I. VERTEBRATE DIVERSITY, FUNCTION, AND EVOLUTION
1. The Diversity, Classification, and Evolution of Vertebrates
2. Vertebrate Relationships and Basic Structure
3. Early Vertebrates: Jawless Vertebrates and the Origin of Jawed Vertebrates
II. NON-AMNIOTIC VERTEBRATES: FISHES AND AMPHIBIANS
4. Living in Water
5. Radiation of the Chondrichthyes
6. Dominating Life in Water: The Major Radiation of Fishes
7. Geography and Ecology of the Paleozoic Era
8. Living on Land
9. Origin and Radiation of Tetrapods
10. Salamanders, Anurans, and Caecilians
III. SAUROSPIDA: TURTLES, LEPIDOSAURS, AND ARCHOSAURS
11. Synapsids and Sauropsids: Two Approaches to Terrestrial Life
12. Turtles
13. The Lepidosaurs: Tuatara, Lizards, and Snakes
14. Ectothermy: A Low-Cost Approach to Life
15. Geography and Ecology of the Mesozoic Era
16. Mesozoic Diapsids: Dinosaurs, Crocodilians, Birds, and Others
17. Avian Specializations
IV. SYNAPSIDA: THE MAMMALS
18. The Synapsida and the Evolution of Mammals
19. Geography and Ecology of the Cenozoic Era
20. Mammalian Diversity and Characteristics
21. Mammalian Specializations
22. Endothermy: A High-Energy Approach to Life
23. Body Size, Ecology, and Sociality of Mammals
24. Primate Evolution and the Emergence of Humans
25. The Impact of Humans on Other Species of Vertebrates
Purchase Info 
With CourseSmart eTextbooks and eResources, you save up to 60% off the price of new print textbooks, and can switch between studying online or offline to suit your needs.
Once you have purchased your eTextbooks and added them to your CourseSmart bookshelf, you can access them anytime, anywhere.
Vertebrate Life, CourseSmart eTextbook, 9th Edition
Format: Electronic Book
$72.99 | ISBN-13: 978-0-321-81205-6