Evolutionary Patterns

With advances in molecular and evolutionary biology, one could almost wonder why we need the fossil record. Molecular sequence data can resolve taxanomic relationships, experiments with fruit flies demonstrate evolution and development in real time, and field studies of Galapagos finches have provided the strongest evidence for natural selection ever measured in the wild. What, then, can fossils teach us that living organisms cannot? This text demonstrates the rich variety of clues to evolution that can be gleaned from the fossil record. Contributors explore modes of development, the tempo of speciation and extinction, and macroevolutionary patterns and trends.