The Jehol Biota

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In the recent years, the late Mesozoic Jehol Biota of northern China has shown the world some of the most astonishing fossil finds ever since the discovery of the first complete skeleton of Archaeopteryx in 1861, and thus has become the focus of many important paleontological researches in the global arena. These exquisitely preserved fossils not only give us a vivid picture of once a thriving biodiversity but also shed new light on a number of interesting theoretical issues in evolutionary biology today, such as the origin and angin and early evolution of some major taxonomic groups, the origin of feather and avian fligt, and the co-evoution of pollinating insects and flowering plants. This book has pieced together the most up-to-date information on the Jehol Biota that is otherwise scattered in the vast technical literature and unavailable to the general readers. The first two chapters give an inviting introduction to the Jehol Biota in terms of its history of studies, its main components, its scientific importance, its geographical, geological and biostratigraphic framework,and its renowned fossil discoveries. Each of the remaining chapters deals with a particular organismal group of the Biota by its leading expert(s).