From the Foreword: "Predator-prey interactions are among the most significant of all organism-organism interactions....It will only be by compiling and evaluating data on predator-prey relations as they are recorded in the fossil record that we can hope to tease apart their role in the tangled web of evolutionary interaction over time. This volume, compiled by a group of expert specialists on the evidence of predator-prey interactions in the fossil record, is a pioneering effort to collate the information now accumulating in this important field. It will be a standard reference on which future study of one of the central dynamics of ecology as seen in the fossil record will be built." (Richard K. Bambach, Professor Emeritus, Virginia Tech, Associate of the Botanical Museum, Harvard University)

New research on the giants of the Age of Dinosaurs.

The study of paleopathology has two very different constituencies, the medical scientist and the zoologist/paleontologist/anthropologist. Their investigative procedures and professional jargon are different, sometimes to the point of mutual incomprehensibility. Paleontologists/anthropologists/zoologists have a limited data base for the characterization and interpretation of pathology. This must come from the human and veterinary medical experience. What, beyond intellectual satisfaction, can the health care community expect from this relationship? The past history of the appearance and dispersal of infectious disease and cancer is of considerable theoretical importance and leads to new insights on the nature and transmission of diseases that are otherwise ambiguous. The discovery of rheumatoid arthritis in pre-Columbian North America exemplifies insights gained. The current effort delineates osseous impact of disease (as manifest in clinical populations diagnosed in life), representation in the zoologic, paleontologic and anthropologic record, and assessment techniques that can be confidently applied. The chapters form “columns” that provide the foundation for scientific critical thinking. The actual integration of the information is in its application. Our purpose is to provide a data base and atlas of actually documented skeletal impact of diseases (as population phenomenon), an initial data base of reported skeletal pathology, and a methodology for expanding this to new arenas. The first section of the book examines the scientific basis of paleopathology, its transition from speculation-based musings, resolution of misconceptions and the denouement of paleo-epidemiology. The second section provides holistic analysis of the gamut of pathology/diseases with significant skeletal impact, with a validated archeologic/zoological/paleontological record. The third section provides a glossary to resolve the semantic challenges inherent to interdisciplinary efforts. The fourth section provides an atlas of pathology representation in the fossil record. Ultimately, this book intends to present a scientifically-validated approach to recognition of disease in the archeological, zoological and paleontological record, superseding previous speculation-based offerings.

Few fields of research in the earth sciences have produced as much data and litera ture as the study of carbonate sediments and rocks. The past 25 years in particular, have seen a significant increase in studies concerning modern marine and fresh water carbonates. With the present worldwide interest in oceanographic research, marine carbonates have received the bulk of the attention, particularly with respect to shallow-water sediments. However, in terms of the variety of environ ments, compositions and modes of formation, non-marine carbonates probably encompass a wider spectrum than do marine types. Our purpose is to present a two-volume treatise on carbonate sediments and rocks, both marine and non-marine. We have confined ourselves to the discussion of modern (Holocene) environments, sediments and components, assuming that the compilation of these data will not only be relevant to those working with modern carbonates but will also serve as a necessary reference source for those interested in ancient analogs. The first volume, by MILLIMAN, deals almost exclu sively with marine environments, while the second volume, by MULLER and FORST NER, will concentrate on the non-marine carbonates.