Library: BIO320: Evolutionary Biology: Module 1

M1.2 Discussion: Underappreciated Scientist Society Nominations

Select a scientist from the list in your course.
To find information about a person, go to the Background Information guide to see a list of databases you can search:

Background Information (encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.)
by The Library Last Updated May 1, 2024 1003 views this year

Start with Credo Reference. Click on this database from the Background Information guide to search it.
Type your chosen scientist into the search box, using quotation marks around their name. For example, search for "Gregor Mendel"

Repeat this process by returning to the Background Information guide and click on Britannica Online. Search Britannica Online for information about your scientist.
If you need additional information after searching Credo Reference and Britannica Online, search for your scientist in OneSearch.

M1.4 Project Work: Species Selection and Initial Research

Click on the tabs within this box to see selected readings organized by species.

To find additional sources, use the Search Tools box below.

The Awkward Record of Fossil Whales
Dominici, S., Danise, S., Cau, S., & Freschi, A. (2019). The awkward record of fossil whales. Earth-Science Reviews, 205,1-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.103057
The Ecological Rise of Whales Chronicled by the Fossil Record
Pyenson, N. D. (2017). The ecological rise of whales chronicled by the fossil record. Current Biology, 27(11), R558–R564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.05.001
Eocene Evolution of Whale Hearing
Nummela, S., Thewissen, J. G. M., Bajpai, S., Hussain, S. T., & Kumar, K. (2004). Eocene evolution of whale hearing. Nature, 430(7001), 776–778. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02720
The Mammals That Conquered
Wong, K. (2004). The mammals that conquered. Scientific American, 14(2), 12–21.

The Rise of Birds
The Story of Life in 25 Fossils
Chapter 18: The First Bird

Penguins

Flightless Feathered Friends
Perkins, S. (2004). Flightless feathered friends. Science News, 166(22), 346. https://doi.org/10.2307/4015859
Penguin Archaeology
Ainsworth, C. (2018). Penguin archaeology. New Scientist, 240(3209/3210), 54-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0262-4079(18)32363-7
Rates of Evolution in Ancient DNA from Adelie penguins
D.M. Lambert, P.A. Ritchie, C.D. Millar, B. Holland, A.J. Drummond, & C. Baroni. (2002). Rates of evolution in ancient DNA from Adélie penguins. Science, 295(5563), 2270–2273.
The Strangest Bird
Fordyce, R. E., & Ksepka, D. T. (2012). The strangest bird. Scientific American, 307(5), 56. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1112-56

Birds

Birds
Davis, P. G., & Dyke, G. J. (1999). Birds. In R. Singer (Ed.), Encyclopedia of paleontology (3rd ed.). Routledge.
The Origin of Birds and their Flight
Padian, K., Chiappe, L. M., Padian, K., & Chiappe, L. M. (1998). The origin of birds and their flight. Scientific American, 278(2), 38–47. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0298-38
A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History
Hackett, S. J., Kimball, R. T., Reddy, S., Bowie, R. C. K., Braun, E. L., Braun, M. J., Chojnowski, J. L., Cox, W. A., Kin-Lan Han, Harshman, J., Huddleston, C. J., Marks, B. D., Miglia, K. J., Moore, W. S., Sheldon, F. H., Steadman, D. W., Witt, C. C., & Yuri, T. (2008). A Phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history. Science, 320(5884), 1763–1768. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1157704
Taking Wing
Brusatte, S. (2017). Taking wing. Scientific American, 316(1), 48–55.
Winged Victory
Dyke, G. (2010). Winged victory. Scientific American, 303(1), 70–75. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0710-70

Raptors

The Secret History of Raptors
Pickrell, J. (2018). The secret history of raptors. Australian Geographic, 144, 35.

Raptors

Mitogenomic Evidence of Close Relationships Between New Zealand’s Extinct Giant Raptors and Small-Sized Australian Sister-Taxa.
Knapp, M., Thomas, J. E., Haile, J., Prost, S., Ho, S. Y. W., Dussex, N., Cameron-Christie, S., Kardailsky, O., Barnett, R., Bunce, M., Gilbert, M. T. P., & Scofield, R. P. (2019). Mitogenomic evidence of close relationships between New Zealand’s extinct giant raptors and small-sized Australian sister-taxa. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 134, 122–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.01.026

Avian Evolution
Chapter 11: Diurnal Birds of Prey: Multiple Cases of Convergence among Raptorial Birds

The Baddest Bite
Erickson, G. M. (2018). The Baddest Bite. Scientific American, 318(3), 40–45. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0318-40
Chapter 9: The Reign of the Reptiles
Rhodes, F. H. T. (2016). The reign of the reptiles. In Origins : The Search for Our Prehistoric Past. Comstock Publishing Associates.
Taxonomic Revision of Eoalligator (crocodylia, brevirostres) and the Paleogeographic Origins of the Chinese Alligatoroids
Wang, Y. Y., Sullivan, C., & Liu, J. (2016). Taxonomic revision of Eoalligator (Crocodylia, Brevirostres) and the paleogeographic origins of the Chinese alligatoroids. PeerJ, 4, e2356. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2356

Ancient DNA. The Thoroughly Bred Horse
Gibbons, A. (2014). Ancient DNA. The thoroughly bred horse. Science, 346(6216), 1439. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.346.6216.1439
Ancient Horse’s DNA Fills in Picture of Equine Evolution
Saey, T.H. (2013). Ancient horse’s DNA fills in picture of equine evolution. Science News, 184(2), 5-6.
Evolutionary Genetics. Horses Domesticated Multiple Times
Pennisi, E. (2001). Evolutionary genetics. Horses domesticated multiple times. Science, 291(5503), 412.
Mechanics of Evolutionary Digit Reduction in Fossil Horses (Equidae)
McHorse, B. K., Biewener, A. A., & Pierce, S. E. (2017). Mechanics of evolutionary digit reduction in fossil horses (Equidae). Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 284(1861), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1174

How the Turtle Got its Shell
Black, R. (2020). How the turtle got its shell. New Scientist, 246(3280), 36–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0262-4079(20)30863-0
The Origin of the Turtle Body Plan: Evidence From Fossils and Embryos
Schoch, R. R., Sues, H., & Benson, R. (2020). The origin of the turtle body plan: Evidence from fossils and embryos. Palaeontology, 63(3), 375-393. https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12460
Palaeontology: Turtle Origins Out to Sea
Reisz, R. R., & Head, J. J. (2008). Palaeontology: Turtle origins out to sea. Nature, 456(7221), 450–451. https://doi.org/10.1038/456450a
Shell Game
Wong, K. (2009). Shell game. Scientific American, 300(2), 26.

Turtles As Hopeful Monsters: Origins and Evolution

The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals
Chapter 6: Order Proboscidea (Elephants, Mammoths, Mastodonts, and Their Relatives )

Elephants

A Comprehensive Genomic History of Extinct and Living Elephants
Palkopoulou, E., Lipson, M., Mallick, S., Nielsen, S., Rohland, N., Baleka, S., Karpinski, E., Ivancevic, A. M., Thu-Hien To, Kortschak, R. D., Raison, J. M., Zhipeng Qu, Tat-Jun Chin, Alt, K. W., Claesson, S., Dalén, L., MacPhee, R. D. E., Meller, H., Roca, A. L., & Ryder, O. A. (2018). A comprehensive genomic history of extinct and living elephants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(11), E2566. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1720554115
Genetic Insight into an Extinct Population of Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in the Near East
Girdland-Flink, L., Albayrak, E., & Lister, A. M. (2018). Genetic insight into an extinct population of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the near east. Open Quaternary, 4, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.36

Mammoths

Genomic DNA sequences from Mastodon and Woolly Mammoth reveal deep speciation of forest and savanna elephants
Rohland, N., Reich, D., Mallick, S., Meyer, M., Green, R. E., Georgiadis, N. J., Roca, A. L., & Hofreiter, M. (2010). Genomic DNA Sequences from Mastodon and Woolly Mammoth Reveal Deep Speciation of Forest and Savanna Elephants. PLoS Biology, 8(12), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000564
Multiplex Amplification of the Mammoth Mitochondrial Genome and the Evolution of Elephantidae
Krause, J., Dear, P. H., Pollack, J. L., Slatkin, M., Spriggs, H., Barnes, I., Lister, A. M., Ebersberger, I., Pääbo, S., & Hofreiter, M. (2006). Multiplex amplification of the mammoth mitochondrial genome and the evolution of Elephantidae. Nature, 439(7077), 724–727. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04432
The Origin and Evolution of the Woolly Mammoth
Lister, A. M., & Sher, A. V. (2001). The origin and evolution of the woolly mammoth. Science, 294(5544), 1094-1097.
Sequencing the Nuclear Genome of the Extinct Woolly Mammoth
Miller, W., Drautz, D. I., Ratan, A., Pusey, B., Qi, J., Lesk, A. M., Tomsho, L. P., Packard, M. D., Zhao, F., Sher, A., Tikhonov, A., Raney, B., Patterson, N., Lindblad-Toh, K., Lander, E. S., Knight, J. R., Irzyk, G. P., Fredrikson, K. M., Harkins, T. T., & Sheridan, S. (2008). Sequencing the nuclear genome of the extinct woolly mammoth. Nature, 456(7220), 387–390. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07446

DNA Divides Giraffes into Four Species
DNA divides giraffes into four species. (2016). Science, 353(6304), 1075. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.353.6304.1074
Face the Heat
Face the heat: The giraffe’s long neck could have evolved to help the animals keep their cool. (2017). Nature, 549(7671), 132.
Giraffe Stature and Neck Elongation: Vigilance as an Evolutionary Mechanism
Williams, E. M. (2016). Giraffe stature and neck elongation: Vigilance as an evolutionary mechanism. Biology, 5(3), 35-40.
Necks-for-Sex or Competing Browsers? A Critique of Ideas on the Evolution of Giraffe
Simmons, R. E., & Altwegg, R. (2010). Necks-for-sex or competing browsers? A critique of ideas on the evolution of giraffe. Journal of Zoology, 282(1), 6–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2010.00711.x

Combining Fossil and Molecular Data to Date the Diversification of New World Primates
Schrago, C. G., Mello, B., & Soares, A. E. R. (2013). Combining fossil and molecular data to date the diversification of New World Primates. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 26(11), 2438-2446.
Eocene Primates of South America and the African Origins of New World Monkeys
Bond, M., Tejedor, M. F., Campbell, K. E., Chornogubsky, L., Novo, N., & Goin, F. (2015). Eocene primates of South America and the African origins of New World monkeys. Nature, 520(7548), 538–541. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14120
Going Ape
Miller, E. R., & Rossie, J. B. (2018). Going ape. Natural History, 126(8), 7-9.
A New Primate from the Late Eocene of Vietnam Illuminates Unexpected Strepsirrhine Diversity and Evolution in Southeast Asia
Chavasseau, O., Chaimanee, Y., Ducrocq, S., Lazzari, V., Pha, P. D., Rugbumrung, M., Surault, J., Tuan, D. M., & Jaeger, J.-J. (2019). A new primate from the late Eocene of Vietnam illuminates unexpected strepsirrhine diversity and evolution in Southeast Asia. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56255-8

DNA Hints at Polar Bears’ Irish Ancestry
Milius, S. (2011). DNA hints at polar bears’ Irish ancestry. Science News, 180(3), 5. https://doi.org/10.1002/scin.5591800303
Dynamics of Pleistocene Population Extinctions in Beringian Brown Bear
Barnes, I., Matheus, P., Shapiro, B., Jensen, D., & Cooper, A. (2002). Dynamics of pleistocene population extinctions in beringian brown bear. Science, 295(5563), 2267-70.
Genetic Relationships of North American Bears ( Ursus) Inferred from Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms and Mitochondrial DNA Sequences
Cronin, M. A., McDonough, M. M., Huynh, H. M., & Baker, R. J. (2013). Genetic relationships of North American bears ( Ursus) inferred from amplified fragment length polymorphisms and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 91(9), 626–634. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2013-0078
Polar and Brown Bear Genomes Reveal Ancient Admixture and Demographic Footprints of Past Climate Change
Miller W., Schuster, S.C., Welch, A. J., Ratan, A., Bedoya-Reina, O. C., Zhao, F., Kim, H. L., Burhans, R. C., Drautz, D. I., Wittekindt, N. E., Tomsho, L. P., Ibarra-Laclette, E., Herrera-Estrella, L., Peacock E., Farley, S., Sage, G. K., Rode, K., Obbard, M., Montiel, R., … Lindqvist, C. (2012). Polar and brown bear genomes reveal ancient admixture and demographic footprints of past climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(36), 14295–14296.

From Wolf to Dog
Morell, V. (2015). From wolf to dog. Scientific American, 313(1), 60–67. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0715-60
Analysis of the Canid Y-Chromosome Phylogeny Using Short-Read Sequencing Data Reveals the Presence of Distinct Haplogroups Among Neolithic European Dogs
Oetjens, M. T., Martin, A., Veeramah, K. R., & Kidd, J. M. (2018). Analysis of the canid Y-chromosome phylogeny using short-read sequencing data reveals the presence of distinct haplogroups among Neolithic European dogs. BMC Genomics, 19(1), 350. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-018-4749-z

Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives & Evolutionary History

Ancient DNA Evidence for Old World Origin of New World Dogs
Leonard, J. A., Wayne, R. K., Wheeler, J., Valadez, R., Cuillén, S., & Vilà, C. (2002). Ancient DNA evidence for old world origin of new world dogs. Science, 298(5598), 1613–1616. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1076980
Origins and Genetic Legacy of Prehistoric Dogs
Bergström, A., Frantz, L., Schmidt, R., Ersmark, E., Lebrasseur, O., Girdland-Flink, L., Lin, A. T., Storå, J., Sjögren, K.-G., Anthony, D., Antipina, E., Amiri, S., Bar-Oz, G., Bazaliiskii, V. I., Bulatovic, J., Brown, D., Carmagnini, A., Davy, T., Fedorov, S., & Fiore, I. (2020). Origins and genetic legacy of prehistoric dogs. Science, 370(6516), 557-564.

The Earliest Domestic Cat on the Silk Road
Haruda, A. F., Ventresca Miller, A. R., Paijmans, J. L. A., Barlow, A., Tazhekeyev, A., Bilalov, S., Hesse, Y., Preick, M., King, T., Thomas, R., Härke, H., & Arzhantseva, I. (2020). The earliest domestic cat on the Silk Road. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67798-6
Our Wild Companions: Domestic Cats in the Anthropocene
Crowley, S. L., Cecchetti, M., & McDonald, R. A. (2020). Our wild companions: Domestic cats in the Anthropocene. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 35(6), 477–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2020.01.008
The Evolution of Cats
O’Brien, S. J., & Johnson, W. E. (2007). The evolution of cats. Scientific American, 297(1), 68–75. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0707-68

Check out the Table of Contents to see which chapters discuss different species.

Oceans of Kansas
Giant sharks, marine reptiles called mosasaurs, pteranodons, and birds with teeth all flourished in and around these shallow waters. Their abundant and well-preserved remains were sources of great excitement in the scientific community when first discovered in the 1860s and continue to yield exciting discoveries 150 years later.
Origins: The Search for Our Prehistoric Past
Frank H. T. Rhodes explores the origin and evolution of living things, the changing environments in which they have developed, and the challenges we now face on an increasingly crowded and polluted planet. Rhodes's accessible and extensively illustrated treatment of the origins narrative describes the nature of the search for prehistoric life, the significance of geologic time, the origin of life, the emergence and spread of flora and fauna, the evolution of primates, and the emergence of modern humans.
The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals
The ultimate illustrated guide to the lost world of prehistoric mammals.

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