This book presents the origin and evolution of all major groups of vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds), from fishes in the Cambrian era to humans in the Cenozoic era from a unique African perspective and with South African fossils as examples. It is aimed at university students and academics.
Julien Benoit is a Senior Researcher in palaeontology at the Evolutionary Studies Institute of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He is a specialist in fossil mammals and their ancestors, which he studies using state of the art X-ray imaging in order to understand their ancient behaviour, the anatomy of their brain, and their biology.
Viktor Radermacher is a PhD candidate at the University of Minnesota and an affiliate of the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His research interests focus on using X-ray imaging to study dinosaur anatomy, biology, and macroevolution. He has been on numerous field trips, excavated new dinosaur specimens, produced artwork for multiple species, and recently found a new dinosaur ancestor in South Africa from the early Triassic rocks of the Free State.