The Triassic Period is generally regarded as the beginning of the Age of the Dinosaurs. For paleontologists, however, the Triassic is a time when the first modern land ecosystems appear, reflecting a major shift from the animal and plant communities of the Paleozoic to those of later periods.Over the past three decades, extensive field studies have led to the discovery of many new Triassic animals and plants, and these discoveries now suggest that faunal turnover was more protracted, beginning in the Middle Triassic.
The Late Triassic is a pivotal time in the evolution of life on land, and this comprehensive reference is the first to detail life on land during the Triassic in its entirety. Aimed at advanced students and researchers, Triassic Life on Land surveys the most significant assemblages of Triassic land animals and plants and their geological context. Hans-Dieter Sues and Nicholas C. Fraser, both noted vertebrate paleontologists, enhance their descriptions with illustrations illuminating the paleoenvironmental and paleoecological context of plants and animals.
Hans-Dieter Sues is associate director of research and collections at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and coeditor, with Nicholas C. Fraser, of In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods. He is a fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society of Canada.
Nicholas C. Fraser is keeper of natural sciences at National Museums Scotland.
"A very useful resource."
– Smithsonian Magazine
"Accomplished paleobiologists Sues and Fraser have compiled a well-organized, beautifully illustrated volume on the current state of paleobiological investigations into Triassic terrestrial life."
– Choice
"In summary, Triassic Life on Land is the best technical reference available on the Triassic period and brings us forward from the days of "thecodonts" and Coelophysis."
– William G. Parker, BioScience
" [...] a concise, global review of current knowledge of terrestrial Triassic biotas [...] "
– Tetrapod Zoology Blog
"an excellent resource, compiling evidence from geology, vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, and paleobotany, and builds a comprehensive image of the Triassic Period and its significance as a time of transformation in terrestrial ecosystems."
– Robert R. Reisz, Quarterly Review of Biology
"Triassic Life on Land is an exemplary review of the Triassic period and will be a standard reference work for many years to come."
– Kevin Padian, University of California, Berkeley