Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck

In the geological record, there are five major mass extinctions--the Big Five. The most famous happened at the end of the Cretaceous Period, when the dinosaurs and two-thirds of all marine animal species were wiped out, opening the door for the age of mammals and the rise of Homo Sapiens. Using this example as a springboard, David M. Raup leaps into an egaging discussion of the theories, assumptions, and difficulties associated with the science of species extinction. Woven is along the way are stories of the trilobite eye, tropical reefs, flying reptiles, and the fate of the heath hen on Martha's Vineyard, a very modern extinction.


Author: David M. Raup
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 11/17/1992
Pages: 230
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.53lbs
Size: 8.23h x 5.50w x 0.62d
ISBN13: 9780393309270
ISBN10: 0393309274
BISAC Categories:
- Science | Life Sciences | Microbiology
- Science | Life Sciences | Evolution