Putting Samotherium in its Place The Morphology of Giraffids and the Geology of Samos

About this book

This book covers three interrelated topics in the field of palaeontology/zoology. First, it presents the story of the paleontological excavations on Samos, the birthplace of Pythagoras, which is famous for its rich Miocene mammalian fossils and faunas. It covers in detail the history and the ancient myths that explain the fossils. These myths clearly show how the Greeks interpreted the fossils. It also shows documents and images of the Barnum Brown Samos expeditions, which took place in 1924. The second section covers in detail and compares the osteology of three species: the giraffe, the okapi and the extinct giraffid Samotherium. The third section of the book explains the depositional history of the eastern basin of Samos, including maps which document the location of the famous bone quarries and the radiometric ages of various horizons.

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Biography

Nikos Solounias is a professor of anatomy and embryology at the New York Institute of Technology's College of Osteopathic Medicine, USA, and a research associate in palaeontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. He has published 142 scientific peer-reviewed articles, including studies on the Miocene Samos fauna, various hyena fossils, the discovery and development of tooth microwear using the light microscope, and of tooth mesowear. He worked on the dietary evolution of horses through the Cainozoic, and the dietary evolution of the Miocene herbivores. Solounias' research focuses on anatomy, embryology and ruminant evolution, especially in the Giraffidae family.