Language: Japanese with scientific nomenclature
A long-awaited new series for palaeontology fans has begun. The fascinating world of palaeontology stimulates intellectual curiosity, awakens the spirit of inquiry, and above all, is simply fascinating. The author brings this world to you. The first book in this new series is The Rise and Fall of Paleoorganisms at the Water's Edge. The water's edge – the boundary between the terrestrial and hydrospheres – is one of the stages where Earth's life has unfolded its most dynamic stories. Our ancestors, who once originated in the water, launched a "landing operation" into the water's edge, expanding their habitat into new territories. Meanwhile, among the organisms that thrived on land, some began to invade the water's edge, making a reverse advance back into the water. They have survived, sometimes using the water's edge as a transit point and sometimes as their dominant domain. This book focuses on three groups of vertebrates whose rise and fall took place in this water's edge, their stage of evolution: amphibians, crocodilians and mammals. What kind of rises and falls have unfolded in the waterside world, centred around these three groups? Enjoy the waterside biological history, an essential part of any discussion of life on Earth.
Summary in Japanese:
古生物ファン待望、黒本の新シリーズが始動! 魅惑的な古生物たちの世界。知的好奇心をくすぐり、知的探究心を呼び起こし、そして何よりシンプルに面白い。そんな世界を、みなさまにお届けします。新シリーズ1作めは「水際における古生物の興亡」をお届けします。陸圏と水圏の境界域にあたる“水際の世界“は、地球生命が最も躍動的に物語が紡がれた舞台の一つ。かつて水の中で生まれた私たちの祖先は、水際世界への“上陸作戦"を展開し、新天地たる陸域へ生活圏を拡大しました。一方、陸域で繁栄を遂げた生物の中から、再び水際世界へ侵食し、水の中に“逆進出“を遂げるものが出現します。彼らは“水際の世界"を、時に通過点とし、時に支配圏としながら、命を繋いできました。本書は、そんな水際世界を“進化の舞台"として興亡を繰り広げた脊椎動物の3グループに焦点を当てました。「両生類」「偽鰐類」「哺乳類」これら3グループを中心に展開する“水際の世界"では、どんな興亡が繰り広げられたのでしょう。地球生命を語る上で欠かせない“水際の生物史"を、存分にお楽しみください。