Re: transitional fossils

Preston wrote:

> All you fossil experts,
>
> We all commonly hear the assertions about there being "no transitional
> fossils." I see the papers periodically in Science or Nature about a
> new fossil set of significance, but I'm allergic to morphology so I
> pay minimal attention. I'm wondering if someone has compiled a nice
> fat bibliography of papers on this subject to give people who make
> this claim. Anyone know of such?

Two chapters in my edited volume "Perspectives on an Evolving Creation"
give a number of examples: "Common Descent, Transitional Forms, and
the Fossil Record" and "The 'Cambrian Explosion': A Challenge to
Evolutionary Theory?" The chapter "Hominids in the Garden" also
discusses some of the human/hominid transitional forms.

Below is a small list that I put together awhile ago. It is not at all
up to date, and many other references could now be added.

Keith

INVERTEBRATE-VERTEBRATE TRANSITION:

Chen, J-Y, Huang, D-Y, and Li, C-W, 1999, An early Cambrian
craniate-like chordate: Nature, vol. 402, p.518-522.
Shu, D-G, Luo, H-L, Conway Morris, S., Zhang, X-L, Hu, S-X, Chen, L.,
Han, J., Zhu, M., Li, Y., Chen, L-Z, 1999, Lower Cambrian vertebrates
from south China: Nature, vol. 402, p.42-46.

FISH-TETRAPOD TRANSITION:

Ahlberg, P.E. and Milner, A.R., 1994, The origin and early
diversification of tetrapods: Nature, vol. 358, p.507-514.
Carroll, R.L., 1997, Patterns and Processes of Vertebrate Evolution:
Cambridge Univ. Press, 448p.
Zimmer, Carl, 1998, At the Water's Edge: Touchstone, 290p. (This is an
excellent popular account of the discovery of fossil transitions in the
origin of tetrapods and the origin of whales.)

ORIGIN OF REPTILES:

Carroll, R.L., 1991, The origin of reptiles. IN, H.-P. Schultze and L.
Trueb (eds.), Origins of the Higher Groups of Tetrapods: Controversy
and Consensus, Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, p. 331-353.

PAREISAUR-TURTLE TRANSITION:

Lee, M.S.Y., 1996, Correlated progression and the origin of turtles:
Nature, vol. 379, p.812-815,

LIZARD-MOSASAUR TRANSITION:

DeBraga, M. and Carroll, R.L., 1993, The origin of mosasaurs as a model
of macroevolutionary patterns and processes. IN, M.K. Hecht et al.
(eds.), Evolutionary Biology, vol. 27, p. 245-322.
Carroll, R.L., 1997, Patterns and Processes of Vertebrate Evolution:
Cambridge University Press, p.324-329.

MOSASAUR-SNAKE TRANSITION:

Caldwell, M.W. and Lee, M.S.Y., 1997, A snake with legs from the marine
Cretaceous of the Middle East: Nature, vol. 386, p.705-709.
Lee, M.S.Y. and Caldwell, M.W., 2000, Adriosaurus and the affinities
of mosasaurs, dolichosaurs, and snakes: Journal of Paleontology, vol.
74, p.915-937.

REPTILE-MAMMAL TRANSITION:

Hopson, J.A., 1994, Synapsid evolution and the radiation of
non-eutherian mammals, IN, D.R. Prothero, R.M. Schoch (eds.), Major
Features of Vertebrate Evolution: Short courses in Paleontology, Number
7, P.202, 206.
Desui, M., 1991, On the origins of mammals. IN, H.-P. Schultze and L.
Trueb (eds.), Origins of the Higher Groups of Tetrapods: Controversy
and Consensus, Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, p. 570-597.
Hotton, N, III, 1991, The nature and diversity of synapsids: Prologue
to the origin of mammals. IN, H.-P. Schultze and L. Trueb (eds.),
Origins of the Higher Groups of Tetrapods: Controversy and Consensus,
Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, p.598-634.

ARTIODACTYL-WHALE TRANSITION:

Thewissen, J.G.M., Hussain, S.T., and Arif, M., 1994, Fossil evidence
for the origin of aquatic locomotion in archaeocete whales: Science,
vol, 263, p.210-212.
Gingerich, P.D., Raza, S.M., Arif, M., and Zhou, X., 1994, New whale
from the Eocene of Pakistan and the origin of cetacean swimming:
Nature, vol. 368, p.844-847.
Williams, E.M., 1998, Synopsis of the earliest cetaceans. IN, J.G.M.
Thewissen (ed.), the Emergence of Whales: Evolutionary Pattern in the
Origin of Cetacea: Plenum Press, p.17. (This edited volume is a great
resource on the evolution of whales.)
Buchholtz, E.A., 1998, Implication of vertebral morphology for
locomotor evolution in early cetacea. IN, J.G.M. Thewissen (ed.), the
Emergence of Whales: Evolutionary Pattern in the Origin of Cetacea:
Plenum Press, p.348.
Padian, K., Angielczyk, K.D., 1999, Are there transitional forms in the
fossil record? IN, P.H.Kelly, J.R. Bryan, and T.A.Hansen (eds.), the
Evolution-Creation controversy II: Perspectives on Science, Religion,
and Geological Education: Paleontological Society Papers, vol. 5, p.66.
Thewissen, J.G.M., Williams, E.M., Roe, L.J., and Hussain, S.T., 2001,
Skeletons of terrestrial cetaceans and the relationship of whales to
artiodactyls: Nature, vol. 413, p.277-281.
Gingerich, P.D., ul Haq M., Zalmout, I.S., Khan, I.H., and Malkani,
M.S., 2001, Origin of whales from early artiodactyls: hands and feet of
Eocene Protocetidae from Pakistan: Science, vol. 293, p.2239-2242.
Wong, K., 2002, The mammals that conquered the seas: Scientific
American, vol. 286, no. 5, p.70-79. (A recent popular-level discussion
of the recent finds.)

ORIGIN OF SIRENIANS (Sea Cows):

Domning, D.P., 2001, The earliest known fully quadrupedal sirenian:
Nature, vol. 413, p.625-627.
Domning, D.P., 2001, New "intermediate form" ties seacows firmly to
land: Reports of the Center for Science Education, vol. 21, no. 5-6,
p.38-42

DINOSAUR-BIRD TRANSITION and the ORIGN OF FEATHERS:

Ostrum, J.H., 1994, On the origin of birds and of avian flight. IN,
Prothero, D.R., and Schoch, R.M. (eds.), Major Features of Vertebrate
Evolution: short Courses in Paleontology No. 7 (Knoxville
Paleontological Society), p.160-177.
Chiappe, L.M., 1995, The first 85 million years of avian evolution,
Nature, vol.378, p.349-355.
Novas, F.E., and Puerta, P.F., 1997, New evidence concerning avian
origins from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Nature, vol. 387,
p.390-392.
Ackerman, J., 1998, Dinosaurs take wing: National Geographic, vol. 194,
no.1, p.74-99.
Padian, K., and Chiappe, L.M., 1998, The origin and early evolution of
birds: Biological Reviews, vol.73, p.1-42.
Ji, Q., Currie, P.J., Norell, M.A., and Ji, S-A, 1998, Two feathered
dinosaurs from northeastern China: Nature, vol.393, p.753-761.
Chen, P-J, Dong, Z-M, and Zhen, S-N, 1998, An exceptionally
well-preserved theropod dinosaur from the Yixian formation of China:
Nature, vol.391, p.147-152.
Xu, X., Tang, Z-L, and Wang, X-L, 1999, A therizinosauroid dinosaur
with integumentary structures from China: Nature, vol.399, p.350-354.
Xu, X., Wang, X-L, Wu, X-C, 1999, A dromaeosaurid dinosaur with a
filamentous integument from the Yixian Formation of China: Nature,
vol.401, p.262-266.
Sereno, P.C., 1999, The evolution of dinosaurs: Science, vol.284,
p.2137-2147.
Ji, Q, Norell, M.A., Gao, K-Q, Ji, S-A, and Ren, D., 2001, The
distribution of integumentary structures in a feathered dinosaur:
Nature, vol. 410, p.1084-1088.
Xu, X., Zhou, Z-h, and Prum, R.O., 2001, Branched integumental
structures in Sinornithosaurus and the origin of feathers: Nature, vol.
410, p.200-203.
Yu, M., Wu, P., Widelitz, R.B., and Chuong, C-M., 2002, The
morphogenesis of feathers: Nature, vol. 420, p. 308-312.
Xu, X., Zhou, Z., Wang, X., Kuang, X., Zhang, F., and Du, X., 2003,
Four-winged dinosaurs from China: Nature, vol. 421, p.335-324.

Keith B. Miller
Research Assistant Professor
Dept of Geology, Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-3201
785-532-2250
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/
Received on Sat Dec 3 12:08:44 2005