1st Edition
The Evolution of Dasyurid Marsupials Systematics and Family History
The marsupial family Dasyuridae has a history of study extending from 18th century naturalists to the modern genomics era. The Evolution of Dasyurid Marsupials: Systematics and Family History tells the story of dasyurid evolution as it unfolded in the context of changing world views on biodiversity, biotic history and scientific methodology, from its roots in Enlightenment taxonomy to its transformation by the Darwinian and Hennigian revolutions, and then its maturation as statistical phylogenetics and phylogenomics.
Research on dasyurids includes every major approach in animal systematics, including some for which few comparable examples exist. It extends beyond the recent consensus on species relationships to include the timing of diversification, historical biogeography and the evolution of key phenotypic traits. This book introduces readers to living and fossil dasyurids, the questions evolutionary biologists have asked about them, the inferential methods used to answer those questions and the implications of those answers for understanding the history of this fascinating marsupial family. It offers a comprehensive synthesis of dasyurid evolutionary biology for students, teachers and researchers in mammalian evolution and marsupial biology.
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Dasyurids and ‘tree thinking’
Chapter 2: The diversity of dasyurids
Chapter 3: Dasyurid phylogeny: morphological taxonomy from Linnaeus to Archer
Chapter 4: Dasyurid phylogeny: molecular systematics, 1977–2003
Chapter 5: Dasyurid phylogeny: integrative studies
Chapter 6: Dasyurid species-level relationships
Chapter 7: Dasyurid species recognition
Chapter 8: Dasyuromorphian families and fossils
Chapter 9: The timing of dasyurid evolution
Chapter 10: Dasyurid macroevolution
Chapter 11: Evolution of the dasyurid phenotype
Chapter 12: Dasyurids past, present and future
Appendix: colour images
References
Index
Biography
Carey Krajewski is a retired zoology professor and molecular systematist who has studied phylogenetics of mammals and birds for over 35 years. He is the author of 36 peer-reviewed publications describing research on phylogenetic relationships of marsupials, primarily members of Dasyuridae.
Michael Westerman is Adjunct Professor in the School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment at La Trobe University. He is an evolutionary geneticist who has worked on phylogenetic relationships of marsupials for 50 years, publishing over 130 peer-reviewed papers on dasyurids, bandicoots and macropods.
Patricia A. Woolley, AM, is Emeritus Scholar in the School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment at La Trobe University. Her primary research interest is the reproductive biology of dasyurid marsupials. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Society of Women Geographers and the Ellis Troughton Memorial Award, and an honorary life member of both the Australian Mammal Society and American Society of Mammalogists.
