The Paleobiological Revolution: Essays on the Growth of Modern Paleontology

582 Pages·2009·3.15 MB·English

by  David Sepkoski

The Paleobiological
Revolution

The Paleobiological
Revolution
essays on the growth of
modern paleontology
Edited by
David Sepkoski and Michael Ruse
The University of Chicago Press chicago & london
david sepkoski is assistant professor of history
at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.
michael ruse is the Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of
Philosophy at Florida State University and the author
or editor of nearly thirty books, including The
Darwinian Revolution, also published by
The University of Chicago Press.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2009 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2009
Printed in the United States of America
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 74861- 0 (cloth)
ISBN- 10: 0- 226- 74861- 8 (cloth)
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
The paleobiological revolution : essays on the growth of modern
paleontology / edited by David Sepkoski and Michael Ruse.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-1 3: 978- 0- 226- 74861- 0 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-1 0: 0- 226- 74861- 8 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Evolutionary paleobiology. 2. Paleobiology. 3. Paleontology.
I. Sepkoski, David, 1972– II. Ruse, Michael.
QE721.2.E85P347 2009
560—dc22
2008028286
o The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of the American National Standard for
Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ansi z39.48- 1992.
In Memory of
stephen jay gould
j. john sepkoski, jr.
thomas j. m. schopf

c o n t e n t s
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Paleontology at the High Table 1
David Sepkoski and Michael Ruse
part i major innovations in paleobiology
1 The Emergence of Paleobiology 15
David Sepkoski
2 The Fossil Record: Biological or Geological Signal? 43
Michael J. Benton
3 Biogeography and Evolution in the Early Paleozoic 60
Richard A. Fortey
4 The Discovery of Conodont Anatomy and Its Importance
for Understanding the Early History of Vertebrates 73
Richard J. Aldridge and Derek E. G. Briggs
5 Emergence of Precambrian Paleobiology: A New Field of Science 89
J. William Schopf
6 Dinosaurs at the Table 111
John R. Horner
7 Ladders, Bushes, Punctuations, and Clades:
Hominid Paleobiology in the Late Twentieth Century 122
Tim D. White
8 Punctuated Equilibria and Speciation:
What Does It Mean to Be a Darwinian? 149
Patricia Princehouse
9 Molecular Evolution vis- à- vis Paleontology 176
Francisco J. Ayala
part ii the historical and conceptual significance of
recent paleontology
10 Beyond Detective Work: Empirical Testing in Paleontology 201
Derek Turner
11 Taxic Paleobiology and the Pursuit of a Unifi ed Evolutionary Theory 215
Todd A. Grantham
12 Ideas in Dinosaur Paleontology:
Resonating to Social and Political Context 239
David E. Fastovsky
13 Reg Sprigg and the Discovery of the Ediacara Fauna in South Australia:
Its Approach to the High Table 254
Susan Turner and David Oldroyd
14 The Morphological Tradition in German Paleontology:
Otto Jaekel, Walter Zimmermann, and Otto Schindewolf 279
Manfred D. Laubichler and Karl J. Niklas
15 “Radical” or “Conservative”?
The Origin and Early Reception of Punctuated Equilibrium 301
David Sepkoski
16 The Shape of Evolution: The MBL Model and Clade Shape 326
John Huss
17 Ritual Patricide:
Why Stephen Jay Gould Assassinated George Gaylord Simpson 346
Joe Cain
18 The Consensus That Changed the Paleobiological World 364
Arnold I. Miller
part iii reflections on recent paleobiology
19 The Infusion of Biology into Paleontological Research 385
James W. Valentine
20 From Empirical Paleoecology to Evolutionary Paleobiology:
A Personal Journey 398
Richard Bambach
21 Intellectual Evolution across an Academic Landscape 416
Rebecca Z. German
22 The Problem of Punctuational Speciation and
Trends in the Fossil Record 423
Anthony Hallam
23 Punctuated Equilibrium versus Community Evolution 433
Arthur J. Boucot
24 An Interview with David M. Raup 459
Edited by David Sepkoski and David M. Raup
25 Paleontology in the Twenty- fi rst Century 471
David Jablonski
26 Punctuations and Paradigms:
Has Paleobiology Been through a Paradigm Shift? 518
Michael Ruse
List of Contributors 529
Index 537