San Antonio College Library

A critical, synthetic and comprehensive account offering discussion of early environments, the history of thought on land plant origins, various approaches used to study early plant evolution and the characteristics of green algae. Includes new ideas regarding evolution, comparative studies of fossil plants and carbon availability. Features abundant illustrations and an extensive bibliography.

Discusses the effect of changing oxygen levels in Earth's atmosphere on evolution and mass extinctions, and presents the theory that saurischian dinosaurs were able to weather two mass extinctions because of a new, more efficient respiratory system, which was in turn inherited by their descendants the birds.