Beasts Before Us, Elsa Panciroli
Beasts Before Us, Elsa Panciroli
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Beasts Before Us
The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution

Author: Elsa Panciroli

Narrator: Ruth Urquhart

Unabridged: 10 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/28/2021


Synopsis

For most of us, the story of mammal evolution starts after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, but over the last twenty years scientists have uncovered new fossils and used new technologies that have upended this story.



In Beasts Before Us, paleontologist Elsa Panciroli charts the emergence of the mammal lineage, Synapsida, beginning at their murky split from the reptiles in the Carboniferous period, over three-hundred million years ago. They made the world theirs long before the rise of dinosaurs.



Elsa crisscrosses the globe to explore the sites where discoveries are being made and meet the people who make them. In Scotland, she traverses the desert dunes of prehistoric Moray, where quarry workers unearthed the footprints of Permian creatures from before the time of dinosaurs. In South Africa, she introduces us to animals that gave scientists the first hints that our furry kin evolved from a lineage of egg-laying burrowers. In China, new, complete fossilized skeletons reveal mammals that were gliders, shovel-pawed Jurassic moles, and flat-tailed swimmers.



This book radically reframes the narrative of our mammalian ancestors and provides a counterpoint to the stereotypes of mighty dinosaur overlords and cowering little mammals. It turns out the earliest mammals weren't just precursors, they were pioneers.

Author Bio

Elsa Panciroli is a paleontologist who studies the evolution and ecology of extinct animals. She is a researcher based at the University of Oxford and associate researcher at the National Museum of Scotland. Elsa is a keen science speaker and communicator. She has contributed to the Guardian and Biological Sciences Review, as well as to radio and podcast programs such as Crowdscience, The John Beatty Show, and Our Lives.

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