Ghosts of Gondwana : the history of life in New Zealand /
History of life in New Zealand
George Gibbs.
- Fully revised edition.
- 367 pages: illustrations (chiefly colour), maps, photographs ; 27 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Preface to Revised Edition -- Introduction -- Unique Aotearoa : -- Unique Aotearoa : endemic life -- Success New Zealand style : a parrot and a bat -- Seeking explanations : -- What is historical biogeography? -- Gondwanan ancestry of the land -- Deep time and fossils -- Tracing relationships : family trees -- Ephemeral islands -- Explanations for New Zealand's life : -- Landscapes in New Zealand's history -- Windows on past life -- The drowning myth -- Seeking the ghosts of Gondwana -- Trans-oceanicmiracles : the role of dispersal -- New Zealand as part of the world : jaw-moth history -- Land uplifted : the alpine zone -- A last-minute cold snap : the Pleistocene -- Human interventions -- Made in New Zealand : unusual evolutionary opportunities : -- Ratites : our giant flightless birds -- The impact of ghosts in the bush -- Evolution in action : insect singers -- Our herpetological heritage -- Whatever happened to the flowers? -- Molluscan innovators -- Stream faunas : the Antarctic linkway? -- Conclusions : justification for 'Gondwanan'? -- Appendix: Scientific names of plant and animals -- Glossary -- References -- Index. Section 1. 1. 2. Section 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Section 3. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Section 4. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.
"New Zealand is an extraordinary place, unique on earth, and the remarkable story of how and why life evolved here is the subject of Ghosts of Gondwana."--Publisher's website.