Description: Snakes comprise nearly 4,000 extant species found on all major continents except Antarctica. Morphologically and ecologically diverse, they include burrowing, arboreal, and marine forms, feeding on prey ranging from insects to large mammals. Snakes are strikingly different from their closest lizard relatives, and their origins and early diversification have long challenged and enthused evolutionary biologists. The origin and early evolution of snakes is a broad, interdisciplinary topic for which experts in palaeontology, ecology, physiology, embryology, phylogenetics, and molecular biology have made important contributions. The last 25 years has seen a surge of interest, resulting partly from new fossil material, but also from new techniques in molecular and systematic biology. This volume summarises and discusses the state of our knowledge, approaches, data, and ongoing debates. It provides reviews, syntheses, new data and perspectives on a wide range of topics relevant to students and researchers in evolutionary biology, neontology, and palaeontology.
Brief description: David J. Gower is a Merit Researcher in Herpetology and Head of the Vertebrates Division in the Department of Life Sciences at The Natural History Museum, London. A collections-based, organismal biologist with interests in a wide range of topics in natural history and evolutionary biology, he has taxon expertise in Triassic archosaurs and limbless, mostly fossorial, amphibians and reptiles.
Review Quotes: 'As an early-career researcher and scholar of snakes, I appreciate the effort of this book to provide a broader perspective and encourage the reconciliation of many controversial views. This book, instead of offering a definitive answer about the origin of snakes, provides a glimpse of the state of the art of our current understanding about the evolution and diversification of snakes from a variety of perspectives, which makes it perfect for all scholars interested in this topic. ... Gower and Zaher lay the groundwork for what I hope can be future collaborations and discussions, with colleagues, early-career scientists and students who share the same passion for snake origins which will for sure benefit our scientific knowledge.' Andres Alfonso-Rojas, The Palaeontological Association