Turtles as Hopeful Monsters: Origins and Evolution (Life of the Past)

216 Pages·2017·33.961 MB·English

by  Olivier Rieppel

Turtles as Hopeful Monsters
Life of the Past
James O. Farlow, editor
Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis
T U R T L E S
A S
H O P E F U L M O N S T E R S
Origins and Evolution OLIVIER RIEPPEL
This book is a publication of Indiana University Press Manufactured in China
Offi ce of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
1320 East 10th Street Publication Data
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
Names: Rieppel, Olivier.
iupress.indiana.edu Title: Turtles as hopeful monsters / Olivier
Rieppel.
© 2017 by Olivier Rieppel Description: Bloomington : Indiana
University Press, [2017] | Series: Life
All rights reserved of the past | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
No part of this book may be reproduced Identifi ers: LCCN 2016031981 (print) |
or utilized in any form or by any means, LCCN 2016050733 (ebook) |
electronic or mechanical, including ISBN 9780253024756 (cl) | ISBN
photocopying and recording, or by any 9780253025074 (eb)
information storage and retrieval system, Subjects: LCSH: Turtles. | Turtles—
without permission in writing from the Evolution. | Reptiles—Evolution. |
publisher. The Association of American Evolutionary paleobiology.
University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions Classifi cation: LCC QL666.C5 R57 2017
constitutes the only exception to this (print) | LCC QL666.C5 (ebook) | DDC
prohibition. 597.92—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc
The paper used in this publication meets .gov/2016031981
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Contents C
· Acknowledgments vii
· Introduction: Turtles as Hopeful Monsters 3
1 Misplaced Turtles 8
2 Reptile Classifi cation and Evolution 32
3 Levels of Evolution 72
4 Hopeful Monsters 98
5 The Turtle Shell 126
6 Fossil Hunting in China 162
· Literature Cited 189
· Index 199

Acknowledgments A
I am very grateful to Li Chun, Institute of Vertebrate Pale-
ontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, who invited me to collaborate
in the description of many fi ne fossils he collected. I am equally thankful
to Janice Frisch, acquisition editor at the Indiana University Press, and
series editor James O. Farlow for their interest in the project, as well as
their help and support to see this book through to publication. Marlene
Donnelly (scientifi c illustrator) and John Weinstein (photographer) from
the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, offered their help and ex-
pertise in the illustration of the book. Christine Giannoni offered equally
invaluable help in obtaining often obscure literature.
The Henry Fairfi eld Osborn Papers, curated in Archives of the Amer-
ican Museum of Natural History, were kindly made available by my son,
Lukas Rieppel. I also thank the staff at the German Federal Archives
(formerly Berlin Documentation Center) and the University Archives
of Göttingen and Greifswald for their help and support in my research.
Last but not least, I thank my wife, Myriam, and our sons, Michael
and Lukas, who accompanied me on a journey that allowed me to pursue
the research recounted in this book.
vii

Turtles as Hopeful Monsters