Body Size Evolution Across The Geozoic
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2016
Published In
Annual Review Of Earth And Planetary Sciences
Abstract
The Geozoic encompasses the 3.6 Ga interval in Earth history when life has existed. Over this time, life has diversified from exclusively tiny, single-celled organisms to include large, complex multicellular forms. Just how and why this diversification occurred has been a major area of interest for paleontologists and evolutionary biologists for centuries. Here, we compile data on organism size throughout the Geozoic fossil record for the three domains of life. We describe canonical trends in the evolution of body size, synthesize current understanding of the patterns and causal mechanisms at various hierarchical scales, and discuss the biological and geological consequences of variation in organismal size.
Keywords
allometry, biovolume, maximum body size, macroevolution, geobiology
Recommended Citation
F. A. Smith, J. L. Payne, N. A. Heim, M. A. Balk, S. Finnegan, M. Kowalewski, S. K. Lyons, C. R. McClain, D. W. McShea, P. M. Novack-Gottshall, P. S. Anich, and Steve C. Wang.
(2016).
"Body Size Evolution Across The Geozoic".
Annual Review Of Earth And Planetary Sciences.
Volume 44,
552-553.
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-earth-060115-012147
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-math-stat/176