Archeocyathids, 83

Archosaurs, 151, 152–153, 160, 162, 177, 188, 211, 212

Arizona State University, 115

Arthropleura, 110

Arthropods, 3.

See also specific arthropods

body plan, 10, 12, 51, 56–57, 59, 64, 111–112

Cambrian, 51, 52, 56–57, 58–63

diversity, 109

gigantism, 91, 111–112, 113, 115

land colonization, 93, 95–96, 98, 99, 107

mass extinctions, 78–79

Ordovician, 82

respiratory systems, 22, 60–61, 95, 96

segmentation, 57, 58–63, 91

Silurian, 91, 93, 95–96, 98, 99

Asteroid impact. See Meteor/asteroid impacts

Atmosphere.

See also Carbon dioxide;

Nitrogen;

Oxygen;

Oxygen-poor conditions;

Oxygen-rich conditions

COPSE model, 39

determinants of changes, 35–37, 38–39

forcings, 38–39

functions of, 31

GEOCARB model, 38

GEOCARBSULF model, 38–39, 41

measuring changes, 37–39

origins, 32–33

ozone layer, 35, 143

present-day composition, 1, 31, 32, 34

pressure, 184

B

Bacteria, 83

in anoxic environments, 16, 214–215

cyanobacteria, 34–35, 53–54

methanogens, 215

plant decomposition, 117

respiration, 12, 14

sulfur-metabolizing, 134, 136, 141–142, 164

Bakker, Robert, 152, 173–174, 175–176, 180, 200, 205

Banded iron formations, 34

Bardet, Nathalie, 190

Basalt floods and, 140–141, 233

Becker, Luann, 139, 140

Beerling, David, 119

Bennett, Albert, 188

Benton, Mike, 154

Bergman, Noah, 39

Berner, Robert, 36, 38, 39, 44, 99, 140, 141, 235

Birds

bipedalism, 166

bone pneumaticity, 181–183, 185, 206

Cretaceous, 152, 173, 175, 178

endothermy, 145, 147, 150, 151, 174, 176, 178, 207

evolution, 1, 48, 121, 174, 178, 185, 199, 200, 202, 206–207

first, 185

flight, 176, 178, 200, 206–207

heart, 150

at high altitudes, 122

Jurassic, 174, 199, 202

reproduction, 122, 208, 212

respiratory system, ix–x, 27–28, 147, 148, 171, 172–174, 176–177, 179, 181, 184, 207

Bivalves

arthropods, 56–57

brachiopods, 56, 81, 82–83

low-oxygen-tolerant, 214–216

mollusks, 22, 23, 27, 65, 68, 69, 70, 159, 163, 199, 214–216

Black Sea, 16, 35, 142

Blood pigments, 13, 14–15, 263.

See also Circulatory system

Body plans of animals

anterior and posterior design, 12

appendages/protrusions, 12, 20, 23, 59

aquatic, 214–221

Front Matter (R1-R14)

Introduction (1-8)

1 Respiration and the Body Plans of Animal Life (9-30)

2 Oxygen Through Time (31-50)

3 Evolving Respiratory Systems as a Cause of the Cambrian Explosion (51-80)

4 The Ordovician: Cambrian Explosion Part II (81-88)

5 The Silurian-Devonian: How an Oxygen Spike Allowed the First Conquest of Land (89-110)

6 The Carboniferous-Early Permian: High Oxygen, Fires, and Giants (111-132)

7 The Permian Extinction and the Evolution of Endothermy (133-158)

8 The Triassic Explosion (159-198)

9 The Jurassic: Dinosaur Hegemony in a Low-Oxygen World (199-222)

10 The Cretaceous Extinction and the Rise of Large Mammals (223-228)

11 Should We Fear the Oxygen Future? (229-236)

References (237-260)

Appendix (261-264)

Index (265-282)