Heyday of the Gymnosperms: Systematics and Biodiversity of the Late Triassic Molteno Fructifications Tapa dura - 2003

Pretoria: National Botanic Institute, 2003. Well illustrated, very large tall quarto, pp viii, 398, pictorial laminated boards. Top edge very slightly marked, otherwise as new. SCARCE. A heavy book - extra postage will be needed. [This book is based on extensive fieldwork and collections in the Karoo Basin of South Africa and provides the most comprehensive insight so far into extinct seed plants from the Mesozoic of the southern hemisphere. Large numbers of specimens have been used to delimit species and careful note has been taken of associations between different fossil species. A key feature is the focus on fossil seed plant reproductive structures, which are represented by 35 genera and more than 80 species. The book paints a vivid picture of the diversity of life in the Molteno flood plain 230 million years ago and documents the habitats in which modern groups such as mammals, conifers and beetles started to emerge.]. Pictorial laminated boards. Very Good.