Microfossils through Time: An Introduction is the first textbook of micropaleontology
addressing undergraduate students. It presents an introduction to each group of microfossils
from bacteria to microscopical debris of vertebrates demonstrating the broad range of study of
this subdiscipline of paleontology. Not only those groups of microscopic fossils which are
traditionally considered relevant to micropaleontology are presented (e.g. dinoflagellates
charophytes radiolarians spores and pollen ostracods chitinozoans etc) but also others
that often occur in micropaleontological samples (e.g. bivalves echinoderms fish debris
mammalian teeth etc). Each of the more than forty microfossil groups are presented in an order
that follows the paleontological classification with a history of study and a variety of data
on morphology living habitats stratigraphical distribution and their evolution as inferred
from the fossil record. The text is intended as the starting point for a new generation of
textbooks that presents micropaleontology in a new structure capable of assuring an efficient
transfer of expertise to the younger generations of scientists. This book will help those
making their first steps in micropaleontology to develop defensible models of what microfossils
are laying the foundations for fundamental and applied studies. It introduces
micropaleontology as a tool for conducting applied studies in biostratigraphy paleoecology and
for paleobathymetric estimates basin analysis and reconstructing geological history or
related to sequence stratigraphy. It also addresses students and specialists in biology and
genetics offering a solid data base to be integrated with the other two principal components
of the triad of sciences that studies the evolution of life on Earth.
