Evolutionary classification of rotaliporid planktic foraminifera

Dr. M. Dan Georgescu received a Ph.D. in Jurassic and Cretaceous planktic biostratigraphy from the University of Bucharest (Romania) in 1994; this was followed by three postdoctoral fellowships: Senior Fulbright (1998-1999), NATO (2002), and Smithsonian Institution (2005-2006). Currently is with the Department of Geosciences, University of Calgary.

This book is the first evolutionary monograph of one foraminiferal group. Abundant and well-preserved fossil material collected mostly from Albian-Turonian sediments intersected by seven Deep Sea Drilling Project/Ocean Drilling Program wells together with relevant material studied in different collections allowed the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the rotaliporid foraminifera. It is demonstrated that the rotaliporid test architecture was achieved in five of lineages, and two of them originated from taxa with planispiral coil. Such significant advances are possible only through the use of the new and revolutionary advances in evolutionary classification. The book is an invitation to the reader to explore the advantages of evolutionary classification in understanding the fossil record, and new horizons it opens to the scientific study of the Theory of Evolution.