★The fruit of over 15 years of overview and research based on specialized scientific literature
★A detailed family tree of vertebrates readily accessible to the general public
★15 plates showing vertebrate evolution through 500 million years
★More than 1,300 species illustrated and listed
★Poster included

This atlas offers a wide selection of fossil vertebrates and corresponding extant representatives, tracing probable connections from their origins to the present day. Each plate of illustrations guides us progressively through the temporal changes that have engendered all existing vertebrate forms.

The evolutionary links highlighted in this book reflect an evolutionary path of over 500 million years, from the ancestor common to all vertebrates – a tiny jawless fish – to both its fossilized and living legacy today. This unique pedagogical document is essential for understanding animal evolution in general and vertebrates in particular.

Born in 1928, Arthur Escher travelled the planet on geological expeditions for two decades, from New Guinea to Greenland, before settling down to teach geology at the universities of Copenhagen, Geneva and Lausanne, where he is an Honorary Professor. In collaboration with Robin Marchant and several other colleagues, he has built a model showing the internal structure of the Swiss Alps. Son of the famous artist M. C. Escher, he is a gifted scientific illustrator and has spent the last 15 years drawing the posters that tell the story of vertebrates.

Born in 1962, Robin Marchant graduated in Earth Sciences from the University of Lausanne, spending a further twelve years in his alma mater as a doctoral student and research associate. Appointed curator in 2000, he supervises the paleontology department of the Lausanne Museum of Geology. In collaboration with Arthur Escher, he authored the book Jurassique Suisse, published in 2013.

The genealogical tree of life
Fish and their emergence from water
Sharks, rays and chimeras
Diversification of bony fish
The first reptiles
The flight of reptiles
Terrestrial dinosaurs
The return of the reptiles to water
The flight of feathered dinosaurs
The diversification of reptiles
Early mammals
Elephants and sea cows
Primates
The tribe of bipedal primates
Carnivores
Ungulates and cetaceans
The main phases of extinction
Index
Addenda