The bare bones : an unconventional evolutionary history of the skeleton / Matthew F. Bonnan.

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [2016]

xvii, 508 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm.

Part 1: Setting the stage. 1. Introduction: How vertebrates and cars are (and are not) similar ; 2. Evolution to deep time, pedigree to anatomy -- Part 2: The origin and early evolution of the vertebrate chassis. 3. Inferring the basic vertebrate chassis ; 4. Evolution of a bony chassis -- Part 3: The evolution of the jawed vertebrate chassis and something fishy. 5. The jawed vertebrate chassis : a primer ; 6. Placoderms and cartilaginous fishes ; 7. The fishlike Osteichthyes. Part 1 ; 8. The fishlike Osteichthyes. Part 2 -- Part 4: The vertebrate chassis moves to land. 9. The tetrapod chassis : a primer ; 10. The tetrapod chassis in transition ; 11. The amphibian chassis ; 12. The amniote chassis : a primer and the lead-up to true amniotes -- Part 5: Deep scaly I : reptilian chassis from early reptiles to sea monsters. 13. Modern lizards and the tuatara as an introduction ; 14. Early reptiles and turtles ; 15. Snakes and sea dragons -- Part 6: Deep scaly II : the archosaur chassis, those ruling reptiles. 16. The archosaur chassis, Part 1 : Modern archosaurs ; 17. The archosaur chassis, Part 2 : A primer on archosaur posture and diversity ; 18. The archosaur chassis, Part 3 : Pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and the origins of birds -- Part 7: Overcome by fur : the mammalian chassis. 19. The mammalian chassis : a primer ; 20. The evolution of the mammal chassis ; 21. Brains, milk, and the modern radiations of mammals -- Appendix: The cards of time.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 477-495) and index.