Overview

Fossils can be discovered by anyone, and give us a window onto the amazing history of our planet. Ancient natural forms, from the simplest fungus to giant dinosaurs, can reveal the fascinating development of evolving life. This stunning new book describes how fossils form in different habitats: how freshwater swamps have preserved early ferns and dragonflies and how whole forests became frozen in time. Discover which parts of plants and animals are most likely to be preserved, from plant leaves and sharks' teeth to reptile bones, and how living things have left their fossilized marks in other ways, as in the preserved casts of burrowing worms and giant reptiles' footprints. An extensive introduction explains the best ways to go about fossil hunting: the most suitable places to go; how to plan a fossil-hunting trip; the equipment you will need; how to dig out and collect specimens; how to transport, sort, date, clean and classify your finds; and the ways in which they can be presented to best effect in a personal collection, including how to fit pieces together and infill the missing parts of a fossil jigsaw. Learn some of the astonishing stories and personalities of palaeontology, such as Georges Cuvier and the dapper Barnum Brown, discoverer of T. Rex, often to be found undertaking fieldwork dressed in a full length fur coat, and never without topcoat and tie. Special map-based spreads reveal where the world's greatest fossil sites are to be found, past and present. These range from the fossil-rich Burgess Shale rocks in Canada's Rocky Mountains, containing 120 species of marine invertebrate fossils that have rewritten the fossil textbooks, to the beds of Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge, whose fossil remains have provided the most continuous known record of human life during the past two million years. The main part of the book consists of an extensive directory of fossils, providing a comprehensive visual and factual compendium of more than 375 significant fossil types, ranging from the tiniest algae through mammoths and whales to giant dinosaurs such as Iguanodon - plus the varied types of human. Each and every fossil entry includes a large, full-colour photograph of the fossil itself, accompanied by a detailed factbox and a clear artwork that reconstructs the appearance of the original plant or animal. Additional feature boxes reveal fascinating related stories, such as the fossil discoveries that turned scientific thinking on its head and in-depth studies of specific fossil sites. This unique and impressive volume - with expert text, major artworks, detailed timelines and hundreds of colour photographs - is a classic reference on the subject.

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9780754815747

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Steve Parker is a highly experienced author, editor and consultant specialising in information books on the natural world, biology, technology and general sciences. Steve has a First Class Honours BSc in Zoology and is a Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. He has worked on the staff of London's Natural History Museum, and also at leading book publishers. Steve has written more than 200 books and edited or consulted on hundreds of other titles, from small, light-hearted one-offs to encyclopedias and multi-volume series, for a wide range of international publishers. He also appears on television and radio and regularly presents talks, workshops and other events for schools, libraries, clubs and organisations.

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