Fossil (DK Eyewitness Books)

Discovering dinosaurs Iguanodon tooth TȩȦȧȪȳȴȵȥȦȴȤȳȪȱȵȪȰȯȴ of the fossil bones of dinosaurs were made over 150 years ago. First some teeth, and then CLAWS DISCOVERER some bones of Iguanodon were found in southern England Bill Walker holding the claw bone of by an English doctor, Gideon Mantell, and his wife. Later, MANTELL’S TOOTH! Baryonyx which he bones of the dinosaurs Megalosaurus and Hylaeosaurus This is one of the original were also discovered. In 1841, Richard Owen, a leading Iguanodon teeth which were discovered in 1983. named by Mantell in 1825. British anatomist, invented the name “dinosaur,” which means “terrible lizard,” for these early discoveries. They were followed by many more all around the world. Huge numbers of dinosaur remains were found in North America during the second half of the 19th century and into the 20th century, and other significant finds were made in Tanzania, China, Mongolia, and Argentina. Important dinosaur discoveries are still being made, of species already known and of new species. Almost every new discovery adds to our knowledge of these magnificent extinct reptiles. MANTELL’S QUARRY Mantell was a doctor of medicine and an enthusiastic collector of fossils. The Iguanodon teeth and bones he described came from an old quarry in the Cuckfield area of southern England. Here rocks of early Cretaceous age were dug for use as gravel. BIG REPTILE BIG BUT NOT BIGGEST Megalosaurus was a Jurassic In 1824, William Buckland discovered some meat eater related to the larger dinosaur bones in Stonesfield in Oxfordshire, and better known England. He gave the animal the name Tyrannosaurus (p. 49). Megalosaurus, which means “big reptile.” Buckland was a teacher of geology at the University of Oxford when he described his dinosaur. This jawbone belonged to a Megalosaurus and comes from the same area as Buckland’s specimens. EDWARD DRINKER COPE OTHNIEL CHARLES MARSH In this cartoon, Marsh is Between 1870 and 1897 Cope took part in what depicted as a circus ringmaster has been described as the great dinosaur gold leading his team of prehistoric rush. It took place in the U.S., primarily in the animals. The intense rivalry states of Montana and Wyoming. Two names are between Cope and Marsh caused especially associated with this gold rush - Cope the two men to swap a succession and Marsh. Each hired independent teams of of insults, and even to destroy collectors to excavate dinosaur bones in the race incomplete fossils in their own to be first to describe the many new species. quarries in order to prevent future collection by their rival! 50

2╇ PROTECTING THE BONES ╇ The bones can be fragile. They are protected in a plaster jacket made by wrapping them 1╇ extracting dinosaur bones in montana. in strips of scrim (open-weave ╇ A drill is used to extract large bones. They are left fabric) soaked in a plaster of 3╇ REMOVING THE BONES surrounded by some rock, which ╇ Once they have been carefully marked for future is eventually removed in Paris paste. Sometimes the identification, the bones are removed from the cliff the laboratory. jacket is made of Upper polyurethane foam. and transported to the laboratory for preparation. arm Large bones still embedded in rock can be heavy and Toe bone awkward to handle. It may be easiest to maneuver them using a pulley. CLAWS An important dinosaur discovery of recent years was made by amateur€collector Bill Walker. He unearthed a spectacular claw bone€from a claypit in Surrey, England. Paleontologists at the Natural€History Museum in London soon realized the importance of this find and excavated more bones. Popularly know as Claws, this dinosaur was a new species belonging to a new genus. It was named Baryonyx walkeri in honor of its discoverer. Toe bone FISH EATER Baryonyx was unusual 51 among dinosaurs because it fed on fish. Its head was shaped like that of a fish-eating crocodile, and fish scales were found in its rib cage.

Winged wonders The first animals to fly were insects; fossil dragonflies WING SUPPORT have been found in rocks more than 300 million years old. This is one of the long finger bones which Flying vertebrates appeared almost 100 million years later. supported the wing of a Pteranodon, one of the True flapping flight has evolved in three groups of largest flying animals that ever lived. The wingspan vertebrates: pterosaurs (extinct), bats, and birds. They are not of this Cretaceous pterosaur was about 23 ft (7 m). closely related, and their ability to fly has evolved independently. WELL-BALANCED Pterosaurs were reptiles, related to Pteranodon was a pterosaur with a bony crest on its dinosaurs (pp. 48–51), with a head which counterbalanced its long toothless beak. greatly lengthened fourth finger. It appears to have been a fish eater which soared This supported the fleshy membrane, a over the oceans like the modern albatross. thin sheet of muscle and elastic fibers FURRY REPTILE IMAGINARY covered by skin, which was the wing. The small Jurassic pterosaur Pterodactylus had BIRD In birds, the feathered wing is membranous wings, claws, a toothed beak, and a The finding of body covered by fine fur. Evidence for fur comes pterosaur remains from some pterosaurs that were discovered in fueled the imagination supported by several fingers and the Kazakhstan with hairlike impressions around the of authors of science lower part of the forearm. Bats are fiction stories. body. This may indicate that pterosaurs were flying mammals and have wings warm-blooded and used the fur as made of a fleshy membrane similar to that of insulation. The tail of pterosaurs but supported by four fingers. Pterodactylus was short, and it Because bones of flying vertebrates had a wing span of only about have to be light, 20 in (50 cm), but some pterosaurs they are fragile – including Rhamphorhynchus, with a and are seldom fossilized. wingspan of 5 ft (1.5 m) – had long tails. Pterosaurs first appeared during the Triassic and became extinct Toothed at the end of the Cretaceous. beak Greatly lengthened fourth finger Membranous wing Short tail Body covered MISTAKEN IDENTITY by fine fur This small dinosaur belongs to a Claws FLYING MAMMAL group which many scientists It is easy to see the similarity believe were ancestors of birds. between this bat and the In 1973, some museum pterosaurs. Bats date from the paleontologists in Germany Eocene. Because bats often realized that one of their roost in caves, their fossil specimens, long bones can be found in large identified as numbers in cave deposits. Compsognathus, was really an 52 Archaeopteryx!

Impression of feathers Clawed fingers Teeth unlike a Archaeopteryx had a wingspan like a bird’s like a reptile’s modern bird of about 20 in (50 cm) Fossil Modern feather bird’s THE FIRST BIRD feather Archaeopteryx lived RARE FIND 150 million years ago. Feathers occur only in birds and are Specimens of it, all seldom fossilized. Very occasionally they found in Germany, are generally are found in fine-grained sediments such regarded as the most precious fossils as this Oligocene limestone. in the world. Only five more have been discovered since this first one, found in 1861 and now in the Museum of Natural History in East Berlin. Archaeopteryx was intermediate between reptiles and birds. Some specimens show clear feather impressions. Bony tail like Claws a reptile’s Ostrich Ostrich ELEPHANTINE EGG egg The Madagascan elephant bird, Aepyornis maximus, stood over 6 ft 6 in (2 m) high. Its fossil eggs are the largest birds’ eggs known, reaching 35 in (90 cm) in circumference. One is compared here with an ostrich egg, one of the largest modern birds’ eggs, to show how enormous it really is. Elephant bird egg FINE SKULL Modern Elephant bird Fossilized remains of birds are rare. This finely preserved Eocene tropic bird skull comes from the bird Prophaethon. Some scientists think that Prophaethon was a close relative of the tropic bird Phaethon. 53

Mammal variety Chisel-like incisor teeth Animals as varied as mice, elephants, kangaroos, bats, Skull of Ischyromys Berries cats, whales, horses, and humans are all mammals. They are warm-blooded and produce milk to suckle their RODENTS infants. Most give birth to live young, have hairy skin Modern squirrel Rodents include rats, mice, and complex teeth, and are highly active. A mammal and squirrels, and are among whose babies develop inside the mother’s womb, the most diverse of such as a cat, is known as a placental mammal. The mammals. Their large babies of marsupial mammals chisel-like incisor teeth (pp. 56–57), such as the kangaroo, develop inside the mother’s pouch grow continuously during life and are used to gnaw a variety of foods. Rodents date from Paleocene times. This example is Ischyromys from the famous Oligocene mammal beds of the Badlands in South Dakota. after birth. The first mammals appeared at about the same time as the earliest dinosaurs, 200 million years ago. Nearly all Mesozoic mammals were small shrew-like Ants animals, but in the Cenozoic they diversified into the many different types we are familiar with today. Complete fossil mammals are rare; many species are Skull of Orycteropus Modern aardvark known only from their teeth. Nevertheless, INSECT EATERS from these it is possible to build up a Insect-eating mammals are generally picture of the variety of species, what they small and include shrews and moles. ate, and the way they lived. Orycteropus was a Miocene aardvark, a peculiar kind of anteater. Mammals living on a diet of ants have several features in common, including a long hard palate in the roof of the mouth which helps prevent ants from entering the windpipe. High-crowned Modern cheek teeth camel ICE AGE MAMMAL Skull of Mammoths were elephant-like Cainotherium mammals adapted to life in PLANT EATERS Many herbivorous mammals, which feed on cold climates during the vegetation, have cheek teeth with high crowns Pleistocene Ice Ages. Some capable of with standing wear caused by skeletons have been found constant chewing. They can be divided into preserved in the frozen browsers, which eat mostly leaves, and grazers, ground of Siberia (p. 20). which eat mostly grass. This skull belonged to Ridges of hard enamel Cainotherium, a rabbit-like browser whose closest, but very distant, living relative is probably the camel. GRINDING TOOTH Leaves Mammoths were enormous and needed to eat large quantities of vegetation. Their huge high- crowned cheek teeth had ridges of hard enamel on the grinding surface. This enabled them to grind up vegetation with great efficiency.

Skull of Proconsul FRUIT EATERS Monkeys, apes, and humans belong to a group of mammals called the primates. Many primates are omnivores (omni means “all”) and have a mixed diet, but some eat mostly fruit. Shown here is the skull of the Miocene ape Proconsul. The blunt teeth are typical of fruit eaters. As fruit is poor in protein, Proconsul may have supplemented its diet with leaves from the trees in which it lived. Modern monkey Fruit Blunt teeth typical of a fruit eater Nuts Skull of Hoplophoneus Large canine tooth EOCENE LANDSCAPE Mammals first became common in Sabertooth Meat the Eocene. Many of the mammals cat MEAT EATERS which roamed the land belonged to Carnivorous or meat-eating mammals have large canine groups with no living descendants. teeth. These were developed to their greatest extent in Canine the upper jaws of the so-called sabertooths. They tooth may have used their long teeth to stab the necks of their prey. This skull belongs to Hoplophoneus from the Oligocene. Unfortunately, none of the several different sorts of sabertooth known from the fossil record have survived to the present day. Skull of Potamotherium Fish FISH EATERS Modern otters Potamotherium lived in 55 freshwater lakes during the early Miocene and fed on fish. It was similar to a modern otter but was better adapted to life in water than otters. It may have been a forerunner of seals, which first became common in the sea during the late Miocene.

A world apart Australia is an island continent. The geological record shows that it has been isolated for 50 million years, ever since plate movements (pp. 12–13) caused the continent to drift away from Antarctica. This is the reason why A boxing kangaroo many of the native mammals in Australia are unique. Marsupials differ from other mammals in having pouches in which the young are reared for a period after birth. The fleshy pouches do not fossilize, but there are features of the bones and teeth that distinguish fossils of marsupials from those of placentals (pp.€54–55). Marsupials evolved on their own, away from the placental mammals that came to dominate them in other parts of the world. Fossils of many extinct marsupials have been found, including Diprotodon, the centerpiece of these pages. There are still many Hip bone connecting species of pouched mammals in the leg to the spine Australia, including the kangaroo and koala. Other native mammals unique to the country include TWO FRONT TEETH This magnificent skeleton of the extinct the extraordinary egg-laying marsupial Diprotodon is about 10 ft (3 m) monotremes – the platypus long. Its name, meaning “two front teeth,” refers to the large, rodentlike incisors that were used for cropping and the echidna. vegetation. Note the pair of epipubic bones in the pelvic area, which can be used to distinguish 60 million years ago pouched from placental mammals. Diprotodon Epipubic bones comes from Pleistocene that helped rocks and many skeletons support the pouch have been excavated from Lake Callabonna, a dried-up Australia Tail lake in South Australia. It is vertebrae possible that Diprotodon survived until more recent times and was hunted by early Australians – some animals in ancient€Aboriginal paintings DRIFTING CONTINENTS could€be Diprotodon. Antarctica These two maps show the position of Australia about 60 million years ago (top) and 45 million years ago (bottom) after the split from Antarctica. The 45 million years ago isolation of Australia prevented its colonization by placental mammals, apart from some bats and rodents. These might otherwise have replaced the native animals. This is probably what Australia happened to the marsupials of South America, such as the extinct sabertooth Thylacosmilus, when placental mammals invaded South America after North and South America joined. Antarctica GIANT WOMBAT? Diprotodon (above) was a herbivore. It probably looked like a long-legged wombat (opposite). 56

Spine, the main support for the body Blunt teeth for grinding vegetation Rodent-like incisors for€cropping vegetation Rib cage which Placental mammals Australian marsupials protected the heart and lungs Wolf Tasmanian wolf THE OUTBACK Ocelot Native cat The climate of Australia in the Pliocene became drier and grasslands spread at the expense of forests. The Australian outback is now dry and inhospitable for humans. However, many native species of mammals thrive there, and parts of Australia may have been equally inhospitable when Diprotodon lived. Procoptodon Ground hog Wombat Young kangaroo in the pouch ALIKE BUT DIFFERENT Modern A remarkable feature of mammal evolution is that for kangaroo many placental mammals there is an equivalent pouched mammal in Australia. This is called parallel evolution, and it happened because the animals adapted to similar ways of life. The placental wolf that lives on all other continents is matched in Australia by the Tasmanian wolf. This animal became extinct about 70 years ago. A FAKE? GIANT KANGAROO When the remains of a platypus were first Large grazing kangaroos did not become brought to London in the 18th common until the Pliocene, but the ancestors century, they were dismissed of€modern kangaroos can be traced back to the as a fake! The platypus lives Miocene. Procoptodon, a kangaroo of the in fresh water and has fur, webbed feet, and Pleistocene, was 10 ft (3 m) tall! A species of a beak. It lays eggs but suckles its young. It may modern kangaroo reaches about 6 ft 6 in (2 m) show an early stage in mammal development. when extended to its full height. 57

Human fossils Fossils of people (hominids) are rare and “Bullet hole” SHOT BY AN ALIEN? fragmentary, but have been found in increasing This skull from Broken Hill, Zambia (southern numbers during the past few years. They tell us Africa), belongs to an early form of our own species, a great deal about the origin and development Homo sapiens. It is famous for its bad teeth and the hole of modern people. The story begins with the apelike in one side. An imaginative writer interpreted this as a Ardipithecus and Australopithecus and ends with hole made by a bullet shot by a visitor Homo sapiens. The nearest living relatives of from another planet 120,000 years ago! In fact it is a humans are the African partly healed abscess. great apes (chimpanzees and gorillas), but there are Adult’s many differences between us and footprint them. These include a larger brain in humans and the ability to walk Child’s on two legs rather than four. Study footprint of fossil hominids shows how these differences developed through geological time. Typical human features first appeared in Australopithecus, distinguishing them from their even more apelike ancestors. FIRST STEPS At some stage in human evolution, bipedalism (standing upright and walking on two legs) developed. These footprints from Tanzania (East Africa) were made by two-footed hominids 3.6 million years ago. They were probably two adults and a child Australopithecus who walked across a surface of damp volcanic ash. The ash hardened and was buried beneath more ash and sediment. The fossil footprints were discovered by a team led by Mary Leakey in 1977. They prove that a species of primate walked on two feet at least 3.6 million years ago. This ties in with evidence from fossil bones that Australopithecus walked on two legs. Chimpanzee skull Human skull COMPARING FEATURES Carved reindeer These skulls of a modern human and an ape – a chimpanzee – look very ARTISTIC similar, but careful comparison shows BEGINNINGS some of the differences. Humans have much This sculpted antler is larger brains than chimps. The average volume over 12,000 years old and of a human’s brain is 1,400 cc; a chimp’s brain is shows a male reindeer following a about 400 cc. This€is reflected in the domed human cranium, female reindeer. It was probably necessary to house the large brain, compared with the low carved using simple flint tools and chimp cranium. Another obvious difference is the flatter muzzle reveals a high quality of craftsmanship. Such of the human. The teeth are also different. For example, a chimp art forms show the development of the cannot move its jaws from side to side so much when it is cultural activities (art, literature, music, etc) chewing, because its canine teeth overlap. which are unique to humans. 58

Using a stone to chip off flakes Pebble THE OLDEST TOOLS SOUTHERN APE tool The human being is often described as Several sorts of Australopithecus Flint handaxe the toolmaker. This pebble tool is one of (“southern ape”) lived in Africa the oldest recognizable stone tools, between about 5 and 1.5 million thought to have been made by years ago. Certain species were heavily Homo habilis (“handy man”) built and had bony crests on their skulls. Others almost 2 million years ago. The were lightly built, like this example from South Africa. It is possible that these forms are direct flint handaxe is about 200,000 years old. ancestors of modern humans. Both tools were made by chipping off flakes to sharpen them. LOUIS LEAKEY LUCY UPRIGHT MAN The oldest hominids have been found in South This is the Homo erectus (“upright man”) has been found and East Africa. Among the paleontologists skeleton of an not only in Africa but also in Southeast Asia. responsible for their discovery have been the adult female They lived between about 1.6 million and 500,000 Leakey family – the late Louis Leakey, his wife, Australopithecus. It years ago. The size of the cranium indicates a brain size of about was discovered in 1974 and 1,000 cc, larger than Australopithecus but smaller than modern Mary, and their son, Richard. named after the Beatles’ song humans. Homo erectus used fire. An example from China – Peking Louis, pictured here, is “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Man – was found in a cave deposit with a fossilized hearth that known especially for his finds of Australopithecus at was used for either Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. cooking or providing Carved animal heat and light. head Harpoon ROCK PAINTING These paintings of animals were done by early people living in what is now Algeria€(Northwest Africa). Sickle Arrowheads Sharp flint HUNTING TOOLS pieces These 4,000-year-old arrowheads are made ICE-AGE RELATIVE of flint, a rock favored by early people Neanderthals lived in Europe and western Asia because of the ease with which flakes could before and during the last Ice Age, between 100,000 be struck off to shape different tools. The and 35,000 years ago. They were given the name because the first specimen to be 10,000-year-old sickle is made of goat horn described was found in a cave in the Neander valley, Germany. They used to be with sharp pieces of flint embedded to form thought of as a subspecies of Homo sapiens (“thinking man”); today they are classed a cutting edge. The barbed harpoon was as a species alone, Homo neanderthalensis. The brutish caveman image often given to carved from an antler. Neanderthals is incorrect. On average, their brains were larger than our own. They were also shorter, stocky, and relatively hairy – well adapted to life in cold climates. 59

Living fossils LAST SURVIVOR The tuatara is the only living Fossils show us that animals and plants have changed survivor of a group of reptiles that were abundant during enormously since life on Earth began. Some have changed so Triassic times. It looks like a much that modern species are very different from their fossil lizard but its skull ancestors. At the other extreme, there are animals and plants has a different living today that are almost identical to fossils millions of bone structure. The tuatara lives only years old. The most striking examples of these “living fossils” on a few islands off New Zealand. are those animals and plants which are rare nowadays, such as the coelacanth and slit shells, which were known as fossils Modern before they were discovered to be still living. Among plant horseshoe crab species which have survived up to the present day are the horsetail (pp. 36–37) from the Devonian, the monkey-puzzle tree (pp. 36–37) and the ginkgo from the Triassic, and the magnolia, one of the earliest true flowering plants, from the€Cretaceous. Fossil horseshoe crab FALSE CRABS The modern horseshoe crab Limulus is not a true crab but is related to the spider and the scorpion. It lives close to the shoreline in the Far East and in the Atlantic Ocean off North America. It is very similar to the fossil Mesolimulus, an animal that lived in the sea about 150 million years ago. Other fossil horseshoe crabs include species that lived in freshwater swamps 300 million years ago. Ginkgo leaf ANCIENT INSECT Still common today, cockroaches, together with dragonflies, are among the oldest of all insects and range back to the Carboniferous. Some fossil cockroaches closely resemble modern species. Modern cockroaches Fossil Fan-shaped cockroach leaves LONE RANGER Fossil Ginkgo Ginkgos first appeared in the Triassic and were much more widespread in the past than they are today. Only a single species, Modern Ginkgo biloba, lives today. Ginkgos are hardy trees that grow Ginkgo branch naturally in the forests of western China but can also be seen in many cities around the world because they are not easily hurt by pollution. The characteristic fan-shaped leaves are easily recognizable when fossilized, as in this Jurassic example. 60

Fossil slit shell ANCIENT MAMMAL Modern slit shell Didelphids, which include the opossums, are pouched Modern BACK TO LIFE mammals (pp. 56–57) from the Virginia€opossum Snails belonging to Americas. Among mammals, Pleurotomaria, the slit shells, didelphids are very old. They are are rare today. Living first recorded in the late examples were first Cretaceous of North America. discovered in 1856 on rocky Modern opossums have many areas of the sea bed at depths features typical of the related greater than 650 ft (200 m). primitive didelphids of Cretaceous Almost identical shells had long age, although they do have some been known as fossils. Pleurotomaria significant differences. itself ranges back to the Jurassic, and the group in which it is classified goes Variety of teeth Fossil skull back 500 million years to the Cambrian. Slit in indicating a of€a didelphid shell mixed diet Three-lobed tail Fossil coelacanth PRESUMED DEAD Wedgwood plate Undoubtedly, the most famous of all living fossils is the commemorating the coelacanth. Coelacanths have a distinctive three-lobed tail and catching of a fins with armlike bases. They date back to the Devonian. It was live€coelacanth thought that coelacanths had become extinct in Cretaceous times. Then, in December 1938, a living one was caught by a fisherman Commemorative stamps off the South African coast, causing a major stir in scientific from the Comoro Islands circles. Further specimens have since been caught. Some have been photographed alive in water 200–1,310 ft (60–400 m) deep off the Comoro Islands, northeast of the island of Madagascar. Then, in 1998, a new species of coelacanth was found off Indonesia, more€than 5,600 miles (9,000 km) away. WANTED! Modern coelacanth The first modern coelacanth was identified in 1938 by Professor J.L.B. Smith, an ichthyologist in South Africa. He offered a reward of £100 to anyone who found a second one. He had to wait until 1952 before he had one in his possession. 61

Fossil hunting FIELD NOTEBOOK To find the fossil remains of a creature The type of rock formation and locality that lived millions of years ago is a of finds should be thrilling experience. Fossil collecting is a recorded in a hobby that can be enjoyed by anyone field notebook. using the most basic tools. Sea cliffs, quarries, and other exposures of rock all HAMMERS over the world provide productive places for A geological fossil collectors but safety must always be hammer can kept in mind. It may be necessary to get be used permission to collect from landowners, and to€break up€rocks. attention must be paid to conservation - fossil localities can easily be ruined by over- collecting. An historic find? Standard CHISELS geological A hammer and chisel hammer are valuable aids when Hammer for TROWELS removing fossils from use with Fossils in soft their matrix (the piece of a€chisel sediment, especially surrounding rock). sand, may be removed using a trowel. GEOLOGICAL MAP HAND LENS Geological maps A pocket hand lens with a are useful for magnification of 10 to 20 times locating promising is valuable for examining places to collect fossils in the field. fossils, as they help in identifying the BRUSHES age, location, and Brushes can be used for brushing name of rock away sediment during excavation formations. of fossils from soft rocks. Safety helmet 62

Sieve for Bivalve separating Brachiopod out small fossils DRAWER OF SPECIMENS IN THE FIELD After cleaning with water, fossils This boy should be should be stored carefully. Shallow wearing a helmet cardboard trays are convenient for and safety goggles. holding fossils and their labels. The Great care should be more care that is given to labelling a taken when fossil collecting. A helmet collection, the more interesting is a must, especially and worthwhile it will be. when working Echinoid beneath unstable Coral rock faces. Goggles protect your eyes from flying chips of stone. Echinoid Ammonite MAGNIFYING GLASS A large magnifying glass or a binocular microscope is invaluable for close study. Brushes and dental picks for LABELS MICROSCOPE SLIDES fossil preparation It is important to label Small fossils can be kept in wooden or specimens fully. Apart cardboard slides, so they can be looked Canvas bag for from the names of the at under a microscope. They should be larger fossils fossils, details should be given of rock formation stuck down with a nontoxic, Goggles and the place where they watersoluble glue or secured beneath a were found. Fossils can also be numbered for future identi- transparent glass cover. fication using gummed labels. ILLUSTRATED RECORD It is rewarding to keep a record of a collection with drawings and descriptions. These beautiful books record details of fossils collected over 100 years ago. Plastic pots for collecting small fossils 63

Did you know? AMAZING FACTS Dromaeosaur fossil Anomodonts are the most primitive Fossilized beasts with mammal characteristics insect and In the 1990s, paleontologists began that we know of. The 260-million-year-old spider in to dig up fossils of feathered skull of one was found in South Africa in dinosaurs in China—the best evidence yet 1999. About the size of sheep, anomodonts amber that the dinosaurs may have evolved into were plant-eaters that lived long before the In the Jurassic Park movies, DNA birds. Dromaeosaurs were small, fast- dinosaurs. They had some reptilian from the bodies of insects moving meat-eaters that had downy fluff characteristics and some mammalian. fossilized€in amber was used to and primitive feathers. Fossils of an early whale, reconstruct whole herds of dinosaurs. Ambulocetus, show that it was about Scientists have extracted DNA in this way, The first fossils of the arthropod 10 ft (3 m) long and looked like a big, furry but only fragments of it—not enough to Anomalocaris were limbs, jaws, or crocodile! Although it had the teeth and rebuild prehistoric animals. other body parts. No one thought they skull of a whale and was an excellent belonged to one animal. The huge front swimmer, it also had legs for walking on The first complete Pleistocene animal limbs were thought to be tails from an land. Its name means “walking whale”. was excavated in 1999 by French extinct shrimp. It was only when a complete At Holzmaden, Germany, there are paleontologist Bernard Buigues. The fossil was found that scientists could picture fossil specimens of thousands of Siberian woolly mammoth had lain frozen this strange beast at last. Jurassic marine creatures. One of the most for over 20,000 years. It was named amazing is an ichthyosaur fossilized in the “Jarkov”,€after the family of reindeer Record Breakers act of giving birth. herders€who first discovered it. Earliest fossil embryo Opalized brachiopod In the 1990s, paleontologists Australia has large opal deposits found€remains of the earliest- The earliest known fossilized animal that formed in the early Cretaceous known€primate: a jawbone and an embryo dates back around 670 million years. It Period. During mining for opal gems, anklebone the length of a grain of rice. was found in Guizhou province, China. beautiful specimens of opalized Nicknamed the “Dawn Monkey”, Eosimias shellfish have been found, was a mouse-sized primate that lived 40 to Oldest fossil flower especially brachiopods. 45 million years ago in what However, one of the finest opal is now China. A 125-million-year-old flowering plant, fossils is “Eric”, a complete “Eric”, the named Archaefructus liaoningensis, was found in pliosaur skeleton. Pliosaurs opalized Liaoning province, China, in 1998. were marine reptiles that pliosaur lived at the time of Largest-ever land mammal the€dinosaurs. An 83 cm (2 ft 9 in)-long skull fossil found in Mongolia belonged to Andrewsarchus, an Eocene carnivore. The entire animal could have been 6 m (19 ft) long and weighed a ton. Oldest fossil fish Two fish, Haikouichthys ercaicunensis and Myllokunmingia fengjiaoa, were found in rocks from 530 million years ago in Yunnan, China. Oldest fossil moss The oldest moss fossil is 354 million years old. The moss, Hepaticites oishii, was discovered in€Yokomichi, Japan, in 1973. 64

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Pederpes QWhich animal QWhere did reptiles turn finneyae was first to into€mammals? walk on land? QWhere are the oldest fossils AFossil hunters working in the Karoo on Earth? AThe earliest fossil Basin, South Africa, have found plenty evidence is the of evidence of various “mammal-like” ABritish Columbia’s Burgess Shale used skeleton of a 3 ft (1 m)-long reptiles, called therapsids. These include to€be the best site for Cambrian fossils, amphibian, Pederpes finneyae, that lived the€hippopotamus-like Lystrosaurus, the but now older finds are coming out of 345 million years ago. All the earlier feet sabre-toothed predator, Lycaenops, and a€series of sites near Kunming, in the fossils that have been found were designed catâ•‚sized Thrinaxodon. All of these creatures province of Yunnan, southwest China. to point back, and would have been used had€characteristics of reptiles, but their Preserved in rock known as the for€swimming. Pederpes’ ankle joints were teeth€were more like those of mammals. Maotianshan€shales, they include the evolved to take steps forwards. Pederpes This€is exciting for scientists. By examining earliest€examples of fish yet discovered. probably spent some time on land and the therapsid fossils they can start to Thousands of near-perfect soft-bodied some€in the water. It lived in swamps in understand the evolutionary changes that fossils€have been found. Collectively, what€is now Scotland. led to the first true mammals. they€are€known as the “Chengjiang fauna,”€after a village near the sites. QWhere in the world is the A dig in Yunnan province, China Petrified€Forest? Q Which American river is stocked full QWhich are the oldest AThe Petrified Forest is a collection of fossilized fish? human fossils? of€fossilized logs and tree trunks scattered across an area of national park in AThe world’s richest fish fossil site is AIn July 2001, scientists in Ethiopia the Arizona desert. They date back nearly the€Green River Formation at Fossil announced the oldest known traces of 220 million years. In addition to plant Butte National Monument, Wyoming, human life. Over the previous four years fossils,€there are also some amazing animal which€covers an area of 25,000 sq miles they had discovered fossils belonging to finds. These include around 40 fossilized (64,750 sq km). The fossils date around five specimens of Ardipithecus bee€nests—the earliest ever found—and back some 55 million ramidus, a hominid lots€of bone fragments from vertebrates years to the Eocene that€lived between 5.2 including dinosaurs, pterosaurs, fish, Epoch, when there were and 5.8 million years primitive reptiles,€and amphibians such a series of large inland ago. These included a as€metoposaurs. lakes on the site. The dead jawbone, arm, hand, animals and plants that collar bones, toe bone, Fossilized sections of tree trunk in the sank to the bottom of and teeth. Just a few Petrified Forest, Arizona these lakes have been months earlier, French exquisitely preserved. scientists announced Thousands of fish the discovery of a specimens have been sixâ•‚million-year-old found, from at least creature, Orrorin 20 different genera, tugenensis, in Kenya. including stingrays, This could be an even catfish, herring, and earlier human ancestor trout. There are also than Ardipithecus, but fossils of turtles, there is not yet enough birds, mammals, Diplomystus denatus, or herring, evidence to classify it and crocodiles. from the Green River Formation as€a hominid. 65

Identifying fossils )źƄžſƅƈƐžƋ FȰȴȴȪȭȴȤȢȯȣȦȴȱȭȪȵȪȯȵȰȵȩȳȦȦȨȳȰȶȱȴ plants, and animals with or This may look like a flower, but without backbones. There are also trace fossils, such as animal tracks and scientists think it was a very coprolites. In each group, the fossil record is vast. If you ever have trouble primitive animal, not a plant. identifying a fossil find, see if a local museum can help. It lived on the Precambrian seabed and was found in the PLANT FOSSILS fossil-rich rocks of the Ediacara Hills, Australia. )ƈƌƌƂƅƂŽ 7ƋžžƍƋƎƇƄ 6žƊƎƈƂźżƈƇž This page is Tree trunks withstand the fossilization The ironstone fossil above is a pine cone from a book process well. Whole forests of preserved from a redwood tree called a sequoia. The that identifies trunks have been found, with the growth oldest sequoia fossils date to Jurassic rings visible and intact. times—and the trees are still around today. invertebrate fossil finds. &ƅƎŻƆƈƌƌ )žƋƇ The clubmoss fossil here is Archaeosigillaria, This fern leaf was found in Hermit shale in which grew in the Carboniferous Period. At the southwestern United States. Shales and that time, clubmosses grew as tall as trees; mudstones are some of the best places to today’s few species are small plants. find fossils of soft plant parts. ANIMAL FOSSILS: VERTEBRATES 5žƉƍƂƅž )ƂƌƁ This skeleton is of Pachypleurosaurus, a This freshwater perch, Priscacara, was reptile that lived in what is now Europe in discovered in the fossil-rich Green River the Middle Triassic Period. It measured Formation in Wyoming. It dates to the around 47 in (120 cm) long. Middle Eocene Epoch. %ƂƋŽ 0źƆƆźƅ 7žžƍƁ One of the world’s most famous fossils, This fossil of Macrocranion, an Eocene The vertebrate fossils that amateur this is Archaeopteryx, the oldest known hedgehog, was found at Grube Messel, hunters are most likely to find are teeth. bird. Bavarian limestone preserved the fine Germany. The shale preserved mammals’ Sharks, in particular, shed many teeth imprints of its feathers and claws. soft body parts as well as skeletons. over a lifetime. 66

ANIMAL FOSSILS: INVERTEBRATES %žƅžƆƇƂƍž 7ƋƂƅƈŻƂƍž &ƋƂƇƈƂŽƌžźƅƂƅƒ Belemnites were mollusks related to Encrinurus, fossilized here in limestone, Crinoids were common in the Paleozoic modern-day squid and octopus. After lived in shallow seas in the Silurian Period. seas. This one is Cupressocrinites, found fossilization, all that is left is the animal’s Its distinctive head shield has earned it the in Germany. Its petal-like arms would inside shell, or guard. nickname “strawberry-headed trilobite.” have filtered food from the sea water. %ƋźżƁƂƈƉƈŽ $ƆƆƈƇƂƍž )ƈƋźƆƂƇƂſžƋźƇ0ƂżƋƈſƈƌƌƂƅ About 0.75 in (2 cm) long, this brachiopod Gunnarites is a Late Cretaceous ammonite This highly-magnified image shows the is Goniorhynchia, which lived in the Middle with a very distinctive shell. On this gray fossilized test of Elphidium. This single- Jurassic Period. It was found in a layer of sandstone fossil, a tiny fragment of the celled protozoa is tiny—about the size forest marble in England. original shell can still be seen, top left. of the head of a pin. %ƂƏźƅƏž &ƈƋźƅ *źƌƍƋƈƉƈŽ Around 2.75 in (7 cm) long, this Jurassic Colpophyllia is often called “brain coral”, This snail is Pleurotomaria, or slit shell. It oyster would have cemented itself to a because of the distinctive shape formed by has distinctive, nobbly riblets on the rock on the seabed. Called Gryphaea, its the colony. This fossil, found in Italy, dates shoulders of the whorls. A living relative popular name is the Devil’s toenail. to the Late Oligocene Epoch. is pictured on page 61. 6ƉƈƇƀž *ƋźƉƍƈƅƂƍž (żƁƂƇƈƂŽƌžźtƎƋżƁƂƇ This Early Cretaceous sponge, Raphidonema These are Rhabdinopora, the earliest This extinct urchin, Phymosoma, lived farringdonense, is about 3.25 in (8 cm) high. graptolite plankton. Graptolite fossils show on the sea floor in the Late Cretaceous It was common in warm, shallow seas in not one animal but a colony of creatures that Period. Its test and its many spines what is now Oxfordshire, England. floated on the surface of the sea. have been fossilized in chalk. 67

Find out more PALEONTOLOGISTS IN THE LAB At this French laboratory, experts are carefully There are so many ways that you can find removing fossilized bones from a plaster cast. out more about fossils. Go to visit local or The plaster was set around the fossils at the national museums and you will see some place they were discovered to protect them spectacular collections. You could look out from damage during transportation. Casts are for television programs about fossil hunters and their exciting new finds. also taken of precious, fragile fossils for Visit a library or fossil Web sites displaying. Many of the fossils on show in to read up more on the subject. You could also become museums are casts. a fossil hunter. To do this AMATEUR FOSSIL HUNTER safely, it is a good idea to join It takes a great deal of patience to be a a local club, if there is one in fossil hunter. You might often come your area. You can home empty-handed, so it is important benefit from the to enjoy the quest for its own sake. This guidance and expertise fossil hunter in Florida is sifting through of the club leader. Fossil shingle, a method suitable only for collecting is great fun, certain beaches. and you will soon build up your own collection to display. PALEONTOLOGIST AT WORK JET NECKLACE Dinosaur National Monument, See how many “fossils” you can Colorado, is a protected site. Its find in a day. Amber and jet are fossilized dinosaur bones are really just fossilized plant matter. Think about fossil fuels, too, such exposed or dug out by as coal and oil, and their many professionals who will not by-products. damage them. If you are interested in a career as a paleontologist, focus on science studies and try to gather lots of experience on organized digs. USEFUL WEBSITES • T he American Museum of Natural History’s site includes games and activities along with informative interviews with dinosaurs and paleontologists. ology.amnh.org/paleontology/ • T he San Diego Natural History Museum shows kids how to find fossils—in museums or their own backyards: www.sdnhm.org/kids/dinosaur/ • From the Royal Ontario Museum, learn about who studies fossils and why: www.rom.on.ca/quiz/fossil/ • Visit links to natural history museums around the world www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/subway/nathistmus.html 68

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Places to visit At Earthlab in London’s Natural History Museum, visitors can handle AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL real specimens and examine them HISTORY, NEW YORK, NEW YORK under a microscope. There are experts Home to the world’s largest collection of on hand to answer questions and to vertebrate fossils, 600 of which are on view. help visitors identify fossils they have Highlights include: found. The inner gallery also has a • Buettneria, an early four-limbed animal useful library of reference material. • Pteranodon fossil • new reconstructions of T-rex and Apatosaurus. THE CAMBRIDGE MUSEUM Founded in 1814, the University PAGE MUSEUM, LA BREA TAR PITS, LOS Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, ANGELES, CALIFORNIA England, houses a superb collection Home to the largest and most diverse of fossils. It includes fish from Canada collection of Ice Age plant and animal fossils in and Scotland, mammals from the world. Visitors can see: North America, and reptiles • scientists restore, examine, and clean fossils from Africa. The permanent still being found in the tar pits display aims to show one • Hancock Park, home to more than 100 tar example of every pits where scientists continue to find fossils. animal—living or extinct—using PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, fossils and ARIZONA stuffed specimens. The largest and most beautifully preserved natural concentration of petrified wood in the world. Attractions include: • fossilized trees more than 200 million years old • fossils—some of the oldest known to man— found in the park. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, WASHINGTON, D.C. Part of the Smithsonian Institution, this museum has the world’s biggest collection of Burgess Shale fauna, as well as: • 40 dinosaurs on display • a collection of more then 200,000 foraminifera. DINOSAUR MUSEUM THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, PARIS Europe’s first museum dedicated solely The entomology gallery in France’s Natural History to dinosaurs opened at Espéraza in Museum has some of the oldest fossilized insects on southern France in 1992. Many of its Earth. There is also a paleobotany department dedicated to plant fossils display items are fossils dug from Late and a gallery of evolution with many Cretaceous rock deposits nearby. As well fossil skeletons and casts. as bones, the collection includes eggs, like those of the titanosaur above, and casts of fossilized footprints. 69

Glossary Anthracite BYSSAL THREAD One of the stringlike Devonian fish AMBER Fossilized resin of an attachments that fix a bivalve to the rocks ancient conifer CAMBRIAN The geological period that ECHINODERM A marine animal with five- AMMONITE An extinct cephalopod with lasted from 545 to 495 mya point symmetry, for example, a starfish a shell, common in the Mesozoic era CARBONIFEROUS The geological period AMPHIBIAN A cold-blooded, that lasted from 354 to 290 mya ELEMENT Material that cannot be broken slimy-skinned animal adapted to CARNIVORE An animal from the down into more simple substances by life on land and in water Carnivora group chemical means ANATOMIST Someone who CENOZOIC Our present geological era, studies the structure of animals which began 65 mya; the age of mammals EOCENE The geological epoch ANGIOSPERM A flowering plant CEPHALOPOD A mollusk with tentacles that lasted from 55 to 34 mya, that protects its seeds inside a fruit CLIMATE The average weather of a place when mammals became the ANTHRACITE Hard, shiny, over a period of time dominant land vertebrates jet-black coal ARTHROPOD An animal with Diplomystus, or herring, EROSION The wearing away of jointed legs, a segmented body, from the Early Eocene rock by wind, water, and ice and an exoskeleton, such as COPROLITE Fossilized animal dropping a trilobite CORAL A build-up of polyps’ skeletons, EVOLUTION The process by BACTERIUM One of the simplest that may grow into a reef which species change into new living organisms CRETACEOUS The last geological period of ones over millions of generations; BELEMNITE Extinct cephalopod the Mesozoic; lasted from 142 to 65 mya it happens as some characteristics related to the modern-day squid CREVASSE A deep crack in a glacier are kept and others are lost BIVALVE An animal with two CRINOID Primitive echinoderm with a similar shells, such as a cockle cupped body and branching arms EXOSKELETON Tough outer BRACHIOPOD An animal with two shells, CRUST The thin outer layer of the casing that protects the body of one slightly larger than the other Earth. It varies in thickness between some invertebrates 4.33 and 43.5 miles (7 and 70 km) thick. Eocene angiosperm CRUSTACEAN An arthropod with EXTINCT Describes an animal or a hard shell, jointed legs, and plant that has died out compound eyes DENDRITE A crystal that forms branches FOSSIL The naturally preserved DEVONIAN The geological period that remains of animals or plants, or lasted from 417 to 354 mya evidence of them FOSSIL FUEL Materials formed from the remains of ancient living things that can be burned to give off energy—for example, oil GEOLOGY The study of rocks GLACIER A slow-moving river of ice GYMNOSPERM A plant that produces and protects its seeds in a cone HERBIVORE Grazing or browsing animal HOLOCENE Our present geological epoch, which began 10,000 years ago, when humans became the dominant land vertebrates HOMINID A member of the family Hominidae, which includes extinct and modern humans ICTHYOSAUR An extinct, dolphin-like marine reptile that lived in the Mesozoic IGNEOUS ROCK Rock formed as magma cooled and hardened in the Earth’s crust 70 (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



Index Burgess shale, 20, 65, 69 elephant bird, 53 Ischyromys, 54 ostrich, 21, 53 Sabal, 38 Cainotherium, 54 Elphidium, 67 jet, 36, 68 Owen, Sir Richard, 50 sabretooth, 21, 55, 56, 71 A Calymene, 30 Elrathia, 30 Jewstone, 17 oyster, 16, 26, 67, 70 sand-dollar, 33, 71 Carcharadon, 34 Encrinurus, 67 scallop, 18, 19, 26 aardvark, 54 Caturus, 35 Eosimias, 64 KLM P Scheuchzer, Johann, 14, 36 Adriosaurus, 45 cephalaspid, 34 Equisetites, 37 sea-lily (see crinoid) Aepyornis, 53 cephalopod, 26, 28-29, 70 Equisetum, 37 kangaroo, 55, 56, 57 Pachypleurosaurus, 66 sea-scorpion, 31 Agassiz, Louis 15 chimpanzee, 58 “Eric,” 64 La Brea, 21 pagoda stone, 29 sea-urchin, 13, 16, 17, 18, amber, 6, 20, 64, 68, 70 Chirodipterus, 35 Eryops, 43 lamp shell (see Palaeophis, 44 19, 32, 33, 67, 70, 71 Ambulocetus, 64 chiton, 26, 27 Eugomphodus, 34 brachiopod) Palaeotherium, 14 seaweed, 17, 18, 19, 24 ammonite, 6, 7, 13, 15, 16, clam, 9, 26 eurypterid, 31 Leakey family, 58, 59 palm, 38 seed, 38, 39 28, 29, 32, 63, 67, 70 Clarke, Samuel, 47 exoskeleton, 30, 70 Lepidodendron, 36 Pangaea, 12, 13, 71 sequoia, 66 amphibian, 12, 13, 42-43, “Claws,” 50, 51 Lepidostrobus, 36 Paradoxides, 30 shark, 13, 14, 34, 66 65, 70 club moss, 36, 37, 66 FG Lepidotes, 16, 35 parallel evolution, 57 slit shell, 60, 61, 67 Andrewsarchus, 64 coal, 37, 40, 68 Lithostrotion, 22 pearl, 26 Smilodon, 71 angiosperm, 13, 38, 70 cockroach, 60 fern, 12, 36, 37, 66 lizard, 20, 44, 45, 46 peat, 6, 21, 40 Smith, William, 15 Anning, Mary, 46 coelacanth, 60, 61 fish, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 24, lobster, 30, 31,70 Pederpes, 65 snail, 18, 19, 26, 27, 28, 61 Anomalocaris, 64 Colpophyllia, 67 28, 34-35, 36, 42, 43, 46, “Lucy,” 59 Peking Man, 59 snake, 16, 44 anomodont, 64 Compsognathus, 52 51, 55, 56, 64, 65 lungfish, 35, 42 Pelobates, 42 snakestone, 16 Apatosaurus, 48, 49 Concoryphe, 30 flowering plant, 13, 33, Lycopodium, 36 Pentacrinites, 33 Solnhofen, 20 ape, 55, 58 conifer, 37, 38, 39 36, 38-39, 64 lycopod, 36, 40, 71 Petrified Forest, 65 Sparnodus, 34, 35 Archaefructus, 64 Coniopteris, 37 footprint, 6, 58 mackerel, 18, 19, 35 placoderm, 34, 71 spider, 20, 30, 60, 64 Archaeopteris, 37 continental drift, 12-13, 56 foramnifer, 41, 67, 69 Macrocranion, 66 Planorbis, 27 Spondylus, 26 Archaeopteryx, 52, 53, 66 Cope, Edward Drinker, 50 frog, 20, 42, 43 maidenhair, 60 plant, 6, 10, 11,12, 13, 18, sponge, 17, 18, 25, 67, 71 Archaeosigillaria, 36, 66 coral, 12, 22-23, 32, 63, 67, Fusinus, 27 mammal, 13, 14, 45, 46, 19, 21, 36-39, 40, 41, 48, squid, 21, 28, 29, 70 Archelon, 44 70 gastropod, 12, 13, 15, 26, 52, 54-57, 61, 65, 66, 71 60, 64, 66, 71 starfish, 18, 19, 32 Archimedes screw, 24 crab, 19, 30, 31 27, 67 mammoth, 17, 20, 21, 54, plate movement, 12-13, 56 Steno (Niels Stensen), 14 Ardipithecus, 58, 65 crinoid, 12, 32, 33, 67, 70 ginkgo, 60 64 platypus, 56, 57 arthropod, 30-31, 64, 70 crocodile, 43, 44, 45, 46, Glossopteris, 37 Mantell, Gideon, 50 plesiosaur, 6, 44, 46, 47, 71 T asteroid, 32 48, 51, 65 Gondwana, 12, 37 maple, 39 Pleurotomaria, 61, 67 Australopithecus, 58, 59 crustacean, 20, 28, 31, 70 Goniorhynchia, 67 Marsh, Othniel, 50 pliosaur, 64 Tasmanian wolf, 57 axolotl, 42 Cupressocrinites, 67 graptolite, 12, 67 Megalosaurus, 50 pollen, 39 teleost, 13, 35 Cuvier, Georges, 14, 15 Grauballe Man, 21 Mesolimulus, 60 Pompeii, 20 Thamnopora, 23 BC cycad, 38 Green River Formation, metoposaur, 65 poplar, 39 therapsid, 65 65, 66 millipede, 30 Porana, 39 thunderbolt, 17 Balanocidaris, 17 DE Gryphaea, 16, 67 moa, 21 Porosphaera, 17 thunderstone, 16 Baragwanathia, 36 Gunnarites, 67 mollusc, 12, 25, 26-29, 31, Potamotherium, 55 Thylacosmilus, 56 barnacle, 30, 31 Dalmanites, 30 gymnosperm, 38, 39, 70 34, 35, 46, 71 pouched mammal, 55, 56â•‚ titanosaur, 69 Baryonyx walkeri, 50, 51 “Dawn Monkey,” 64 monkey puzzle, 36, 37 57, 61 toad, 16, 42 bat, 52, 54, 56 Deinosuchus, 45 HIJ moss, 64 primate, 55 toadstone, 16, 35 beetroot stone, 24 Devil’s toenail, 16, 67 mudskipper, 42, 43 Priscacara, 66 tool, 58, 59, 62, 63 belemnite, 13, 17, 21, 29, Dicranurus, 30 Haikouichthys, 64 mussel, 10-11, 26 Proconsul, 55 trace fossil, 7, 66, 71 46, 67, 70 didelphid, 61 heart-urchin, 33 Myllokunmingia, 64 Procoptodon, 57 Tribrachidium, 12 Belemnoteuthis, 21 dinosaur, 6, 13, 44, 45, 46, herring, 65 myrtle, 3 Prophaethon, 53 trilobite, 6, 8, 12, 20, 30, 67 Benthosuchus, 43 48-51, 52, 54, 64, 65, 68, Homarus, 31 Protoceretops, 49 Trionyx, 44 Beringer, Johann, 7 69, 71 Homo, 13, 58-59 NO Protoreaster, 32 tuatara, 44, 60 bird, 21, 47, 52, 53, 65, 66 Diplocaulus, 42 Hoplophoneus, 55 Psaronius, 37 Tubina, 27 bivalve, 13, 15, 25, 26, 32, Diplocynodon, 45 horseshoe crab, 60 nautiloid, 28 Pteranodon, 52 Turritella, 27 63, 67, 70 Diplomystus, 65 horsetail, 36, 37 Nautilus, 28 Pterodactylus, 52 turtle, 44, 47, 65 blastoid, 33 Diprotodon, 56-57 human, 13, 17, 20, 21, 48, Neanderthal, 59 pterosaur, 13, 44, 52, 65, Tylocidaris, 33 brachiopod, 9, 12, 17, 24, Discoglossus, 42 54, 58-59, 70 Neptunea, 27 71 Tyrannosaurus, 49, 50 25, 63, 64, 67, 70 dogfish, 19, 35 Hypsilophodon, 49 Nipa, 38 Ptychodus, 34 Brachiosaurus, 49 dolphin, 46, 47 Ice Age, 15, 20, 54, 59 oil, 15, 40, 41, 68, 70 UVW brittlestar, 18, 19, 32 dragonfly, 20, 52, 60 ichthyosaur, 13, 44, 46, Olduvai Gorge, 59 RS bryozoan, 18, 19, 24 dromaeosaur, 64 47, 64, 70 opal, 64, 71 unicorn, 17 Buckland, William, 50 Dudley bug, 30 Ichthyostega, 42 ophiuroid, 32 ray, 18, 34 Venericardia, 26 Echinocaris, 30 Iguanodon, 50 opossum, 61 reptile, 12, 44-45, 46, 48, vermetid, 27 echinoderm, 32-33, 70 insect, 12, 20, 30, 52, 54, Orrorin, 65 50, 52, 53, 60, 65, 66, 71 Walker, Bill, 50, 51 echinoid, 13, 32, 33, 63, 60, 64, 69, 70 orthoceratoid, 29 Rhamphorhyncus, 52 wombat, 56, 57 67, 71 Iodites, 37 Orycteropus, 54 rodent, 54, 56 wood, 6, 36, 39 Edmontosaurus, 48 Acknowledgments The publisher would like to thank: Picture Credits Corbis: James L. Amos 65br, 68bl; 43ml, 44mr, 63tl; Plymouth Marine Laboratory, National t=top, b=bottom, m=middle, l=left, Mary Evans Picture Library: 13ml, 14br, Rex Features: Sipa Press 65m; Museum of Wales, Kew Gardens for r=right 15tl, 20m, 48t, 52tl, 54t, 54br, 55t, 55mr, Ann Ronan Picture Library: 15tm, 50br; specimens for photography; Lester Aldus Archive: 53tm, 54bl; 55b, 62m; Royal Tyrell Museum, Canada: Cheeseman and Thomas Keenes for Alison Anholt-White: 28tl; Vivien Fifield: 50bl; 66bm (above); additional design assistance; Anna Kunst Ardea: 9bl, 21m, 42m, 42bl, 43t, Geological Society: 46t; Science Photo Library: 58r; /Tony for editorial assistance; Meryl Silbert; 61tm; Geoscience Features Picture Library: 9tr, Craddock 65bl; /Peter Menzel Karl€Shone for additional photography Biofotos/Heather Angel: 26m, 51tl, 51tm, 51tr; 64b; /Philippe Plailly 68t; /Philippe (pp.€18–19); Jane Parker for the index 31mr, 39br, 44–5bm, 60tr; David George: 25m; Plailly/Eurelios 69ml, 69mr; /Andrew The author would like to thank: Booth Museum of Natural History Robert Harding Picture Library: Syred 67mr (above) M.K.€Howarth; C Patterson; R.A. Fortey; 66bl; 21br, 29m, 59b; Paul Taylor: 19b; C.H.C. Brunton; A.W. Gentry; B.R. Rosen; Bridgeman Art Library: 14mr; Michael Holford: 12tl; University Museum of Zoology, J.B. Richardson; P.L. Forey; N.J. Morris; C.B. /Musée Cluny/Lauros-Giraudon Hunterian Museum: 66tl; Cambridge: 69b; /Sarah Finney Stringer; A.B. Smith; J.E.P. Whittaker; R. 17tl; Hutchison Library: 24tl, 57mr; (GLAHM 100815) 65t; Croucher; S.F. Morris; C.R. Hill; A.C. Milner; Dept. of Earth Sciences, University Mansell Collection: 26t, 40b; ZEFA: 20–21bl R.L. Hodgkinson; C.A. Walker; R.J. Cleevely; of Cambridge: 39mr; Natural History Museum, London: 66tr, Jacket images: Front: Sinclair C.H. Shute; V.T. Young; D.N. Lewis; A.E. Cleveland Museum of Natural 70m, 66tm, 66ml, 66bm (below), Stammers/Science Photo Library, Longbottom; M. Crawley; R. Kruszynski; C. History, Ohio: 59m; 69t; /Geological Museum of China 64tl; b; James L Amos/Corbis, tr Bell; S.C. Naylor; A. Lum; R.W. Ingle; P.D. Bruce Coleman: 8br, 22m; /Jeff Oxford Scientific Films: 44bl, 53bm; Illustrations by: John Woodcock, Jenkins; P.D. Hillyard; D.T. Moore; J.W. Foote 28tr, 39m, 40m; /Fritz Oxford University Museum: 66br (above), Eugene Fleury Schopf; C.M. Butler; P.W. Jackson Prenzel 57br; /Kim Campbell 59ml; 71tm, 71b; Original picture research by: Simon Conway Morris: 20m; Planet Earth Pictures: 32ml, 41m, Kathy€Lockley 72