Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs, Mosasaurs, and More
Ratings1
Average rating4
Dive into prehistoric waters and discover extraordinary sea monsters who reigned the ocean for 150 million years Ancient Sea Reptiles: Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs, Mosasaurs, and More examines the anatomy, behavior, diversity, lifestyle, and evolutionary rise of creatures who conquered the seas for 150 million years during the Mesozoic era. Expert paleontologist Darren Naish puts these fearsome and mighty creatures under the microscope and transports readers to wild and primeval waters. In this gorgeously illustrated book, amazing creatures leap off the page, including: Mosasaurs, known as “T-Rexes of the deep" Cretaceous sea snakes Long-necked plesiosaurs Crocodile-like thalattosuchians, the earliest sea turtles Ancient Sea Reptiles features fossil photography and artistic reconstructions of ancient creatures, from evolutionary anomalies to apex predators who survived extinction events, with chapters that include: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Evolution Chapter 3: Anatomy Chapter 4: The lesser-known groups: mesosaurs, Triassicsauropterygians, Cretaceous sea snakes and more Chapter 5: Shark-shaped reptiles: the ichthyosaurs and their kin Chapter 6: Long necks, big mouths: the plesiosaurs Chapter 7: Sea crocs: the thalattosuchians Chapter 8: Mosasaurs: the great sea lizards Chapter 9: Sea Turtles More than 80 percent of the world’s vast ocean is unmapped and unobserved, prompting the imagination to run wild on what might lurk in its depths. But Ancient Sea Reptiles proves that what stirs the imagination even more are the spectacular prehistoric creatures that have already been discovered. The book is a feast for the eyes and the scientific mind.
Reviews with the most likes.
Ancient Sea Reptiles joins the ranks of numerous other excellent paleontology books released in recent years. Dr. Naish's book goes into relatively great technical detail to explain the evolutionary history, fossil records, and inferred behaviors of all major groups of marine reptiles present in the Mesozoic Era. Naish neither obfuscates his points with unnecessary jargon nor belittles his readers' intelligence by presenting his information in an overly simplified fashion. In other words, while Ancient Sea Reptiles is accessible to readers outside of paleontology, this book (not unfairly) asks a lot of them. It is scholarly and information-dense, not a breezy read, in spite of its deceptively low page count.
Accompanying Naish's text are fabulous illustrations and photographs that allow the reader to more easily visualize the creatures described in the book. The reconstructions do not shy away from from speculative, but plausible, features (e.g., I adore the Suevoleviathan with the colorful tail fluke on p. 111). Where I concur with other readers in their criticism is that more maps should have been included to clarify proposed ranges and migratory routes. For those who enjoy reading scientific journals, the lack of citations is also quite disappointing, and there were numerous typographical errors that should not have made it past an editor.
This is the only book of which I am aware that offers a comprehensive and up-to-date examination of Mesozoic marine reptiles. If the subject at all interests you, this is undoubtedly the text to read.