National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fossils

National Audubon Society Field Guides

by Ida Thompson, Townsend P. Dickinson (Photographer)

This, the first all-photographic field guide to cover fossils found throughout North America north of Mexico, includes nearly 500 full-color photographs identifying corals, trilobites, shells, teeth, bones, as well as fossil-bearing rocks and outcrop formations. The descriptive text includes information on size, geological period, geographical distribution, and ecology of the animal or plant before it was fossilized. In addition, the book provides lists of Geological Survey offices and major fossil collections, a geological time chart, and a guide to collecting and preserving fossils.

Genres: Science, Reference, Field Guides, Geology, Nature, Palaeontology, Biology

848 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 1982

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I made the mistake of putting two books about fossils on my wish-list and got both of them for Christmas in 2009. As I said in my review of Common Fossils of Missouri, I have been interested in fossils for over twenty-five years. It goes back to an episode of Reading Rainbow I watched when I was six and I was hooked. I immediately announced to my mom that I was going out into the backyard to dig up dinosaurs. I didn't find the Triceratops I was hankering for but I maintained a sporadic interest in fossils until my parents built their new house on a creekbank and my interest flared back to life.

This guide is full color and details all common North American Fossils, live and in color. I told my girlfriend this would be an invaluable resource when we take our fossil hunting to venues outside of Missouri. The look on her face led me to believe she's not as interested in fossils as I am...

The guys at the Audobon society know their stuff. Each entry has a detailed description and the best regions to find such fossils. Should my girlfriend and I go on a fossil hunting expedition out of state, I think we will be well equiped.

[Gulo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a field book published in 1982 that was restricted by the economics of printing/sales. I get it. But still, I felt there wasn't enough depth - both in terms of geological regions and fossil “types.”

Other than being a refresher on epochs, extinction events, and very general geological regions, I took away more from the thought that, when this was printed it was probably an exceptional source of knowledge. We now have access to thousands of examples of chesapecten shells or pecopteris molds via our phones and the internet. We can check GIS overlays on a given hill to determine the expected rock, soil makeup, and plant life. We can watch videos of folks unearthing similar fossils in similar conditions. We can query nerds from around the world to get live feedback and advice on how to proceed with a more complex fossil unearthing. All of this - from the field via our phones.
It still blows my mind. The barrier to entry is so low.

So, nowadays, I may take this book to the field… but really, why?

Happy hunting!

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book of fossils. Javi and I picked this up and enjoyed reading the book and looking at the great pictures. This is broken out with Geological charts and by types of species. Great book if you are interested in Fossils.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fossils by Ida Thompson (Alfred A. Knopf 1982) (560.973) features descriptions and photos of commonly recovered fossils. My rating: 6.5/10, finished 8/19/13.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good field resource for children, and parents driven to distraction with questions.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative

[KeeOfTheArchives · Rating 5 out of 5]

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