Fossil

DK Eyewitness Books

by Paul D. Taylor

A colorful, authoritative pocket guide to fossils

Details on the process of fossilization and preservation

Helpful maps, advice, and safety tips for fossil hunters and enthusiasts

Illustrations of fossilized objects from plants and coral to birds and dinosaurs

Published in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, America's foremost authority in history and science.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Reference, History, Childrens, Biology, Picture Books

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Dr. Paul D. Taylor, PhD, is an invertebrate paleontologist specializing in bryozoans.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are always a wonderful read. I learn at least one thing new with each one I read, usually many new things. A great series for a parent to read with a young interesting child to get them started into a new area. beautiful pics throughout. Highly recommended

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great next step for young fans who are ready to move on from Jurassic Park and general "ooh, dinosaurs!" Overall, a typical - which means very good - DK production, where once again I learned more than I expected to, including:

* Difference between brachiopods and molluscs, (plus the fact that brachiopods aren't extinct - who knew?)

* Difference between archaeopteryx (the extinct bird) and archaeopteris (the extinct fern - which just seems unnecessarily confusing)

* The fact that all prehistoric animals ending in "-saurus" are dinosaurs, since that literally means "lizard;" while not all prehistoric animals ending in "-odon" (e.g., iguanodon, dimetrodon, pteranodon) are, because that literally means "tooth," and so you also have mammals like smilodon, mastodon, etc.

…and obviously much more. The book is more than just a handbook guide to fossils, but also covers such fossil-adjacent areas as creation and exploitation of fossil fuels, what "future fossils" might look like, etc. And once again, I found it just remarkable to see just how little molluscs have changed over the eons - many of the bivalves and gastropods shown here look just like their modern equivalents. I guess if it ain't broke…

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good comprehensive easy-to-follow introduction to fossils for kids.

[Anca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction if you want to get a broad overview on fossils, how to recognize them, how to collect them and how much our civilization is reliant on them as in burning fossil fuel.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

DK Eyewitness Books: Fossil by Paul D. Taylor describes the fascinating history of life on Earth as recorded by fossils. This is a great book for introducing young minds to the facts of science, and old minds as well. Unless you are extremely knowledgeable in paleontology, you'll learn something new from this book at any age.

The book also describes the much more recent human history of fossil collecting. Humans have collected fossils since antiquity, but only recently did some of the more clever and unbiased humans begin to understand what fossils are in the 1800s as modern science developed. Sadly, much of humanity remains locked in religious ignorance, particularly in the United States.

I read the 2003 edition, which is a little out of date in spots. For example, it says the first animal to walk on land was Pederpes finneyae . But just a year after this edition came out, the even older Tiktaalik was discovered. You can read about that in the outstanding book Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin.

But Tiktaalik wasn't the first animal to walk on land; at best it was one of the first tetrapods. Athropods had been walking on land for much longer. The book carelessly says "first animal" when it really means first vertebrate animal.

The book lists Deinosuchus as the largest fossil crocodile. Several other large fossil crocodiles are contenders for that title. Since fossil remains are fragmentary, paleontologists have to estimate the sizes of the complete animals, making it hard to know which fossil crocodile was the largest. And there might be larger ones whose fossils we haven't found yet, or which didn't fossilize st all.

Other goofs include a claim that the great white shark is the largest modern shark. While the great white is the largest shark that would be happy to eat you, the more docile basking shark and whale shark are larger.

Other goofs include:
1. Listing Andrewsarchus as the "largest land mammal" when it was at best the largest known carnivorous land mammal. Many herbivorous land mammals were (and are) larger. Furthermore, Andrewsarchus is known only from a single skull fossil, and estimates of its body size differ.

2. Listing the Maotianshan shales as containing the "oldest fossils on Earth", when at best they contain some of the oldest Cambrian fossils. The oldest known fossils are much older, but they are of less complex organisms. The Cambrian marks the first appearance of complex animals in the fossil record. For most of life's history on Earth, nothing more complex than pond scum lived here.

[Cecile · Rating 1 out of 5]

Inaccurate if you are a Bible believing person.

[Eagle Watcher]

Fossils are the leftovers of animal or plants that have been preserved by nature. Fossils may be skeletons of enormous sharks, or they may just be tiny planktons that are so small that it would be literally impossible to see with the naked eye. Fossils range from all different shapes and sizes. But the process to become fossils is not as easy as you think. First, the dead animals/plants sink to the bottom of the se. Next, the sand and the eroded parts of rock start turning to rock and the remains harden to form fossils. That's how fossils form. I explained in a couple of short sentences, but it takes MILLIONS OF YEARS TO DISCOVER THEM! The reason for that is because the fossils are covered in so much sediment, it takes years and years to erode off. Now, I don't want to give it all away! Read my book and find out!

[Cws]

J560Tay

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fossil
Taylor, Paul D.
a good resource about fossils and information about their finding and understanding

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with my 7 year old sponge. She love love loves this series of books.

[Fadia Alaidrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with a fine illustration. I read it when I was 14, but when i read it again to make a review for my school's work, I still enjoyed it.

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 17223 EN Nonfiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: MG - BL: 8.2 - AR Pts: 1.0
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP

[Tae Yoon K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned lots of interesting stuff about fossils.

[Denis]

The title of the book is FOSSIL and the author of it is Dr. Paul D. Taylor. The book is also non fiction. This book is easy to read. The book has 71 pages and was published by DK publishing inc. The book promises to teach me about all sorts of different fossils and when they were found and also how they were found. I chose to read this book because it was recommended to me and I also got interested in fossils a bit after I looked at the cover of the book. The book is about fossils and it will teach you a lot of things about fossils which may help you in things like research for a project or learning for a test in school which may also be connected to your own knowledge which you might want to improve on.
I learned about how fossils are found,how they form,and how they form. I agree with the author and I also think that he did achieve his purpose and had good and strong arguments. I really liked the book and I liked the fact that the book gave a lot of detail and it also had interesting details.
My favorite part of the book was to look at the fossils after I read about them and I also like to read about the fossils of bugs and some other small creatures. I think that a reader who likes interesting facts about science would like to read this book. I would recommend this book to a friend because this was a very interesting and entertaining book which may help you in school. The recommended reading age is 10-14 and the rating I give this book is 9/10.