Customer Reviews

The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang, China: The Flowering of Early Animal Life

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"The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang, China: The Flowering of Animal Life" written by Hou Xian-Guang, Richard J. Aldridge, Jan Bergstrom, David J. Siveter, Derek J. Siveter, and Feng Xiang-Hong is a mavelious book on early Cambrian life found in Southern China. This book is about the discovery and initial study of the Chengjiang Lagerstatte, where Lagerstatte means a fossil geological deposit of economic interest.

Prior to this discovery, all that we had to go upon for Cambrian life forms was the Burgess Shale in British Columbia, Canada. Now a truer picture emerges as to the diversity and flowering of fauna and flora in the Cambrian. The Chengjiang Lagerstatte even predates the Burgess Shale but not by much in geological time. Professor Hou's discovery of the Chengjiang biota in Yunnan Province, China in 1984 proved to be a revelation equal to , or even exceeding, that provided by the fauna of the Burgess Shale. Firstly, its older, taking us closer to the origin of life's "Big Bang." Secondly, its preservation was, if anything, more exquisite. Thirdly, an even greater variety of organisims was preserved... with relationships established with those fauna of the Burgess Shale biota.

The fauna included in this book have some peculiarities all of their own, also, they are claimed as the earliest verterbrates. There are arthropods beyond your imagination, "worms" of several phyla, lubering lobopods, large predators and the ever present trilobites. This book brings together wonderful color photographs and line drawings to further your imagination about Cambrian life. Think of this book as the first comprehensive travel guide to early Cambrian life. You are looking at what was on the seafloor some 525 million years ago and the seafloor is full of surprises with such detail that the specimens look like they're ready for the disecting table ready for inspection.

All of the Chengjiang specimens figured in this book are from the Lower Cambrian Yu'anshan Member, Heilinpu Formation, of Yunnan Province, making for some very interesting reading. I gave this book a solid 5 stars for well-appointed pictures of these specimens with exceptional detailed explanations of the life forms.

This book is an excellent source of information on these remarkable fossils. The color photography adds materially to the pleasure of reading this book and the reconstruction black and white drawings shown are a must. Although many specimens show these reconstuctions some do not.

There is one incorrect statement regarding the book -"...this is the first book in English to provide fossil enthusiasts.......".

Another excellent publication which has many color plates and reconstructions in English is found in "The Cambrian Explosion and the Fossil Record" ISSN 1015-8448 Bulletin of the National Museum of Natural Science by Junyuan Chen, Yen-Nnien Cheng, H.V. Iten Guest Editors. The book is soft bound and is 316 pages, most of which is on the Chengijang fauna, Publication date 31 Dec. 1997.

These two publications are both excellent and if you have a real desire to find out more about these extraordinary fossils I highly recommend both books.

The Bulletin of National Museum of Natural Science is published by the Division of Collection and Research, National Museum of Natural Science . 1, Kuan-chien Road Taichung, Taiwan 404, R.O.C.

Although the front matter on the geologic context of the Chengjiang biota is terse and seemingly rather superficial (partly because relativley little is known), the taxonomic treatment and photographs are stunning. I highly recommend this book for anyone with a serious interest in the Cambrian and its biota and the early evolution of animals.

The excessively high price is the only thing keeping this book from a 5-star rating.

For those folks interested in the history of life, the Chengjiang Fauna needs no introduction. And, indeed, this tome is no cursory treatment of this extraordinary region and its Cambrian fossils. Instead, Hou Xian-guang and his coauthors discuss the discovery of this important fossil locality, and its importance as one of the suite of exceedingly important Cambrian fossil localities, and most importantly, the fossils themselves. The authors' treatment is thorough, but not tedious, and is accompanied by spectacular, well-chosen, and well-described photographs. Each represented organism is discussed, generally, on a single page - often referenced with supporting material - and many of the illustrations of the fossils are accompanied by an illustration of the reconstructed animal. As befits this site, however, the preservation of the fossils is so good that many of the photographs need no reconstructions; those fossils look like the remains of animals just found on a beach, albeit a VERY strange, and very, very old beach.

The book stands alone, but it is certainly a complement to Derek, E. G. et al. 1994. Fossils of the Burgess Shale. These two volumes provide an amazing glimpse of the life in some of the shallow marine soft-sediment habitats found half a billion years ago, and should be in the library of any scientifically literate person. They are a must for people who have, or wish to, read Simon Conway Morris' The Crucible of Creation: The Burgess Shale and the Rise of Animals and Steven J. Gould's Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History.

Scrivo in italiano, poichè il mio inglese non è propriamente perfetto, e di questo mi scuso con i lettori di lingua inglese.

Il testo è semplicemente un "must" per chiunque sia interessato alla paleontologia. Meriterebbe ampiamente una traduzione dall'inglese, affinchè possa essere apprezzato appieno.

Fotografie meravigliose, e testo scorrevolissimo.

Spero in ulteriori "sorprese" da parte degli Autori e dell'Editore!

An attractively produced book. A good introduction to the significance of the Chengjiang fossils and their relationship to other early Cambrian and pre-Cambrian deposits. The history of the discovery precedes an explanation of the geology of the area and the manner of the fossil preservation. The bulk of the book then has full page colour photos of major phyla and species, with detailed descriptions. A readable, detailed description of an important record of early evolution.

This review is written from the perspective of a layperson; I have no formal training in the sciences, let alone any expertise in paleontology. Please take what follows with that in mind.

Over the last year and a half I have read all the books on the Burgess Shale-type lagerstatte I could find. These include Stephen Jay Gould's "Wonderful Life", Simon Conway Morris's "The Crucible of Creation", and "The Fossils of the Burgess Shale" by Derek Briggs, et al. Of these three, "The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang China" is most like the last. It is more a photographic and taxonomic survey of these ancient fossils than it is a study of modes of life at the time. There is little discussion in the text regarding the possible relationships between organisms presented, and minimal explanation of how researchers have arrived at the conclusions they have about each fossil. Because of this, I find "The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang China" a disappointment.

As a layperson, I am searching for a deeper understanding of how the researchers engaged in this important and fascinating work do their jobs. What knowledge, understanding, skill, artistry, theory, and simple good fortune does it take to make decisions, for example, about the affinities between arthropods like Kunmingella and Isoxys, for one? Couldn't the authors have taken us through this process, to provide us with opportunities to think? Absent any discussion on such subjects, the book fails to keep me interested, and I feel like I'm not learning as much as I should be. It becomes a pretty picture book.

I've found the law of diminishing returns has been operating for me in this endeavor. The most interesting and engaging of these books has been Gould's (and yes, there are errors and missteps in his work, but it is also the most expansive and carefully explanatory), with Conway Morris's a distant second (though obviously more *accurate*). The photos in Briggs, et al. are wonderful, and really help to enlighten a study of the prior two texts, but they are all in black and white.

It is in the photography, then, where "The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang China" absolutely shines. These photographic plates are all in color, and there are many dozens! One could easily lose hours just staring and the images and saying, "WOW!" I know I have. Being able to see these pictures up close is a treat. I am especially happy with the pictures of the lobopods, the phylum to which mystery animal Hallucigenia belongs. Many mysteries become clearer thanks to that section. The images alone *almost* make the high price tag worth it.

I offer a conditional recommendation for this text. If you are a student of the Cambrian and have read at least one of the other texts mentioned above, I believe you will enjoy this. But remember, if you are a layperson you might be frustrated by the text's lack of detailed context, and you'll be faced with reading many almost impenetrably jargoned sentences like the following: "Distal to the basis, the endopod consists of seven podomeres including a distal claw. At least in the larger appendages the basis and proximal two podomeres each have and endite with spines. The exopod is attached to the basis, and at least the proximal part of the first podomere of the endopod." This gets tiring after a while, even for a relatively well-educated person like me.

This is a beautiful book, and informative to people with a background in paleontology or biology. It fits well next to the other texts mentioned. I'm glad I have it. Even so, I'm less pleased than I'd hoped I would be.