Customer Reviews

Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Reptiles of California

5 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was gonna say "what boy doesn't love dinosaurs" but I caught myself, preempting all accusations of sexism. Actually I knew a five-year-old girl once, Tara by name, who could read upside-down and do long division and who had more dinosaur lore in her charming head than I have in mine, even after a lifetime of reading Horner and the other dino-gurus. It's #2 on my 'bucket list' to spend a season as a flunky at a dig in Argentina.

I wasn't a California kid at kid age, but I've become one now, and this book was targeted at me. The first half of it describes the Mesozoic fossils found in California, Nevada, and Baja California, not only of dinosaurs per se but also of marine reptiles - ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, etc. - as well as flying reptiles and turtles. The text decribes precisely what was found, where, and in what condition; it makes no huge leaps of speculation about the life histories of the species represented, though it does clarify what can be known with certitude from the fossils. Some readers will find this approach very dry. I appreciated its sound science.

California was largely under water in the Mesozoic era, so the large land species of dinosaurs represented by fossils almost certainly were washed to sea in rivers or floods after death. As one would expect, these fossils are extremely fragmentary. Those that can be identified with fossils found more intact elsewhere are more amply described. The best fossils from the area are of marine reptiles. The Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in Nevada displays an almost complete Shonisaurus about the size of a small whale; it's really, really worth the long, lonely drive to visit!

The second half of the book narrates the discovery and excavation of these mesozoic fossils, sometimes by geologists but more often by amateurs, interested ranchers, accidental hikers, and yes! small boys... eeerr...children. Again, the author is modesty incarnate in his reportage.

Illustrations are a major part of the book. There are two sorts: very precise line drawings and actual photos of the fossils, and speculatively colored plausible images of the creatures. Understand, please, that a blue-bodied reptile with orange spots is no more or less speculative than a solid gray.

If you still have enough kid in you to be thrilled by fossil-hunting, this will be a thrilling book to look at.

Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Reptiles of California written by Richard P. Hilton is about the Mesozoic reptile fossil discoveries made in California during the last hundred-plus years. It describes the fossils and what they tell us about the animals they were a part of, and it chronicles the efforts of those who made the discoveries. Although emphasis is on dinosaurs, all the reptile groups for which we have evidence are covered. Northern Baja California has yielded numerous fossil remains of dinosaurs that must have roamed in what is now the state of California, these discoveries are included as well.

The book is divided into two parts. In part 1, the first chapter describes the long reach of time durning which the wonderful reptiles of the Mesozoic era evolved as well as the tectonic and ecological settings in which these animals lived. Chapters 2 through 4 paint a written and visual picture of every Mesozoic reptile that has been found and identified from the Californias. The dinosaurs, which so capture the imagination, come first. These range from the herbivorous hadrosaurs, ankylosaurs, and hypsilophodonts to carivores such as the tyrannsaurids and ornithomimids. In chapters 3 and 4 we meet a cavalcade of other exciting reptilian creatures: The winged pterosaurs and the flying dinosaurs that today we call birds, and the fishlike ichthyosaurs, together with other marine reptiles such as thalattosaurs, plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and turtles.

The last two chapters of the volume make up part 2. Here the human side of the Mesozoic reptile paleontology in California is chronicled. The history of discovery, preparation, curation, and publishing of the Mesozoic reptiles found in California is a province-by-province journey starting in the Klamath Mountains in the north and then proceeding on to the Sierra Nevada, Great Valley, and Coast Range in the middle of the state. It concludes with astonishing discoveries made in southern California and Baja.

This book is well-appointed with pictures and illustrations making for an interesting informative read. The book is well-written and easy to understand making the reader feel comfortable as you learn about life in California in the Mesozoic era.

This is a solid 5 star book and you will learn some interesting facts about Mesozoic life in California along the way. The book not only is fascinating but very educational.

This is an enjoyable combination of the stories of the people who made the discoveries and prepared the specimens and what these ancient reptiles and birds tell us about the western edge of North America during the biggest half of the Mesozoic. If you like the process of discovery you will love it. If you like to hear about the people who made part of scientific history you will love it. If you just like dinosaurs and their contemporaries you will still like it.

If you're interested in dinosaur systematics and how one digs up a fossil in California, then you'll probably think this book is just fine. If, however, you are interested in learning about dinosaur evolution, behavior, ecological roles, trends, etc, don't bother with this book. One has to strain to pick out any interesting information.

PS

Who are these top 500 reviewers that write ridiculously glowing reviews for mediocre books? I don't think I've ever seen one give less than five stars. I wouldn't be surprised if they're getting paid for all their wonderful advertising.