Re: CA dino book

[evelyn sobielski <koreke77@yahoo.de>]

> what's scientifically accurate or not. The book in
> question had a small
> section on fossil birds (traditional view of what a
> bird is) and that's

Not that there are any "unconventional" birds found in
California.

The chapter (if it is #3, "The flying reptiles") is
available online. I happened across it some time ago.
It is really really brief for lack of material; I'd
put it at "informed layman" level. While the layout
and structure are different from a book for a
professional audience (such as "Mesozoic Birds: Above
the Heads of Dinosaurs"), the depth of discussion
isn't.

A typical section:
"In 1998 Eric Göhre found fossil bones from two
species of birds at two sites in the Chico Formation
of Butte County, California—the first evidence
of Mesozoic birds found in Alta California. These
bones, which were identified by Thomas Stidham of UCMP
(Hilton et al. 1999), consist of a partial humerus
(UCMP-170785) and a nearly complete ulna (UCMP-171
185). The humerus is from the toothed, tern-sized bird
Ichthyornis, which, much like living terns, is thought
to have been a fish-eating plunge diver. The bone was
found in a turbidite containing mollusk shells and
fragments, bony fish teeth, and shark teeth. These
materials probably had their origins nearshore and
were later washed by turbidity currents into deeper
water."

So basically it touches everything one needs to know
to get the picture. Any limitations seem to be more
due to lack of material to write about than to
anything else.

Besides, it has quite pretty pictures. At that price,
it does not seem money ill spent; the book appears to
be a rock-solid overview work which is a very good
starting point if you want to do in-depth research;
anything that gives collection numbers on a regular
base and discusses single bones has its merit. I have
certainly seen MUCH worse for that price; indeed I
wished, after reading the chapter, that there'd be
more books like it, a Cenozoic version for example
would be entirely in order.

Regards,

Eike




        
                
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