A pictorial guide to fossils / Иллюстрированный путеводитель по окаменелостям
Fossils occupy a unique niche in the world of nature. As relic animal and plant remains, fossils serve as insights into nature’s past. The collecting of fossils can be an exciting and pleasurable experience, whether as a hobby or a profession. Finding a specimen and realizing its age, provides us with a knowledge and appreciation of the progression of life throughout the earth’s history.
Consequently, as more people become interested in fossil collecting, they will want to identify, classify, and understand the treasures that they have found. Locating a book or guide that encompasses the multitude of fossils, not only those of one’s own region, but those that are found around the world, has been difficult. Such publications have been either expensive, out of print, or lacking the breadth of information needed.
There are many books ranging from very general texts to those containing a complexity of terms and illustrations.
Probably, the most useful to all is a guidebook that contains a simplification of terms and a complement of wellillustrated fossils, and provides the reader with the information desired.
A Pictorial Guide to Fossils by Gerard R. Case is designed to aid the collector in the identification of a broad spectrum of fossils. Like the past publications of Mr. Case ( Fossil Shark and Fish Remains ofNorth America, 1967; Fossils Illustrated, 1968 and 1971; Handbook of Fossil Collecting, 1972; and Fossil Sharks: A Pictorial Review, 1973) it employs the pictorial aspect of diversity and ages of fossils—worldwide! In conjunction with illustrating the aesthetics of fossils, this present book can serve as a stepping stone to more advanced studies in the myriad wonders of paleontology. <...>