Dinosaur Publications
Dinosaur Publications
Book Review : Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight.
Edited by David Martill and Darren Naish
The Palaeontological Association
Field Guides to Fossils: No 10
Published 2001
My first contact with the Isle of Wight was on a QMC
field trip in 1958 but my first real insight to the
dinosaurs of the island was when I did my doctorate
on turtles as a contemporary of Peter Galton at the
Natural History Museum in London.
I had always been interested in a brown
stained model of a small dinosaur perched on a branch
which greeted visitors to the museum in those far off
days and was therefore completely absorbed with the
work undertaken by Peter on the delicate skeletal material
housed in the national collections. Hypsilophodon was
to abandon its aboreal lifestyle and dinosaurs were
gradually to become more muscular and far more agile.
The
UK is the birthplace of dinosaur palaeontology and Dinosaurs
of the Isle of Wight is essentially a compendium of
interesting facts and fine papers that emphasise the
importance of the 'Dinosaur Island' to the past, present
and future of dinosaur research. David Martill and Darren
Naish are by far the major contributors to this important
and invaluable book and the book is far more than is
simple field guide. The Introduction provides a sound
introduction to the various characters involved in early
dinosaur research and a brief history of the Sandown
Museum.
The
first chapter deals with the geology of the island and
provides the visiting geologist with a sound introduction
to the overall structure, stratigraphy, as well as insights
into the palaeogeography and palaeoenvironments of the
Early Cretaceous.
Subsequent chapters deal with taphonomy
and preservation and most importantly the dinosaurs
themselves, ornithopods, boneheaded and horned ornithischians,
armoured dinosaurs and saurischians. The data presented
therein is literally 'showstopping' in terms of its
information on specific animals and their inter-relationships
at different taxonomic levels. These chapters are well
illustrated and clearly written. Trace fossils, coprolites,
gastroliths all is revealed, you are even given the
clues on how to identify individual bones and where
to find them.
Dinosaurs Of The Isle of Wight is a great
read and a great buy.
Review by Richard Moody
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