Teaching Earth Sciences - Earth Science Teachers' Association

Introduction to paleobiology
and the fossil record.
M.J. Benton and D.A.T. Harper.
Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. 2009.
ISBN 978-1-4051-8646-9. Paperback. £34.50.
Companion website:
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/paleobiology
Each fossil group is covered in adequate detail – it is of
interest to see that the graptolites occupy 13 pages, by
comparison with the 26 (smaller) pages in Clarkson’s
textbook. Indeed, the book could well be used beyond
second year level. Illustrations, both line drawings and
photographs, are mostly clear. The text is always readable,
and for those chapters for which the reviewer has some
experience, commendably accurate. It may be noted that
individual chapters have been read by experts in that field.
The general chapters form a major part of the book,
and could almost form a separate textbook in their own
right. Fossils in time and space includes a good account
of biostratigraphy, and the use of fossils, leading to types
of zonation. It also includes a description of sequence
stratigraphy, leading to the recognition of cycles of
astronomical change, and cyclostratigraphy. The chapter
on taphonomy is an excellent account of the physical
and chemical changes taking place after death, with the
illustrations of the muscle fibres of a Jurassic horseshoe
crab the highlight. I particularly liked the quotation from
Frankenstein which prefaced this chapter!
Palaeontology is very well served at the present, by
textbooks ranging from those suitable for school use (such
as Milsom and Rigby’s Fossils at a glance) to advanced
textbooks (e.g. Clarkson’s Invertebrate palaeontology
and evolution). However, not all cover the whole field of
palaeontology, which Introduction to palaeobiology and
the fossil record does. The book is intended for first- and
second-year university geologists and biologists.
In total, this book is an incredible tour-de-force, imparting
both so much knowledge, and the tools with which to
examine and interpret finds. Its breadth of coverage
would aptly entitle it to be called an encyclopaedia of
palaeontology, and as such, will provide almost all a student
would require for a palaeontology course, and at its price it
is a bargain. It can be enthusiastically recommended.
Denis Bates
Aberystwyth
The field is covered in twenty chapters, the first seven
being on general topics: Paleontology as a science
(American spelling is used throughout); Fossils in time and
space; Taphonomy and the quality of the fossil record;
Paleoecology and paleoclimates; Macroevolution and the
history of life; Fossil form and function; Mass extinctions
and biodiversity loss. A chapter on the origin of life leads
to eleven chapters on specific fossil groups, including
fossil plants and trace fossils. A final chapter covers the
diversification of life. In addition to the written book,
there is also a companion resources website. A series of
special topic boxes are scattered throughout the text: Hot
topics/debates; Paleobiological tool; Exceptional and new
discoveries; Quantitative methods; Cladogram/classification.
For each chapter, there are review questions, a reading list,
and a further list of references (publications are given up to
2008).
64 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 35 No 1 2010 www.esta-uk.net