Number 5 - Geological Curators Group

Tresise, G, 1989. The Invisible Dinosaur : '5geolonical detective stary'. National Museumsand Galleries on Merseyside, Liverpool. 32 pp.ISBN 0-906367-37-9. Price E2.95.At the start, let me declare myself. Firstly, Iam not an authority on any branch of geology;secondly, I have become interested in thehistory of science; thirdly, I believe -passionately - that if scientists wish tocommunicate to the public, they should do so inwords that the public understands; andfourthly, I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes.Therefore it will be no surprise to those whocome to buy Invisible Dinosaur, to learnthat I warmed to this book at first sight, andliked it better as I read through it.Between attractively designed and colouredpaperback covers, which feature an the back asnappy piece of blurb and Sherlock Holmesexamining footprints, Dr Tresise (long-time GCGmember) tells a true geological detectivestory: from the discovery in 1838 of hand-likefossil footprints in rocks near Liverpool andthrough the subsequent efforts extending into'this century to find the identity of the animalwhich made them. The puzzling feature of thediscovery, which provided Dr Tresise with theopportunity to call in Sherlock Holmes, was thatno fossil remains of the animal which formed theprints were found in the rocks. As Sir ArthurConan Doyle would have put it - The Adventure ofthe Missing Body!These footprints were the flimsiest ofcircumstantial evidence for the existence of anextinct animal new to science, and there waslittle more that the early scientists could dothan give the invisible beast the name..Chirotherium, meaning 'Hand Animal'. However,the puzzle of the anonymous footprints,discovered during the infancy of geology whenfossils gripped the scientific imagination, soonattracted attention.The solving of the mystery first centred onLiverpool, providing decades of work for localgeological sleuths, but later enquiries switchedto the continent and even the southernhemisphere. As in all good detective stories,there were false leads, erroneous assumptions,flawed reputations and surprising finalevidence; the Invisible Dinosaur Case was notfinally solved until the 1960s. Dr Tresiseoutlines the facts of the investigation frominitial discoveries to final verdict. The firstpage sets the scene and whets the reader'sappetite. He divides the rest of his book intochronological sections, each pithily prefaced bya quote from Sherlock Holmes, and eachdescribing - in a different way - the variousepisodes and clues which finally salve themystery. The numerous illustrations help thereader to follow the technical details. Thisbook is an elegant example of good andeconomical story-telling.A welcome feature of this book is that DrTresise places the Chirotherium.investigationsin their historical and scientific contexts, andoutlines the parts performed by the variousplayers. Thus Invisible Dinosaur is morethan a story of the discovery and interpretationof rare fossils. It is also a brief account ofthe origins and basic laws of geology, of theproblems of reconstructing animals from fossilevidence, and of the principles and pitfalls ofpalaeontological nomenclature. Between thesegeological musings the author interleavesstories of human interest. We read about theReverend William Buckland, the eccentricProfessor of Geology at Oxford University,kneading dough to obtain tortoise footprints,and of the part played for over fifty years bythe amateurs of the Liverpool Geological Societyin the long search for the missing body. Thesekind of stories and the use of Sherlock Holmesto lead the reader through the narrative, makesthis book a good read for the non-scientist aswell as the geologist.Noteworthy are the twenty-five illustrations.Zhere are photographs of the fossil footprints(some modern and some from archives), portraitsof the personalities involved and variousreconstructions of Chirotherium, including acolour painting (specially commissioned) of twoof these creatures in their Triassic desert.These are interspersed cleverly throughout thebook and the designers deserve commendation farenhancing the text so neatly.Dr Tresise, Keeper of Geology at LiverpoolMuseum, has presumably written this book for theinterested museum visitor, who has no particularknowledge of fossils nor acquaintance withtechnical words. In the difficult art ofcombining scholarship with popular appeal he hassucceeded admirably and enhances the publishingreputation of the National Museums and Gallerieson Merseyside.A further thought: this book should be on therecommended reading list for geologyundergraduates. For as well as introducing thehistory of geology to the student, this book isa well-crafted and concise investigation of asingle palaeontalogical problem, and is a modelof how to unravel sources, marshal facts, writeclearly and present attractively.There are same possible criticisms. The ratherhigh price (E2.95) will deter some potentialbuyers. The title might upset some vertebratepalaeontologists (Chirotherium was not a truedinosaur as the author admits).The colourreconstruction of Chirotherium is set in a verylonely Triassic landscape, showing just two ofthe beasts and no other animals, whereas thefossil evidence - the footprint slabs - werecovered by tracks made 'by multitudes ofanimals'. But these are minor drawbacks, Irecommend this book. It will give you a goodread, and while it will not make you an experton vertebrate palaeontology or trace fossils, itwill, as far as Chirotherium is concerned,enable vou to murmer the words of SherlockHolmes ifrom Adventure of Silver Blaze)'At least I have ~ - o t a n- ri~ . of the essentialfacts of the case'.Kenneth JamesDepartment of GeologyUlster MuseumBelfast BT9 5AB25 May 1989