“Locked in Time: Animal Behavior Unearthed in 50 Extraordinary Fossils” by Dean R. Lomax, Robert Nicholls (Illustrator)

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Rating: 5/5 Stars

A marvellous book that showcases some fascinating fossils that gives us a glimpse of how life was like for prehistoric organisms. Along with fascinating artwork by Bob Nicholls, the book gives the history of the fossil, what behaviour is captured by it, and it can tell us (or not) about how prehistoric organisms lived.

The book is organized in chapters that cover a specific behaviour shown by the fossils:

• “Sex” shows us animals caught in the act of copulation, as well as sexual behaviours like ‘lekking’ dinosaurs. A number of pregnant animal fossils are also featured.
• “Parental Care and Animal Communities” feature brooding oviraptorid dinosaurs, arthropods guarding eggs, shark nurseries and unusual communities that formed around giant clams, floating ocean logs and even inside mammoth bones.
• “Moving and Making Homes” shows us fossils indicating that arthropods moult, animals migrate, and make burrows for homes.
• “Fighting, Biting, and Feeding” are another set of behaviours captured by fossils, showing mammoths and dinosaurs in the act of fighting, with prey found in the stomach of predators showing link (or links) in the ancient food chain.
• “Unusual Happenings” features unusual fossils that show that prehistoric animals also suffer from parasites, bone cancer and bone fractures. Also, that ancient animals poop and pee.

Book read from 2022/05/23 to 2022/06/06