Like others in the series, Fossils of the Gault Clay has the usual excellent black and white photographs of beautifully prepared specimens. Each chapter is authored by a specialist in the relevant subject, containing an introduction, followed by detailed systematic descriptions of each specimen.
This latest publication from the British Geological Survey follows the success of its earlier publication, ‘Exploring the Landscape of Assynt’. It consists of a special pack containing both an explanatory booklet and a new 1 : 25,000 scale geological map of the Charnwood Forest and Mountsorrel area.
Just a couple of days before the Covid-19 lockdown, I was with friends at Tidmoor Point collecting wonderful pyrite ammonites from the Oxford Clay with this excellent guide to the South Dorset Coast. The South Dorset Coast runs from the West Fleet (of Chesil Beach fame) to and including the Isle of Portland.
The blurb for this book states that it will “profoundly affect the way paleontologists and climatologist view the lives of ancient mammals”. However, not being either a (professional) palaeontologist or climatologist,but having read it with interest, I am not sure that is correct. Anyone with an active interest in what the interactions of ancient mammals and their environments tell us about the presentand future will be interested in this well-written and engaging book.
Increasingly nowadays, the London Clay Formation is becoming a favourite hunting ground for fossils and several good books have been written about it. This guide, written by eminent plant palaeobotanist, Margaret Collinson was the first published by PalAss in its library of guides to (usually) UK fossils for professionals and amateurs.
The Pentland Hills in Scotland yield a large number of Silurian marine fossils. Although theys are only found within a small area of the Pentland Hills, the formations are extremely rich in fossils.
Dorling Kindersley is well-known for producing popular reference media for beginners and enthusiasts. Its Eyewitness Guides to fossils and rocks and minerals, for example, along with their later addition, the Eyewitness Handbook of fossils, certainly makes a useful starting point for anyone new to geology or palaeontology.
