The fascinating tale of the excavation and analysis of the longest
and perhaps heaviest dinosaur known to science. Gillette begins his
story with the serendipitous 1979 discovery of several large bones
by two hikers in the New Mexico desert. At the time curator of
paleontology at the New Mexico State Museum of Natural History,
Gillette was put in charge of unearthing the skeleton. After
excavating eight tail vertebrae, he realized they didn't match
those of any known dinosaur genus. He affectionately dubbed his
animal "Sam" and named the new genus Seismosaurus, Latin for
"Earth-shaking lizard" - rather appropriate for a 150-foot-long,
100-ton behemoth. Seismosaurus was a sauropod, the infraorder of
dinosaurs that includes the Brachiosaurus of Jurassic Park fame.
Most of Sam's bones were so deeply embedded in sandstone that
Gillette solicited help from scientists at the nearby Los Alamos
National Laboratory. The result, he explains, was the first
experiment in "high-tech paleontology," as scientists tried to
pinpoint bone inside solid rock with such gizmos as
ground-penetrating radar and magnetometers. These methods were only
partially successful, and Gillette emphasizes that the bulk of the
work still involved low-tech hammers, picks, and shovels. The
resulting seven-year dig revealed a wealth of bones and 240
plum-sized stones that may have stirred digestive juices in Sam's
gut. The second half of the book is devoted to scientific analysis
of the fossils and the mysterious process of fossilization. While
Gillette neglects to shed much light on the hottest dinosaur
controversies, such as their warm- or cold-bloodedness and their
evolutionary link to birds, he covers a dazzling range of topics
related to dinosaur paleontology. Most important, he sticks
primarily to the facts and lets the reader know when he engages in
speculation. Fast-paced, almost conversational, and particularly
enjoyable for dinosaur buffs. (Kirkus Reviews)
Seismosaurus: The Earth Shaker is a richly illustrated telling of
the trials and triumphs of the discovery and excavation of
Seismosaurus hallorum, the longest dinosaur yet known - and
possibly the largest land animal ever to have lived. This is the
first book to explain clearly the science used by paleontologists
and the new cutting-edge techniques that led to Seismosaurus's
discovery. David Gillette's first-person account of the project
answers the most frequently asked questions about Seismosaurus: How
was it discovered? How do we know it is a new species? How was it
named? And more intriguing still, how did it die? His chronicle
also examines the sauropods in general - the giant dinosaurs that
with Seismosaurus include Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus),
Brachiosaurus, and Diplodocus. This lively tale of discovery is
woven with anecdotes and descriptions of the details of the
excavation, which began with small jackhammers and later
incorporated such sophisticated machinery as ground-penetrating
radar that "looks" for fossils underground with radio waves. The
story moves from the excavation site in 1985 to current advances in
research and then back to the prehistoric age as Gillette, in
adventure-narrative style, describes the habitat, habits, and
characteristics of the sauropod, right down to Seismosaurus's
gastroliths - stomach stones that helped in digestion. Part
catalogue of the workings of paleontological science in the 1990s,
the book also illustrates the exciting collaboration between David
Gillette and the chemists and physicists who helped to reconstruct
Seismosaurus and its life. Excavation of the Seismosaurus skeleton
was completed in the fall of 1993. Some bones are already ondisplay
at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. Meanwhile, Mark
Hallett, a consultant on Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, brings
Seismosaurus to life in more than eighty marvelous color and
black-and-white illustrations. Seismosaurus: The Earth Shaker is a
delight!
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