Prehistoric Deep Sea

I’ve mentioned my involvement with the Dallas Paleo Society before, and while Fossilmania is their largest public event, they also throw a Christmas party and auction every December to raise funds for the society. I tend to collect items throughout the year with the express purpose of donating to the event, and today’s book was among my stash this year! I’ve actually been meaning to review Prehistoric Deep Sea since last year’s event, but I didn’t get it in quite enough time to write a proper review. I figured I had plenty of time till the next one, but unfortunately that just encouraged me to sit on my laurels, and I almost missed this year as well! In fact, I ended up taking the pictures for this review as the book was sitting on the auction table, hence all the extra items and people in the background.

Written by Thea Feldman & illustrated by Bonnie Pang, Prehistoric Deep Sea (as one would expect) focuses on prehistoric marine life. Each page focuses on some sub-category to provide some loose organization to the book, and each page also has some active element to occupy little hands. Page 1 has a general theme of Paleozoic sea critters, focusing primarily on trilobites and eurypterids, aka sea scorpions. The pull-out tab mentions the five major mass extinctions in Earth’s history, three of which occurred in the Paleozoic. Illustrations very briefly depicting the change in ecosystems over time accompany this (though these pictures are divided into four groups, not five).

Page 2 discusses some of the sea creatures that lived during the Mesozoic Era. The plesiosaur Elasmosaurus forms the focal point of this page (and also graces the cover of the book). It is accompanied by an ammonite and the diving bird Hesperornis on two flaps which alternate between a life reconstruction and a photo of the fossils. Easier to miss is the reverse side of the pull-out tab that featured faunal turnover on the Paleozoic page, which on this side depicts the mosasaur Tylosaurus and the ichthyosaur Stenopterygius.

Page 3 depicts various extinct cetaceans, which the serpentine whale Basilosaurus forming the focal point of this page. Its jaw can be opened and so as to munch on an adorable but terrified-looking cuttlefish. The proto-baleen whale Mystacodon and the walrus-mimic Odobenocetops get little profile boxes on the side, while Indohyus appears as a nod to the evolutionary origins of whales (which one can read more about in When the Whales Walked).

Megalodon is of course obligatory for a book like this, and while it hogs all the limelight that could have been used for additional profiles like on the whale page, the author at least mentions how this mega-shark was actually more closely related to Mako Sharks than to Great Whites, as the current evidence seems to imply. (For more details, I recommend Sharks: A 400 Million Year Journey.) The activity panel on this page is a spinning wheel depicting potential prey for Megalodon, including a fish, the hyper-predatory sperm whale Livyatan, and the extinct baleen whale Cetotherium (a climbable skeleton of which graces Fossil Reef Park in Southern California!)

I was happy to see the final page completely devoted to prehistoric fish in general, which are often overlooked in most books. The reverse side of the spinning wheel from the Megalodon page here depicts a Xiphactinus in skeletal and cartoon restored form, which calls to my mind “Xiphactinus is X-Rayed” from Mammoth is Mopey! A pop-up tab brings a lungfish into view, and reveals an X-Ray view of a modern Coelacanth! (Unlike I Am NOT a Dinosaur! though, its similarities to prehistoric species are emphasized over its differences.) The star of this page is the mighty Leedichthys, however, spanning across the center of the page as in Prehistoric Pets.

I try to only donate items I actually like to the DPS Christmas auction, and this book is no different. I really like the information that Prehistoric Deep Sea manages to present to its target audience, which is simple enough for most children to grasp, but doesn’t gloss over anything in a misleading way. The artwork is similarly pleasantly stylized and simplified, but avoids paleoart tropes that might give incorrect impressions of the animals depicted. The whole thing really is a pleasure to look through and play with! If you have children you think might be interested in these topics, I highly recommend it, and give it my Dino Dad Stomp of Approval!