May 6, 2024
In this stimulating study, Long (Prehistoric Australasia), a paleontology professor at Flinders University in Australia, explores “how over the course of 465 million years were shaped and honed by a constantly changing world.” Emphasizing the predators’ resilience, Long explains that sharks survived the “Great Dying,” an era of “prolonged volcanic eruptions” 252 million years ago that wiped out around 87% of all marine species, by moving into deeper parts of the ocean that were less affected by the dramatic rise in water temperatures. Sharks have also shown a great capacity for adaptation, Long writes, suggesting their “superpower” is “the ability to craft and shape new tooth types with new tissues” (some species “developed flat crushing or grinding tooth plates” for cracking clams while other grew cladodont teeth, each of which has “three or more prominent pointed cusps”). The comprehensive overview of sharks’ evolutionary history highlights some of the stranger specimens to have prowled the oceans (one ancient species had “large wing-like pectoral fins emerging from near its neck like dystopian underwater butterflies”). Long also sheds light on how paleontologists draw conclusions from a limited fossil record, describing how “analyzing the isotopes of certain elements like nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen” in shark teeth reveals what kinds of prey the carnivores ate. Readers will want to sink their teeth into this. Photos. Agent: Jane von Mehren, Aevitas Creative Management.
May 15, 2024
Everything you ever wanted to know about this ancient, awesome, and threatened fish. Prolific science writer Long, a professor of paleontology at Flinders University in Australia and author of more than 25 books, fell in love with sharks as a boy, and he maintains his enthusiasm throughout his latest, which is divided into five sections: The First Sharks, Sharks Rule, Sharks Under Pressure, The Age of the Megasharks, and Sharks Today. The author begins more than 400 million years ago. Although sharks have survived five global mass extinctions, their origin remains a mystery. "We have learned a great deal about the early origins of bony fishes, am-phibians, reptiles, and mammals in recent years through stunning new 'transitional' fossil finds, while there have not been any significant ad-vances in our knowledge of shark origins," writes Long, who provides a comprehensive account of their evolution, along with that of those related creatures. He and his shark paleontologist colleagues seem like a fun bunch; readers will enjoy detours describing their frustrations and rare triumphs as they trudge over seven continents to freeze, swelter, or soak while hammering away at rocks to reveal marvels--or do the same in the lab with high-tech scanners. The author describes the dazzling variety of these fish in the ocean today and concludes with the plea to save them from extinction. Shark populations are plummeting through massive overfishing, pollution, and recreational slaughter, sadly energized by the misconception that they are man-eaters. Long writes lively, lucid prose, and while this is not a textbook, he delivers an extremely detailed education in the history, anatomy, behavior, and ecology of the extensive shark family. Long's work makes a nice complement to Jasmin Graham's Sharks Don't Sink. An expert natural history with few stones left unturned. If you enjoy searching for shark teeth, read this book.
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June 1, 2024
Long (paleontology, Flinders Univ.) gathers past and current research to tell the story of sharks throughout roughly 500 million years. He details fossils found all over the world and notes how these finds have contributed to people's understanding of this group. These findings include megalodon teeth in Japan, a great white shark skull in Chile, toothed whales in New Zealand, and Mesozoic sharks in Montana. In the human era, sharks show up in mythology, industry, and art. Long's book shows that fossils can reveal information about size, shape, movement, growth and feeding habits, as these remains depict sharks in the moment of eating prey, scavenging, and mating, all of which reveal much about their behavior. They can also tell scientists much about marine ecosystems today, such as the processes of adaptation, extinction, hunting, metabolism, migration, and parasite management. As databases of fossils grow, scientists worldwide can craft theories about shark origins and evolution. Long shares the work of many scientists he has met or admired in his decades-long study of sharks. VERDICT This chronological shark history is thorough, remarkably readable, and recommended for general readers and specialists alike.--Catherine Lantz
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July 1, 2024
Enthralled with the grandeur of sharks yet alarmed by the possibility of their attacks on humans, many people have mixed feelings and misunderstandings about these powerful sea creatures. Long, a paleontologist concentrating on fish fossils, offers a who's who of the shark realm past and present. Or as he suggests, ""Think of this book as the ancestry.com of sharks."" These fish, in some version, have been around for 465 million years. Long chronicles their evolution and provides plenty of information about their skin, bite force, fins, food preferences, hunting behavior, and, now, serious threats to their survival. He profiles sharks' outstanding sense of smell, ability to perceive the electrical fields of other animals, and ""super-resilient"" teeth, which are replaced on a regular basis. Amid the many species of sharks surveyed, the great white shark and the extinct megalodon (Jaws and Meg of cinematic fame) loom large. Megalodons are considered ""the ultimate apex predator in the entire history of life on Earth"" and much more formidable than Tyrannosaurus rex. A sharp and very detailed discussion, boosted by many illustrations, about a spectacular group of animals.
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