Ocean Life in the Time of Dinosaurs

by Nathalie Bardet, Alexandra Houssaye, Stéphane Jouve

A richly illustrated introduction to the spectacular reptiles that swam the oceans when dinosaurs roamed the land

During the Mesozoic era, 252 to 66 million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the land, but the ocean deeps were roiling with equally spectacular reptiles―including giant predators. This richly illustrated, authoritative, and accessible book introduces readers to the world of these fascinating marine animals, whose predecessors returned to the seas a few million years after the first vertebrates emerged from the water. As we meet ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and many others, we learn about the astonishing anatomical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations that enabled these reptiles to become ocean dwellers again. We also learn about their living descendants, including sea turtles and sea snakes. Featuring stunning artwork depicting these prehistoric ocean creatures and photographs of their fossil remains, this book invites readers to discover the enthralling past of marine reptiles in all their extraordinary diversity.

Genres: Palaeontology, Science, Nonfiction, Dinosaurs, Natural History, History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published November 21, 2023

Reviews

[Stefan Verch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I thought I knew a lot about plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and ichthyosaurs but this book was full of wonderful new information. It also introduced me to some lesser known groups of marine animals like desmostylids and polycotylids. The artwork is the best part and makes this a great addition to any library on paleobiology!

[Tomáš Vávra · Rating 5 out of 5]

While dinosaurs are certainly the most recognizable of all prehistoric animals, in their shadow dwell creatures that are often overlooked or misunderstood by the general public—even though they are equally, if not even more, fascinating than the dinosaurs themselves.

The main focus of this book is Mesozoic sea reptiles, tracing their humble beginnings in the Paleozoic to their golden age in the Mesozoic era. Extinct birds and mammals that returned to the sea are also briefly mentioned.

From exploring the evolutionary adaptations of each reptile group to highlighting the most remarkable species and describing the most famous fossil sites where their remains have been found, this book truly does sea reptiles justice. Furthermore, it features beautiful paleoart by Alain Bénéteau—my personal favorites being the reconstructions of various fossil sites.

It’s safe to say that this book is excellent for anyone looking to learn more about prehistoric animals beyond just the dinosaurs. However, more knowledgeable readers might find it less comprehensive. Personally, I missed the inclusion of some lesser-known—but no less interesting—representatives of these groups, though I understand that wasn’t the primary focus of the book.

[Mark Jeffs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant summary of all the information about marine reptiles throughout the mesozoic. I learnt so much from this book and the beautiful illustrations help make these ancient creatures come alive.

There are generally two parts of this book. The first explains the different lineages of marine reptiles. The second puts those lineages in context within the different periods of time explaining fossil assemblages and how they coexisted. It was the second part that really impressed me as it summarises all that I had learnt in the book and gave me fossil examples.

[Aksum Oak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ocean Life in the Time of the Dinosaurs was an enjoyable read from beginning to end. Though it isn't an incredibly long book, I found my understanding of prehistoric life has been expanded by a noticeable degree.

[Dan Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those wonderful books you get sometimes as an adult, where its both interesting and informative from a scientific perspective (although very much written for the layman, rather than for anyone with any real expertise)... but also features a great many very pretty pictures to enjoy.

In terms of the actual content of this book, its basically an overview of an often overlooked aspect of the Age of the Dinosaurs, the Mesozoic era... the oceans. It starts with an overview of the largely reptilian denizens of the deep from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous eras, as well as how they evolved and how their species' developed, thrived, and ultimately went extinct. After that, it goes era from era, from a brief overview of the Paleozoic era, through the general ecosystems and iconic species' of the Mesozoic, to a quick look at how marine life developed in the Cenozoic, once the era of reptilian dominance ended and the Mammals evolved to fill the void. And throughout, there are scientific insights, details on famous figures in the development of palaeontology as a science, as well as some truly gorgeous examples of paleoart showing up-to-date representations of the species and habitats in question.

As stated previously, this is not a scientific reference book. It goes into a reasonable amount of depth, but its written to be easily read by someone who isn't an expert on the field... and it does, to be fair, contain some really interesting insights that I personally wasn't aware of. The artwork is high quality as well, making this overall a very pleasant read, and ideal for anyone with an interest in prehistoric life!

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was way over my head, I am sad to say. I enjoyed it, and I learned many new and interesting things - for example, all those underwater ginormous toothy swimming reptiles, like plesiosaur, ichthyosaur, mosasaurs etc. are not dinosaurs! I am not sure why, but the authors use many multisyllabic words to explain it so I am sure they are right. I enjoyed this book but the authors persisted in introducing a species/genus/family etc. with its great long Latin rooted word, and then, five chapters and hundreds of pages later, tossing the name back into the conversation and expecting me to remember just what critter it was, what it ate, where it lived, etc. I didn't. But I got the drift. I would actually have put this book at a 3 star level - i.e. I liked it, but the illustrations are superb and get a star all their own. You do not want to go swimming with these guys! Totally recommend it because it was worth reading, even though it is occasionally very heavy going. For me, anyway.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative book, though it focused on marine reptiles as opposed to the more generic 'ocean life' of the title. To be fair, that was probably a good idea to limit the size of the book.

The authors do a good job discussing the evolution of various types of reptiles over time in the Mesozoic, from ichthyosaurs to plesiosaurs, pliosaurs to mosasaurs, and groups that have modern species like turtles and crocodiles. They also give a good little tour through time via major paleontological sites, highlighting how different groups interacted with one another in life.

The book is pretty formal; not quite textbook like, but on its way there. There is a lot of reasonably technical language on things like anatomy, biology, and deep-time chronology, and while there is a glossary the reader is largely left to sink or swim. So not the best book for somebody fresh to the Mesozoic, but great for somebody looking for good info on 'ocean dinos.'

The illustrations, charts, and figures are all exceptional, and really help bring the book and the creatures described to life.

[Leelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just got this book from Amazon. I was going to pass it by because I thought the cover was not especially detailed. Kind of simple and crude. Plus the whole idea of mosasaurs jumping out of the water to eat Pteranodons has become a trope. But after seeing a blurb in the EverythingDinosaur blog I thought I would give it a chance. I'm glad I did. The illustrations are better than the cover would suggest and the captions have read under the pictures hints at a very informative read. This book is going right into my "Must Read Soon" pile.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the detailed ocean landscapes in this book!! The colors of the ancient sea reptiles are all guesswork as humans obviously weren't around yet for millions of years afterwards so we don't know exactly how they looked! I was hoping there would be colored photos of the ancient reptiles in this book when I ordered it!

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richly illustrated, Ocean Life in the Time of Dinosaurs justifies its place alongside existing titles by offering an entry-level book to these extinct creatures. Read my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2024...

[Bailey Webster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of lots of interesting info and some very nice illustrations.