Deep Alberta: Fossil Facts and Dinosaur Digs

by John Acorn

Alberta is well known for its fossil treasures, and author John Acorn is as keen on the long-dead creatures of Alberta as he is on the living. Here, John features 80 of the most noteworthy fossils, fossil locations, and fossil hunters from this most palaeontological of provinces. There's more to the story of "deep Alberta" than dinosaurs, but dinosaur fans will find all their favourite beasts here as well ― from Edmontosaurus to Tyrannosaurus rex, and everything in-between. Then there are the surprises, such as the world's oldest pike, the discovery of a venomous mammal, and the fossils found in such unlikely places as Edmonton and Calgary. Prepared with the collaboration of palaeontologists around Alberta, and the world-renowned Royal Tyrrell Museum, this is a book that is long overdue, and that deserves a place on everyone's bookshelf.

Genres: Nonfiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published February 6, 2003

Reviews

[cyan (a lost wombat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

i absolutely adore dinosaurs and prehistory, in relation to that i want to be a paleontologist. so obviously, i loved this book, but i found that the way it was written was rude and repetitive. but nonetheless i enjoyed it.

[Bill Leach · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the variety of paleontology sites in Alberta where the best known are the likes of Triceratops, Edmontosarus, Albertosaurus and Troodon. The book is made up of 80 topics arranged alphabetically, each one page article being superficial but providing a spur for further reading.

Interesting entries include:

The discovery of the early primate Saxonella which lived just 10 million years after the Cretaceous. Previously known from France, the find supports the theory that Europe and North America were connected during the Paleocene age.

The story of a Calgary man who purchased a landscape boulder which split to reveal the fossil of a macrobaenid, a fresh water version of a sea turtle.

The North American cheetah (Miracinonyx) lived until about 10,000 years ago. It is thought that the extreme cardiovascular ability of the Pronghorn Antelope is a result of it being a prey of this animal in the past. While it was thought that the cheetah evolved in North America and moved to Africa, it is now thought that the N.A. cheetah is part of the puma lineage and is an example of parallel evolution.

Palaeocene deposits in Cochrane have revealed the teeth of a non-mammalian cynodont (Chronoperates) that is only known from other fossils 100 million years earlier, suggesting a "ghost" lineage.

Multituberculates are an extinct order of rodent like mammals that lived for 100 million years - longer than any other order of mammalians. Fossilized teeth found in Alberta have provided insight into their evolution.

The pantodonts appear in North America in the middle Paleocene. Fossils found near Red Deer show the grinding premolars and molars typical of a herbivore. The large canine are misleading - much as is the case with bears.

A fossil pike found near Gran Prairie showed that pike lived in Alberta 70 million years ago. It remains the oldest pike fossil.

The early primate Plesiadapis has been found around Red Deer. Known as tree shrews, they were squirrel-like mammals.

The short-faced bear, a carnivore up to 4 metres high, was common in Alberta until about 10,000 years ago. It is related to the spectacled bear.

Vertebrae of the snake Coniophis have been found in rocks earlier and later than those of the Drumheller badlands, but surprisingly not in them. Snakes evolved from lizards and early species had legs.

Fossils of the Cretaceous mammal Bisonalveus browni have been found near Cochrane and in the Blindman Valley. The animal was apparently venomous, as shown by grooves in the canine teeth, and may have been similar to the solenodon.