Neptune's Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas

by David Rains Wallace, Ken Kirkland (Illustrator)

Neptune's Ark illuminates the dramatic saga of evolution spanning 500 million years of marine life along the magnificent Pacific coast of western North America. In an engaging narrative that artfully blends elements of science, history, folklore, and personal observation, renowned naturalist David Rains Wallace reveals a marvelous diversity of creatures, not only modern ones, but those from the far prehistoric past. Mysterious forms have abounded—from giant sea cows, oyster bears, and flightless toothed birds to the orcas, elephant seals, and sea otters of modern times. Wallace tells a story about evolution as well as a tale of the storms, scurvy, and shipwrecks that plagued the coast's explorers, naturalists, and scientists, many of whom led turbulent or tragic lives, with themes reflected in the wonder and danger of the coast itself. Neptune's Ark is full of vivid characters—from explorers like Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook, to pioneer naturalists including Georg Steller and Charles Scammon, to early paleontologists Othniel Marsh and Edward Cope, and to recent scientists and ecological visionaries.

Genres: Nonfiction, Natural History, Science, Nature, Evolution, Biology, Animals

313 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2007

About the author

David Rains Wallace is an author of geography and geology related books. His book, The Klamath Knot, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal in 1984.

Reviews

[Brian Switek · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. In the end, however, I just couldn't finish it. Evocative descriptions of the California coat give way to extremely dry discussions of prehistoric marine mammals. I'm fascinated by fossil whales and seals and otters, but, while Wallace's prose is informative, it lacks passion for its subject.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful overview of all non-piscine vertebrate dwellers, with particularly good coverage of the mammalian members of that tribe. And the art- the art is spectacular. Highest recommendation if the subject is of interest to you.

[Joeri Ryckaseys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een zeer boeiend boek over de evolutie van complexe mariene megafauna.
Alleen is het moeilijk geschreven waardoor het erg traag leest en je vaak delen moet herlezen om te begrijpen. Het gebrek aan cladogrammen maakt het allemaal wat moeilijker. Zeker geen boek voor mensen die geen basiskennis hebben van zoölogie of paleontologie.

[Davy J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neptune's Ark from the author David Rains Wallace is an amazing book. It is a factual book, telling the story of many mythical creatures and people from the past. Some are weird, like Aqua Ape, and some are cool, like the Sea Bear. We had faulty results, stolen bones and stuff like that. I liked how informational it was and how it told a story, not just the statistics. It had a lot of positive quotes, such as "Fantastical... Engages the reader in a voyage of discovery" said Booklist, and "David Wallace explores the evolution of animals in the ocean, because it retains abundance that has been driven to extinction elsewhere" said Science News. Very good book:).

[Kallen Kentner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you like fossils? Do you like sea creatures? Then perhaps you will like Neptune's Ark.

The book is basically a paleontological history of the Pacific Coast of North America. It focuses on Washington, Oregon and California with little forays into other geological areas.

Although the information is interesting, I found it to be a slower read. It is filled with jargon and I don't have a good grasp on geologic time periods. I would have loved to read the book with a chart in front of me.

Another catching point was the scientific names. Its not entirely Wallace's fault. For extinct prehistoric creatures, long scientific names are all we have. That is why we have dinosaur-crazed four-year olds running around talking about Diplodocus and Archaeopteryx (a strange bird/dinosaur that cameos in Neptune's Ark). I think he still could have handled the terminology better.

Regardless, it is interesting and gives a pretty complete picture of the history of the West Coast. Beautiful illustrations by Ken Kirkland really help as well.

So Although it's jargon filled, readers learn about:

A vicious rivalry between 19th century naturalists naturalists/paleontologists Edward Cope and Othneil Marsh.
Large hippo-like aquatic animals called demostylians that roamed the coast
The sometimes nonsensical nature of evolution and extinction
An aquatic oyster-catching bears
Early human settlements near the ocean and their stories (ever heard Pileated Woodpecker Crosses the Ocean? It's a classic!)
A whole cast of characters, from eccentric fossil hunters to bizarre sea reptiles.

Wallace has a strange and beautiful tone in his writing, but I was constantly tripping over taxonomy and other information that bogged down the narrative. I don't recommend those unfamiliar with paleontology or marine biology. There are other books just as interesting and informative that would be better, I can almost guarantee.

Part of my glee with the book has to do with where it takes place. I'm from the Pacific Northwest and hearing my home state mentioned so frequently created little bursts of happiness.
Regardless of the reason, I did, in the end, enjoy it. I rate it 3/5 stars.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book begins and ends with visions and beautiful, heartfelt language but as the author traces some of what we know about the evolution of marine life, there are passages clogged with jargon. For example: "...creodonts were a separate, primitive group that vanished in the Miocene epoch. In some ways, they resembled mesonychids, the early, flesh-eating ungulates and putative whale ancestors. Indeed, early paleontologists thought mesonychids WERE creodonts, so Cope's observations about the seal-like aspects of his 1872 Wyoming fossil, Mesonyx, probably influenced Wortman's thinking." I could go on but my point is the book could easily have been made a bit less of a slog for the general reader, for example with a chart somewhere of the conventional designation of time periods, so that someone like me doesn't have to go to another book or the web to refresh their memory of when and how long the Miocene epoch was.

[Apostate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book, though it seemed a tad biased towards mammals. The narrow geographical focus (the West Coast of the US) is more than balanced by the extensive chronological range (hundreds of millions of years). I lost my original copy in a move across the country & felt compelled to replace it almost immediately.

[Minardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marine paleontology on the west coast