Neptune’s Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas"Neptune's Ark takes us on a voyage of discovery into the world of the enigmatic creatures who evolved in the ocean and the intrepid individuals who study them. In this moving and majestic book, David Rains Wallace navigates the mythic dimensions of humans' and animals' ancient, ambiguous relationship with the sea."—Adrienne Mayor, author of The First Fossil Hunters and Fossil Legends of the First Americans "In the pageant of creation, Earth's seas have always hosted the greatest part of the show. Wallace brings to life a spectacular array of marine organisms ancient and new, tiny and titanic, renowned and obscure-and some almost unimaginably weird-and illuminates often surprising connections between them. Have you ever wondered where modern sea lions come from? Or penguins? Pelicans? Manatees? Great whales? The answers, in Neptune's Ark, take your mind on a voyage through millions of years of natural history. Enjoy the swim."—Douglas Chadwick, author of The Grandest of Lives "Neptune's Ark delivers not only a riveting history of paleontology and the origins of marine mammalogy on the west coast-from Cope and Emlong to Steller and Scammon-but also a heartfelt tribute to the great creatures they all pursued so avidly."—Dick Russell, author of Eye of the Whale "Wallace writes fascinating accounts of the astounding menagerie of animals that once inhabited the waters of the west coast, from giant toothed birds, oyster bears, and the enigmatic Desmostylus, to enormous saber-toothed salmon. Paired with Ken Kirkland's exquisitely rendered and life-like drawings, this book is hard to put down."—Ray Troll, author of Rapture of the Deep |
Contents
1 Reefs in the Desert | 1 |
2 Amphibious Ambiguities | 10 |
3 Bird Teeth and Reptile Necks | 20 |
4 Tail Tales | 33 |
5 Copes Elusive Ophidians | 43 |
6 Hooves into Flippers | 51 |
7 Marshs Deceptive Demostylians | 60 |
8 Emlongs Whales | 68 |
14 Advent of Autumn | 130 |
15 Ice Age Invasion | 143 |
16 Hands into Paddles | 153 |
17 Pileated Woodpeckers Boat | 162 |
18 The End of the Earth | 171 |
19 An Industrial Interlude | 187 |
20 Intimations of Communication | 200 |
Epilogue | 217 |
9 Paws into Flippers | 82 |
10 Sea Cows and Oyster Bears | 95 |
11 The LongWarm Summer | 104 |
12 Emptying Bays | 114 |
13 Punctuated Pinnipeds and Darwinian Sirenians | 122 |
Notes | 225 |
| 253 | |
| 267 | |
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Common terms and phrases
According adapted America animals appeared aquatic Atlantic beach bear began Bering birds boats bones California called cetacean close coastal collecting common Cope creatures Cretaceous described desmostylians disappeared diversity early Emlong Enaliarctos evidence evolution evolved existed extinct feet fins fish forms fossils fur seals genus gray harbor harbor seals head Hill human ibid Island known land late later least less living looked Marine Mammals Marsh million Miocene moved named natural never North North Pacific observed ocean Oregon organisms origins Pacific paleontologists perhaps phocid pinniped Pleistocene Point prey probably recent record relatives remains reptiles resembled returned rock sea lions sea otters seems seen shore similar sirenians skeleton skull snakes South species Steller stories suggest swimming tail teeth tetrapods things thought toothed turned west coast western whales wrote