The ability for people to connect, learn, and communicate about science has been enhanced through the Internet, specifically through social media platforms. Facebook and Twitter are well-studied, while Instagram is understudied. This Element provides insight into using Instagram as a science education platform by pioneering a set of calculated metrics, using a paleontology-focused account as a case study. Framed by the theory of affinity spaces, the authors conducted year-long analyses of 455 posts and 139 stories that were created as part of an informal science learning project. They found that team activity updates and posts outside of their other categories perform better than their defined categories. For Instagram stories, the data show that fewer slides per story hold viewers' attention longer, and stories using the poll tool garnered the most interaction. This Element provides a baseline to assess the success of Instagram content for science communicators and natural science institutions.

Unearth the treasures from the prehistoric world underneath your feet. From glittering ammonites to razor-sharp dinosaur claws and delicate leaf impressions, uncover our world's prehistoric past through the incredible fossils left behind. Arranged by plant or animal type, there are profiles of 50 key fossils, including well-loved favorites, such as Triceratops, and more curious remains, such as fossil fish teeth. Learn all about how fossils form, where they are found, and how ancient animals are reconstructed. Filled with facts and containing newly discovered species, even the biggest fossil fans will learn something new from this book. Stunning photographs can be studied in detail, while pronunciation guides help with tricky names, and a visual index provides a quick overview of all the key plants and animals in the ebook. My Book of Fossils is an ideal first ebook about fossils and dinosaurs, and is sure to be a hit with fact-obsessed young enthusiasts of all things prehistoric.

Complete beginner's guide, with vertebrate and invertebrate fossil descriptions.

Donald R. Prothero’s Evolution is an entertaining and rigorous history of the transitional forms and series found in the fossil record. Its engaging narrative of scientific discovery and well-grounded analysis has led to the book’s widespread adoption in courses that teach the nature and value of fossil evidence for evolution. Evolution tackles systematics and cladistics, rock dating, neo-Darwinism, and macroevolution. It includes extensive coverage of the primordial soup, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, and the transformation from early hominid to modern human. The book also details the many alleged “missing links” in the fossil record, including some of the most recent discoveries that flesh out the fossil timeline and the evolutionary process. In this second edition, Prothero describes new transitional fossils from various periods, vividly depicting such bizarre creatures as the Odontochelys, or the “turtle on the half shell”; fossil snakes with legs; and the “Frogamander,” a new example of amphibian transition. Prothero’s discussion of intelligent design arguments includes more historical examples and careful examination of the “experiments” and observations that are exploited by creationists seeking to undermine sound science education. With new perspectives, Prothero reframes creationism as a case study in denialism and pseudoscience rather than a field with its own intellectual dynamism. The first edition was hailed as an exemplary exploration of the fossil evidence for evolution, and this second edition will be welcome in the libraries of scholars, teachers, and general readers who stand up for sound science in this post-truth era.

Millions of years before humans began visiting Atlantic and Gulf coast beaches, amazing creatures roamed this region. They are gone now but left behind fossil treasures you can pick up today. A Beachcomber's Guide to Fossils uses hundreds of color close-up photos and detailed descriptions to show you how to recognize these exciting finds. This field guide will help you uncover mysteries hiding among the seashells, sand, and driftwood. You'll learn to identify remnant bones and teeth from mammoths, sharks, armadillos, tortoises, and many other prehistoric giants.

Uncover the intriguing world beneath our feet Rocks and Fossils reveal the state of the planet now and what the future may bring, including clues about the shifting, changing nature of the continents, mountain ranges, oceans, and islands. Rocks and Fossils is a beautifully illustrated book that brings life to the seemingly timeless landscape. It explains geological concepts in relevant and familiar terms. Lively illustrations reveal a vast, hidden world via cross-sections and cutaways with explanatory captions. The book explores the internal engine of our planet -- the liquid iron core unique among terrestrial planets, which is the catalyst for the creation and destruction of land, mountain, and oceans. Rocks and Fossils is organized in six main sections: The Dynamic Earth: the ever-changing nature of the world Ancient Worlds: life from the Precambrian era to the age of humans Key Features: how rocks and fossils form Rocks and Fossils in the Landscape: where to find fossils Minerals: How they form and why some are precious Fossils: signs of life from single-cell organisms to dinosaurs. Rocks and Fossils explains the fossil record to show how prehistoric lifeforms are linked to plants and animals still on Earth. Why did some species survive and others perish? What does the future hold?

Fossils of the World is a comprehensive, practical guide to every aspect of collecting and studying fossils. The book is divided into three sections. Section one is a brief, illustrated introduction that explains how fossils were formed, the classification of fossils, and the principles of nomenclature. This section also discusses ontogenesis, variability and phylogenesis, as well as palioecology and paliogeography. Section two is a systematic survey of fossil organisms illustrated with around 800 photographs and some 300 line drawings. Each kingdom and phylum of fossils is preceded by a brief introduction and each fossil is described in detail. Section three covers the collection, preparation, and preservation of fossils and includes stratigraphic tables.