Fossils provide us with a tantalizing glimpse of Britain's prehistoric past and hold the key to unlocking the secrets of life's history and evolution. Since the appearance of primitive organisms in Britain more than a billion years ago, oceans, deserts, swamps and vast mountains have come and gone in our corner of western Europe; forests of long-extinct trees, flowers and grasses have covered the land, and dinosaurs and other strange creatures have roamed across it. How do we know? The evidence is all around us - in the rocks and fossils that lie beneath the landscape. In this highly informative and practical book, which accompanies the BBC series, presenter Hermione Cockburn and renowned palaeontologist Douglas Palmer take an in-depth look at the most exciting fossil stories from around the country. When and why were dinosaur fossils first discovered in Britain? How was the biggest fish ever to have swum in the sea unearthed near Peterborough? What do modern medical techniques have to offer fossil hunters? Packed with colour photographs and illustrations, Fossils Detectives is full of surprising facts and features. And for those who want to try their hand at some fossil detecting of their own, the book includes an extensive regional gazetteer of fossil-hunting sites and places to visit, and guidance on identifying your fossil finds. Get ready for some time travel around Britain, with the Fossil Detectives!

Matt Sharp has a secret talent: if he touches dinosaur eggs, he experiences mysterious visions of the prehistoric world. This is lucky because Matt wants to be a palaeontologist just like his dad. Now that he's twelve, he's allowed to join his father on an exciting search for dinosaur eggs in the Amazonian rainforest - too bad his annoying eleven-year-old cousin, Jo, is tagging along. Even worse, it looks like Matt's dad's rival is following them! Who will win the race and find the fossils first?The Dinosaur Detectives is a fun filled adventure series following the story of Matt Sharp and his family as they hunt for dinosaur eggs. This fact meets fiction series is great for inspiring the young explorer and particularly popular amongst readers aged 7+. Dinosaur lovers can head to www.sweetcherrypublishing.com for more activities and fun.

The fascinating story of how the fossils of dinosaurs, mammoths, and other extinct animals influenced some of the most spectacular creatures of classical mythology Griffins, Centaurs, Cyclopes, and Giants—these fabulous creatures of classical mythology continue to live in the modern imagination through the vivid accounts that have come down to us from the ancient Greeks and Romans. But what if these beings were more than merely fictions? What if monstrous creatures once roamed the earth in the very places where their legends first arose? This is the arresting and original thesis that Adrienne Mayor explores in The First Fossil Hunters. Through careful research and meticulous documentation, she convincingly shows that many of the giants and monsters of myth did have a basis in fact—in the enormous bones of long-extinct species that were once abundant in the lands of the Greeks and Romans. As Mayor shows, the Greeks and Romans were well aware that a different breed of creatures once inhabited their lands. They frequently encountered the fossilized bones of these primeval beings, and they developed sophisticated concepts to explain the fossil evidence, concepts that were expressed in mythological stories. The legend of the gold-guarding griffin, for example, sprang from tales first told by Scythian gold-miners, who, passing through the Gobi Desert at the foot of the Altai Mountains, encountered the skeletons of Protoceratops and other dinosaurs that littered the ground. Like their modern counterparts, the ancient fossil hunters collected and measured impressive petrified remains and displayed them in temples and museums; they attempted to reconstruct the appearance of these prehistoric creatures and to explain their extinction. Long thought to be fantasy, the remarkably detailed and perceptive Greek and Roman accounts of giant bone finds were actually based on solid paleontological facts. By reading these neglected narratives for the first time in the light of modern scientific discoveries, Adrienne Mayor illuminates a lost world of ancient paleontology.

Fossils have fascinated humans for centuries. From the smallest diatoms to the largest dinosaurs, finding a fossil is an exciting and rewarding experience. But where did they come from, and how long have they been around? These and many other questions are answered in this remarkable book. The Fossil Book will teach you about: The origin of fossils How to start your own fossil Collection What kinds of fossils can be commonly found The age of fossils How scientists find and preserve fossils How to identify kinds of fossils How the flood affected fossil formation The Geologic Column Diagram The difference between evolutionists’ and creationists’ views on fossils The “four Cs” biblical creation The different kinds of rocks fossils are found in coal and oil formation Learning about fossils, their origins, and how to collect them can be both fun and educational. The abundance of both marine and land fossils and the locations they are found in is a fascinating subject for students of all ages and has been studied by scientists and laypersons alike for many years. Learn what all the excitement is about!

An on-location lesson in museums and dinosaur digs shows how paleontologists perform their fascinating unearthing of the past. National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources. Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

Describes the 1938 discovery of the coelacanth, a fish previously believed to be extinct, and subsequent research about it.