Fossils of Florissant
The most diverse fossil bed in the United States provides a unique picture of what life was like 34 million years ago. In the rocks of Florissant, Colorado, lying in the shadow of Pike's Peak, is the evidence of a long-lost world. Encased by the ash of volcanoes that erupted tens of millions of years ago, animals such as insects, fish, and mammals were fossilized in the same deposits as flowers, trees, and the delicate leaves of plants. This amazing collection of animals and plants from the...
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This survey of the fauna and flora of one of the most diverse fossil deposits in the world is the result of Meyer's work in developing a database to track the far-flung fossils stored in more than a dozen museums worldwide. Now protected as Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, the Colorado site has been explored by paleontologists for more than 100 years, and has revealed descriptions of hundreds of species from the Eocene Epoch 34 million years ago. The book is illustrated with color photographs of the fossils. Meyer is a paleontologist with the U.S. National Park Service. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1History of Research and Conservation5Geologic Setting and Processes of Fossilization21Reconstructing the Ancient Ecosystem45Fossil Plants73Fossil Spiders, Insects, and Other Invertebrates127Fossil Vertebrates175Epilogue187App. 1A Complete Listing of the Fossil Organisms from Florissant189App. 2Museums with Significant Florissant Collections233General References237Bibliography239Index255
