We all know about the birds and the bees, but what about the ancient placoderm fishes and the dinosaurs? The history of sex is as old as life itself—and as complicated and mysterious. And despite centuries of study there is always more to know. In 2008, paleontologist John A. Long and a team of researchers revealed their discovery of a placoderm fish fossil, known as “the mother fish,” which at 380 million years old revealed the oldest vertebrate embryo—the earliest known example of internal fertilization. As Long explains, this find led to the reexamination of countless fish fossils and the discovery of previously undetected embryos. As a result, placoderms are now considered to be the first species to have had intimate sexual reproduction or sex as we know it—sort of. Inspired by this incredible find, Long began a quest to uncover the paleontological and evolutionary history of copulation and insemination. In The Dawn of the Deed, he takes readers on an entertaining and lively tour through the sex lives of ancient fish and exposes the unusual mating habits of arthropods, tortoises, and even a well-endowed (16.5 inches!) Argentine Duck. Long discusses these significant discoveries alongside what we know about reproductive biology and evolutionary theory, using the fossil record to provide a provocative account of prehistoric sex. The Dawn of the Deed also explores fascinating revelations about animal reproduction, from homosexual penguins to monogamous seahorses to the difficulties of dinosaur romance and how sexual organs in ancient shark-like fishes actually relate to our own sexual anatomy. The Dawn of the Deed is Long’s own story of what it’s like to be a part of a discovery that rewrites evolutionary history as well as an absolutely rollicking guide to sex throughout the ages in the animal kingdom. It’s natural history with a naughty wink.  

Product Description: No other continent on Earth has undergone such radical environmental changes as Antarctica. In its transition from rich biodiversity to the barren, cold land of blizzards we see today, Antarctica provides a dramatic case study of how subtle changes in continental positioning can affect living communities, and how rapidly catastrophic changes can come about...read more

Traces the evolution of fishes over five hundred million years, and explains how scientists interpret fossil remains (view table of contents)

Discusses the origin of the Earth, and the gradual changes that occurred to produce life and encourage it to grow from single cells to forms in which it appears today.

Product Description: These days the sale of a dinosaur fossil for millions of dollars seems to take precedence over what scientific information may have been lost by its crude excavation, or even whether it will end up in a proper museum to be cared for and preserved for all time...read more

Product Description: This long-awaited sequel to Mystery of Devil's Roost is set fifteen years after Sarah and Peter's last time-traveling adventure. Now Sarah is a paleontologist at the Queensland museum and Peter is a famous novelist. An unexpected and mysterious visit from an old man brings them back to Devil's Roost to embark on another exciting time-traveling quest backand backand back - to a time when the earth was no more than a "bubbling primordial soup...read more

Product Description: From kangaroos and koalas to the giant Diprotodon and bizarre "thingodontans," prehistoric mammals evolved within the changing and sometimes harsh environments of Australia. As part of Gondwana, Australia was the first landmass to be isolated from the supercontinent Pangaea...read more

Describes vertebrate life in Australia and New Zealand during the Mesozoic period, including amphibians, birds, and mammals, as well as dinosaurs and other reptiles. (view table of contents)

Product Description: In the last two decades the study of fossils has come of age, taking a central role in the formulation of ideas on evolution. The unravelling of the fossil record by continual new discoveries has played a major role in stimulating new ideas on patterns and rates of evolution, and on our understanding of the underlying processes and mechanisms of evolution...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)