Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms

Starred review from February 13, 2012
Compared to sponges and cyanobacteria, human life is in its infancy. In this delightful account, former Natural History Museum (London) paleontologist Fortey (The Hidden Landscape: A Journey into the Geological Past) gives us the stories of those plants, animals, and other creatures that have survived from Earth’s early days—the planet’s “true marathon runners.” We encounter the horseshoe crab sealing off wounds with its strange blue blood, the leisurely lungfish surfacing for a puff of air before returning to sweep the mud of Australia’s Mary River, and the rainbow of extremophile bacteria huddling within the sulphuric maws of Yellowstone’s boiling geysers. Fortey examines factors that might have contributed to these species’ longevity and, mourning the threat from climate change and invasive species that looms over these ancient organisms, contemplates what these creatures might teach us “as a metaphor for the brevity of human history in the face of true persistence.” In his quest, Fortey treks to a variety of far-flung locales, from the quaint fishing villages perched on Delaware Bay to the stark, windswept cliffs of Mistaken Point on the coast of Newfoundland, and misty Chinese mountain peaks ribbed with primeval stands of gingko trees. Despite the odd title, even those squeamish about worms will find Fortey’s enthusiastic excavations charming. Agent: David Godwin Associates Limited.

Starred review from March 1, 2012
A leading natural scientist's search for animals and plants that have survived nearly unchanged for millions of years. "Deep history is all around us," writes Fortey (Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum, 2008, etc.), formerly a senior paleontologist at London's Natural History Museum. "In the life of the planet, the latest model does not always invalidate the tried-and-tested old creature." In this fascinating, well-written book, he offers a worldwide tour of places whose lands and waters shelter extraordinary forms of life that have overcome mass extinctions, sea-level changes, ice ages and other obstacles to survive into the present. Taking great joy in his trip back in time, Fortey plays both adventurer and detective as he searches for these ancients. At Delaware Bay, he watches the mating orgy of horseshoe crabs, which for millennia have laid and fertilized their eggs along the shoreline. On New Zealand's North Island, in a rotting pine log, he finds the elusive caterpillar-like velvet worm, which survived the same event that killed the dinosaurs. Detailing the appearance and behavior of each species, Fortey explains each life form's place in evolutionary history. In Shark Bay, Australia, he finds living stromatolites (mounds built by microscopic organisms) dating back 3.5 billion years. With occasional outbursts of "And there it is!" he tracks down many other creatures, including the lizard-like tuatara on a log in New Zealand "looking as if it were resting after a stroll from the Triassic," and the echidna, an oddly shaped mammal living on Australia's Kangaroo Island. Evolution goes on, writes the author. These species are not exactly the same as those in the distant past, but they are here and alive now. Informative, engrossing and delightful.

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November 1, 2011

Award-winning paleontologist Fortey, a longtime Fellow of the Royal Society formerly associated with London's Natural History Museum, is one of those rare and wonderful science writers who can make even fossils come alive. That's not just a cliche; remember Trilobite? Here, Fortey travels far and wide to show us the organisms and ecosystems (like the horseshoe crabs of the title) that did not get wiped out as evolution moved things along. Essential for the science-minded and delightful for the rest.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2012
Calling plants and animals that survive from the Precambrian or Paleozoic eras living fossils is not fair, according to paleontologist Fortey. The implication is that these species with their ancient DNA do not belong in our time, but he points out their vitality and adaptability. Life on earth would not have survived mass extinction without them, and they are still part of the food chain. He identifies species as small as bacteria and as large as musk oxen in this wide-ranging survey. Fortey keeps the long discussion lighthearted by describing his international travels to find surviving species and making delightful pronouncements, such as Geologists turn rocks into clocks and We should all be grateful to slime. Instructive and entertaining photos are inserted in each chapter. For students and amateur naturalists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

April 1, 2012

Fortey (former senior paleontologist, Natural History Museum, London; Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth) mingles natural history with geology as he rambles the globe seeking out the locations of plants and animals that appear to have survived to the present day from as far back as the Paleozoic era. He discusses how they currently fit into their ecosystems and shares information gleaned from the geologic record. Fortey admits that these "living fossils"--or living species that appear the same as species known only from fossils and that are without close living relatives--are unlikely to have survived for so long without changing, as it is the nature of all life to change and mutate. While this book provides a glossary, its major weakness is that there are too few illustrations. Readers unfamiliar with these little-known species will have trouble visualizing the plants Fortey discusses. VERDICT The information presented here will appeal to readers interested in living fossils; recommended with the caveat that images are lacking. [See Prepub Alert, 9/29/11.]--Betty Galbraith, Washington State Univ. Lib., Pullman

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.