Resurrecting the Shark

July 23, 2017 By John E. Riutta in Newly Noted Books Tags: American, book, ewing, fish, ichthyology, News, paleontology, paleozoic, pegasus, podcast, prehistoric, resurrecting, scientific, shark

Turning on the most recent edition of Steve Mirsky‘s Scientific American podcast, I was delighted to discover that the entire episode was devoted to an interview with Susan Ewing and her recently published book from Pegasus Books titled Resurrecting the Shark; A Scientific Obsession and the Mavericks Who Solved the Mystery of a 270-Million-Year-Old Fossil.

Recounting the story of the discovery of, confusion surrounding, and research leading to a better understanding of Helocoprion, the unusual, to say the least, Paleozoïc chondrichthyan with a large pizza cutter-like circle of teeth in the center of its lower jaw, Ewing’s book sounds indeed to be a superb read for both those curious about the history and process of evolution among creatures of the prehistoric seas as well as for those who simply love a good mystery.

John E. Riutta

Founder and publisher of The Well-read Naturalist. Inveterate autodidact. Has repeatedly been found out standing in many fields. Plays well with otters.

→ John E. Riutta

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