Giant Predators of the Ancient Seas
Cutchins and
Johnston
lina uth Caro rham/So a Joanne B
“The narrative provides questions and answers along with focused information . . . the photos are great. . . . I recommend Ice Age Giants of the South for middle school students. . . . Its focus on fossils and the stories they tell should be very interesting to these students.”
Ancient Seas
Praise for ICE AGE GIANTS OF THE SOUTH, Volume 1 in the Southern Fossil Discoveries series, from the National Teachers Association:
of the
W
s painting l a n i g i r and o r photos o of the l o c f o edators ay r r r P a t y n r a t the i a ation, G traordin arn abou x m e l e r o o n f t a n i s h e it il clu ng new ved. use foss ascinati s f t s s i t a n t ever li l l e a i e c h t s s l w as w a o n res h anim Souther ing sea as explo t e e i c S h t x t e n n i t e i s t Anc e mo e firs s ats of th outh, th t i S b e a h h t eas give f d S o n t s a n t e s i n e c a liv e Gi e An to Ice Ag tors of th a n ures d o i e r n a P p t nt creat ian a i G g A com , s e e i h t r e ss ok at iscoverie rward lo o f t h g i Fossil D a r , st . in-depth n a s r ehistory e r d p f o rea s r wate wled the o r p t a h t
Predators
ootize, 43-f This life-s at el of a gre long mod s rk amaze tooth sha th t the Sou visitors a um. u tate M se S a n li ro Ca
Giant
seum State Mu
Southern discoveries
Cover design by Carol Tornatore Front cover art by Karen Carr
Pineapple Press, Inc. • Sarasota, Florida
Judy Cutchins and Ginny Johnston
vol.2
Southern FOSdiscoveries vol.2
Giant Predators of the Ancient Seas Judy Cutchins and Ginny Johnston
Pineapple Press, Inc. • Sarasota, Florida
Copyright © 2001 by Judy Cutchins and Ginny Johnston All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Inquiries should be addressed to: Pineapple Press, Inc. P.O. Box 3889 Sarasota, Florida 34230 www.pineapplepress.com
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Cutchins, Judy. Giant predators of the ancient seas / Judy Cutchins and Ginny Johnston.— 1st ed. p. cm. — (Southern fossil discoveries) Includes index. ISBN 1-56164-237-1 (alk. paper) 1. Marine animals, Fossil—Juvenile literature. [1. Marine animals, Fossil. 2. Prehistoric animals. 3. Paleontology.] I. Johnston, Ginny. II. Title. QE851 .C88 2001 566’.09162—dc21 2001021328
First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Design by Carol Tornatore Creative Design Printed in the United States of America
Acknowledgments We wish to give very special acknowledgment to James P. Lamb, Ph.D., Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and to Mark Uhen, Ph.D., Curator of Paleontology and Zoology at Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Their expertise and generosity have been invaluable in our work on Giant Predators of the Ancient Seas. We gratefully acknowledge Mike Everhart, Oceans of Kansas Paleontology, for sharing his knowledge and his excellent photographs. We also thank David Dockery, Ph.D., and Michael Bograd, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Jackson, Mississippi; Eleanor Daly, Ph.D., Curator of Paleontology, Mississippi Museum of Natural History, Jackson, Mississippi; Ed Hooks, Ph.D., Collections Manager, Alabama Museum of Natural History, Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Susan Henson, Collections Manager, McWane Center, Birmingham, Alabama; Neal Larson, Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Hill City, South Dakota; Al Sanders, Ph.D., Curator of Natural Sciences, Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; James Westgate, Ph.D., Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas; James Knight, Ph.D., Curator of Paleontology, South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, South Carolina; and Judith A. Schiebout, Ph.D., LSU Museum of Natural History, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We greatly appreciate the cooperation and assistance of these professionals.
Art and Photo Credits The authors gratefully acknowledge the following people and organizations for the use of their art and photographs. front cover: painting by Karen Carr/mural commissioned by the Sam Noble
Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
pp. 7, 8–9, 10, 15 (top), 17 (top), 19, 20, 23 (bottom), 24–25, 26 (top), 30–31, 32
(bottom), 33, 35 (top), 36, 38, 39, 40, 43 (middle), 48, 51 (bottom), 52–53, 54, 55, 60: Judy Cutchins
p. 11 (top): Erika H. Simons/Florida Museum of Natural History p. 11 (bottom): Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality pp. 12–13, 46, 50 (top): Tony Madden/Fernbank Science Center p. 14: painting by Dan Varner p. 15: Alabama Museum of Natural History p. 16: Paul Goulet/Little Ray’s Reptile Adventure pp. 17, 22 (fossil specimen courtesy of Tad Rust), 29 (bottom), 49: James P. Lamb p. 21 (top): Ed Gerkin/c Black Hills Institute of Geological Research p. 21 (bottom): Neal Larson/c Black Hills Institute of Geological Research p. 23 (top): Discovery 2000, Inc., d/b/a McWane Center pp. 26 (bottom), 27, 28, 34–35: Mike Everhart/Oceans of Kansas Paleontology p. 29 (top): Mark Widhalm/The Field Museum #GEO 86290C p. 34 (top): Michael Triebold/Triebold Paleontology p. 37: David Schwimmer/Columbus State University p. 41 (top): Jameson Weston/Utah’s Hogle Zoo pp. 41 (bottom), 42, 43 (top and bottom): James Westgate, Lamar State University pp. 44–45: Frank Fortune/Georgia Southern University p. 47: Levette Bagwell/Atlanta Journal Constitution p. 50 (bottom): drawing by Kenneth Carpenter/Denver Museum of Nature and Science p. 51 (top): Mozelle Funderburk pp. 56–57: Joanne Barham/South Carolina State Museum pp. 58–59: painting by George L. Schelling
Contents 1.
Fossils from Ancient Seas
2.
Monster Sea Lizards
3.
Strange Plesiosaurs
4.
Awesome Fish
5.
Real Sea Serpents 38
6.
First Toothed Whales
7.
Great Tooth Sharks
8.
Giant Sea Predators Today Glossary
12 24
32
44 52
61
Pronunciation Key 62 Index
63
6
58
o
ne
Fossils from Ancient
Seas
H
ow do we know what kinds of giant predators swam in prehistoric seas? People find fossils of these extinct animals, and scientists use these clues to identify creatures that lived in the oceans long ago. The sea bottom provided ideal conditions for fossil formation. Countless microscopic and larger shelled animals lived in the sea. When they died, their empty shells settled on the seafloor, building up over time as layers of sediment. Mud, clay, and sand were deposited in the sea by rivers. Larger animals that died in the water or
were washed in from the shore were buried by the sediment. Some hard parts, such as teeth and bones, became fossils. Over time, sediment layers grew hundreds or even thousands of feet thick. The weight of top layers packed deeper layers into a sedimentary rock called limestone.
Forming Fossils
W hen th e skeleto ns and s hells of animals are burie d for ma ny years under th e right c ondition s, certain minerals graduall y replac e the materia l in the b ones, tee th, and s T his is o hells. ne way f ossils ar e forme d.
6
Change has always been part of the earth’s history. Mountains have been uplifted and climates have warmed and cooled. Sea level has been high at times and low at others. Over millions of years, huge numbers of species of plants and animals have lived and died out.
7
8
Parts of the southeastern United States that were covered with seawater in prehistoric times are today known as the southern Coastal Plain. This part of North America is now dry, sandy land. But it was underwater for millions of years when the earth’s sea level was higher than it is today. When sea level is high, more land is underwater. When sea level falls, there is more dry land. Scientists search for fossils in the Coastal Plain to learn what kinds of animals inhabited the prehistoric sea.
After sea creatures die, their bodies settle to the bottom and are buried by sediment.
9
