- Email: [email protected]
Atlas of palaeobiogeography
Marine Geology, 15 (1973): 211-214 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands.
B o o k Reviews
Atlas ofPalaeobiogeography. A. Hallam, (Editor). Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1973, 531 pp., Dfl. 120.00. An atlas is a bound collection of maps, tables, or charts (Webster's Third International Dictionary), and in this sense the book here under review is not an atlas. Rather, it is a collection of 47 essays by 48 authors on aspects of paleobiogeography of selected fossil groups, illustrated by good, informative maps and, in some papers, by illustrations of the fossils themselves. Because of its broad scope this is a difficult book to review. To do it justice, one would have to be an expert on anything from Cambrian trilobites to Triassic reptiles to Tertiary nannoplankton. Considering the number and variety of contributing authors, the treatment of the material is remarkably uniform in style and format. Most geological periods are covered by four or five articles, except the Cambrian for which there is only one, and the Jurassic for which there are nine. One might have wished for coverage of Precambrian life which has been omitted. Almost all paleobiogeographic data are compiled on present earth maps, most of them Winkel's "triple projection" suggested by the editor. Few authors have used continental-drift reconstructions, bearing out the editor's introductory remark that "even if one accepts continental drift it will be a long time before we can reliably plot the positions of continents for all the different periods". To keep such a book within bounds, coverage must necessarily be selective. Thus, for the Cambrian, only the trilobites are dealt with, for the Ordovician, articulate brachiopods, graptolites, corals, and conodonts, for the Devonian, graptolites, brachiopods, goniatites, and floras, to mention some typical examples. Of the nine papers on the Jurassic, six are devoted to cephalopods, and one each to corals, plants, and dinosaurs. There seems to be a slight bias here. Notable - and regrettable - omissions are Late Paleozoic ammonoids, all echinoderms, except blastoids, the great Middle and Late Triassic ammonoid radiations, all conodonts, except Ordovician, Neogene mammals, Paleozoic and Triassic coleoids, and others could be named. For example, in the entire volume there is no information on sponges, gastropods, and arthropods (other than Cambrian trilobites). Such shortcomings notwithstanding, we must be grateful that so much information has now been made readily available. Readers will be especially eager to scan articles on the paleobiogeography of groups in which they are not themselves specialists, because in no case can there be the slightest doubt about the competence of individual authors in their assigned subjects. High marks to the editor for exercising so much discrimination in the selection of his collaborators! In particular, most of the paleobiogeographic maps will prove to be of lasting value.
212
BOOK REVIEWS
It is interesting to analyze the authors' attitudes towards continental drift. Although my census may be somewhat biassed, it seems to me that of the 38 authors writing about pre-Tertiary biogeography, 19 percent are coming straight out in favor of drift, 16 percent are opposed, and 21 percent say "maybe". Fully 44 percent do not mention drift or are entirely, noncommittal. The book is splendidly produced in easily readable type and with, for the most part, easily comprehensible maps. There are some editorial short-comings, especially in the handling of chapter headings. One article (p.19)has only one heading: Introduction no others. Another paper has headings only for chapters on the last page (p.10). Unfortunately, in many contributions, Russian titles and, worse still, the names of Russian periodicals are given in English translation, thus imposing on readers and librarians the necessity for hour-long searches, if they wish to track down the Russian original. The systematic index of genera includes upward of 2,500 generic names - an exceedingly valuable feature of the book. Oddly, there is no mention anywhere of the only previously published book bearing an identical title. I am referring to Atlas de Pal~obiogkographie, by L. Joleaud (Lechevalier, Paris, 1939). CURT TEICHERT(Lawrence, Karts.)
Geomagnetism in Marine Geology. Victor Vacquier. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1972,200 pp., Dfl. 42.50. This book is largely a review of recent studies interpreting magnetic anomalies in the different oceans. Chapters on "The Physics of Geomagnetism", "Magnetic Properties of Ocean Basalts", and "Measurement of Geomagnetic Intensity at Sea" serve to introduce the subject of marine magnetics, while chapters on "Underthrusting of the Lithosphere and Plate Tectonics", "Absolute Displacement with Regard to the Earth's Rotational Axis", and "Interaction Between the Floor of the Pacific Ocean and its Margins" serve to emphasize the applications of marine magnetics to plate tectonics. Geomagnetism in Marine Geology does not pretend to be an "in depth" study of the subject for the serious student. According to the author: "This book was compiled for informing investigators in other branches of oceanography who often rub elbows with the marine geologists and geophysicists on oceanographic ships". In assembling the major part of the book describing the magnetic anomalies in the different oceans, the author has taken published papers and summarized them briefly. In the chapters such as the one on the Indian Ocean where he has essentially relied on a single paper, the summary is cogent. In the chapter on the North Atlantic where he has relied on three or four different studies, no serious attempt has been made to relate these studies in his summary. The reader is left in doubt as to how these studies contradict or complement each other.
B o o k Reviews
Atlas ofPalaeobiogeography. A. Hallam, (Editor). Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1973, 531 pp., Dfl. 120.00. An atlas is a bound collection of maps, tables, or charts (Webster's Third International Dictionary), and in this sense the book here under review is not an atlas. Rather, it is a collection of 47 essays by 48 authors on aspects of paleobiogeography of selected fossil groups, illustrated by good, informative maps and, in some papers, by illustrations of the fossils themselves. Because of its broad scope this is a difficult book to review. To do it justice, one would have to be an expert on anything from Cambrian trilobites to Triassic reptiles to Tertiary nannoplankton. Considering the number and variety of contributing authors, the treatment of the material is remarkably uniform in style and format. Most geological periods are covered by four or five articles, except the Cambrian for which there is only one, and the Jurassic for which there are nine. One might have wished for coverage of Precambrian life which has been omitted. Almost all paleobiogeographic data are compiled on present earth maps, most of them Winkel's "triple projection" suggested by the editor. Few authors have used continental-drift reconstructions, bearing out the editor's introductory remark that "even if one accepts continental drift it will be a long time before we can reliably plot the positions of continents for all the different periods". To keep such a book within bounds, coverage must necessarily be selective. Thus, for the Cambrian, only the trilobites are dealt with, for the Ordovician, articulate brachiopods, graptolites, corals, and conodonts, for the Devonian, graptolites, brachiopods, goniatites, and floras, to mention some typical examples. Of the nine papers on the Jurassic, six are devoted to cephalopods, and one each to corals, plants, and dinosaurs. There seems to be a slight bias here. Notable - and regrettable - omissions are Late Paleozoic ammonoids, all echinoderms, except blastoids, the great Middle and Late Triassic ammonoid radiations, all conodonts, except Ordovician, Neogene mammals, Paleozoic and Triassic coleoids, and others could be named. For example, in the entire volume there is no information on sponges, gastropods, and arthropods (other than Cambrian trilobites). Such shortcomings notwithstanding, we must be grateful that so much information has now been made readily available. Readers will be especially eager to scan articles on the paleobiogeography of groups in which they are not themselves specialists, because in no case can there be the slightest doubt about the competence of individual authors in their assigned subjects. High marks to the editor for exercising so much discrimination in the selection of his collaborators! In particular, most of the paleobiogeographic maps will prove to be of lasting value.
212
BOOK REVIEWS
It is interesting to analyze the authors' attitudes towards continental drift. Although my census may be somewhat biassed, it seems to me that of the 38 authors writing about pre-Tertiary biogeography, 19 percent are coming straight out in favor of drift, 16 percent are opposed, and 21 percent say "maybe". Fully 44 percent do not mention drift or are entirely, noncommittal. The book is splendidly produced in easily readable type and with, for the most part, easily comprehensible maps. There are some editorial short-comings, especially in the handling of chapter headings. One article (p.19)has only one heading: Introduction no others. Another paper has headings only for chapters on the last page (p.10). Unfortunately, in many contributions, Russian titles and, worse still, the names of Russian periodicals are given in English translation, thus imposing on readers and librarians the necessity for hour-long searches, if they wish to track down the Russian original. The systematic index of genera includes upward of 2,500 generic names - an exceedingly valuable feature of the book. Oddly, there is no mention anywhere of the only previously published book bearing an identical title. I am referring to Atlas de Pal~obiogkographie, by L. Joleaud (Lechevalier, Paris, 1939). CURT TEICHERT(Lawrence, Karts.)
Geomagnetism in Marine Geology. Victor Vacquier. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1972,200 pp., Dfl. 42.50. This book is largely a review of recent studies interpreting magnetic anomalies in the different oceans. Chapters on "The Physics of Geomagnetism", "Magnetic Properties of Ocean Basalts", and "Measurement of Geomagnetic Intensity at Sea" serve to introduce the subject of marine magnetics, while chapters on "Underthrusting of the Lithosphere and Plate Tectonics", "Absolute Displacement with Regard to the Earth's Rotational Axis", and "Interaction Between the Floor of the Pacific Ocean and its Margins" serve to emphasize the applications of marine magnetics to plate tectonics. Geomagnetism in Marine Geology does not pretend to be an "in depth" study of the subject for the serious student. According to the author: "This book was compiled for informing investigators in other branches of oceanography who often rub elbows with the marine geologists and geophysicists on oceanographic ships". In assembling the major part of the book describing the magnetic anomalies in the different oceans, the author has taken published papers and summarized them briefly. In the chapters such as the one on the Indian Ocean where he has essentially relied on a single paper, the summary is cogent. In the chapter on the North Atlantic where he has relied on three or four different studies, no serious attempt has been made to relate these studies in his summary. The reader is left in doubt as to how these studies contradict or complement each other.