Firefly Guide To Fossils

A practical guide to identifying, understanding and hunting for fossils. The Firefly Guide to Fossils is a practical, pocket-sized and beautifully illustrated field guide. Its introduction explains how fossils form and the history of ancient life. Fossil classification and distribution are described, providing essential background information for students and collectors. Fossil hunting is described in detail with practical advice on everything from finding sites to displaying specimens. The main part of the book presents major groups of fossils, from trilobites to tree ferns in a wide international range, from the common and easy-to-find, to dinosaur bones that would crown any collection. The entries are illustrated with color images accompanied by clear descriptive text. A quick reference identification key organizes the 400 specimens by the major fossil classification, making it easier to find detailed information for each one.

The Pocket-sized Reference Book Series Each book covers a subject from science, nature, history and art. Each book is researched, written and checked by experts. Each is systematically organized for easy access to information. The visual approach brings the subjects to life for all readers, and makes them easy to understand. Each book contains tables, figures, glossary and index. If you have ever wanted to find information on a subject, but not wanted to got to specialized tomes, you will want Firefly Pocket Guides. They are easy to handle and organized for easy reference.

Uncover the intriguing world beneath our feet Rocks and Fossils reveal the state of the planet now and what the future may bring, including clues about the shifting, changing nature of the continents, mountain ranges, oceans, and islands. Rocks and Fossils is a beautifully illustrated book that brings life to the seemingly timeless landscape. It explains geological concepts in relevant and familiar terms. Lively illustrations reveal a vast, hidden world via cross-sections and cutaways with explanatory captions. The book explores the internal engine of our planet -- the liquid iron core unique among terrestrial planets, which is the catalyst for the creation and destruction of land, mountain, and oceans. Rocks and Fossils is organized in six main sections: The Dynamic Earth: the ever-changing nature of the world Ancient Worlds: life from the Precambrian era to the age of humans Key Features: how rocks and fossils form Rocks and Fossils in the Landscape: where to find fossils Minerals: How they form and why some are precious Fossils: signs of life from single-cell organisms to dinosaurs. Rocks and Fossils explains the fossil record to show how prehistoric lifeforms are linked to plants and animals still on Earth. Why did some species survive and others perish? What does the future hold?

A detailed and extensively illustrated handbook. The colors, shapes and properties of minerals vary from the bland to the magnificent. Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Fossils is a practical and authoritative handbook that is both comprehensive and easy to use. Each of the 600 specimens is shown in full color, sometimes in two or more forms. There are also drawings that show the structure of the crystalline specimens. It covers the basics like granite, as well as oddities like meteorites and tektites. Fossils include sponges, corals, arthropods, brachiopods, and fossil land plants. Each is described in detail, with notes on: color and transparency grain size hardness structure occurrence mineralogy distinguishing features habit cleavage texture alteration luster Mineral names, chemical formulae and structural data accord to international standards. This is a very complete, but attractive and useful volume in a respected series.

"The practical and comprehensive on-the-go nature guide."--Page [4] of cover.

A guide to the identification, structure, and uses of precious and semi-precious stones, novelty stones, agates, and crystals.

"The practical and comprehensive on-the-go nature guide."--Page [4] of cover.