Recommended Fossil-Related Reads
Fossil Identification Guides
Vertebrate Fossils: A Neophyte’s Guide by Frank A. Kocsis Jr.
A Neophyte’s Guide pictured with some of our more interesting fossil finds from the day.Though hard to find for a reasonable price these days, scoop it up if you do. This book is extremely helpful for identifying vertebrate fossils, especially ones that aren’t as commonly found.
The book is organized by classes of animals and is great for isolated finds (e.g. single teeth or complete bones). It has very clear visuals and includes more obscure finds such as phalanges, vertebra, and incisors. The book covers reptiles such as turtles, snakes, and alligators; edentates such as glyptodonts and sloth; carnivores such as raccoons, dire wolves, walrus, and jaguar; proboscidians such as mastodon, mammoth, and gomphopherium; as well as many more.
What Your Fossils Can Tell You: Vertebrate Morphology, Pathology, and Cultural Modification by Robert W. Sinibaldi
While this book isn’t our go-to for identifying finds, it is a wonderful source for information and a must-have for any novice hunter looking to further their knowledge. In addition to the very well written and understandable in-depth look at the more unique details found in fossils, the photographs that show distinct and identifying features are each clearly labeled with identification, location, time period, size, and description.
If you are looking to learn more about identifying tusk sections based on the Schreger lines or how congenital anomalies and jaw injuries may cause pathologies in megalodon teeth, this book is an invaluable resource. After taking it all in, you will be able to go back through your own collection with fresh eyes picking out some of the details you just learned.
Florida’s Fossils: Guide to Location, Identification and Enjoyment by Robin C. Brown
We keep a copy of our favorite fossil identification guides on the boat with us to help with unknown finds.What I really enjoy about this guide is that it includes interesting information such as fossils that indicate age and the geologic formations in Florida. It also includes a section with information on how and where to look for fossils complete with maps. I’m a visual learner and I always love a good map.
The identification section of the book isn’t organized in an order that I find too easy to use, but the mix of drawings and real photographs is very helpful and also includes some more obscure fossil finds. In addition, it has a good selection of fossil invertebrates.
A Beachcomber’s Guide to Fossils by Bob Gale, Pam Gale, and Ashby Gale
This book came recommended to me by several fellow fossil hunters and I can see why. Each page includes clear photographs from multiple angles and a detailed description of the fossil. What’s unique about this guide is that it identifies features to look for in fragments and broken specimens, such as ones you may find if hunting on the beaches or where you tend to find more tumbled fossils.
The book is broken down by type of fossil (e.g., limb bones, ankle bones, osteoderms, premolars, etc.) rather than species which can be helpful when looking to identify an unknown find. This has been very useful in narrowing down the identification to the type of bone/tooth/etc. Then, when necessary, moving to another book to home in on the exact species. For example, using A Beachcomber’s Guide to Fossils to identify a bone such as a calcaneus or astragalus. Overall, we find this book to be incredibly thorough and a great starting point to aid in identification. It is very user-friendly and has a ton of very interesting information.
Fossil Related Reads
The Man Who Rode Sharks by William R. Royal with Robert F. Burgess (forward by Eugenie Clark)
Bill Royal's book pictured on a day fishing trip offshore Venice.I like to tell people to take into account the time in which the story in this book begins (during the Depression) and shift their mindset to that time period as it begins with Royal catching sharks to feed his family in 1930’s. Then, later in the book it transitions into him capturing sharks for a scientific lab.
Obviously the chapter that delves into diving in Venice is my favorite. We always imagine what it must have been like for some of the first divers in the area and how many fossils there must have been. While I don’t think the teeth will be running out in Venice anytime soon, it’s still interesting to see how the hunt has changed over the years as diving in the area has become more well-known and popular.
In addition to fossil diving in Venice, the book tells the story of the Native American burial site in Warm Mineral Springs in nearby North Port. It is fascinating to read along with the exploration of finding and dating human remains and charred wood back to over 10,000 years ago. One of the skulls that was discovered even had human brain matter still intact. The springs were named to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov. 28, 1977.
This book gives the first hand perspective to a time we all wish we could have been here discovering a piece of history and is certainly worth a read.
Giants in the Storm by Mark Renz
Alex Lundberg pictured on the Mini Meg Goddess with Giants in the Storm and a freshly found fossilized tusk.This book was a very interesting and unique read. It was written by Mark Renz who actually spearheaded the LaBelle Highway Pit project and chronicles the project from start to finish. Renz walks us through how his curiosity about a pile of dirt on the side of the road led to the discovery and excavation of a major fossil site in Florida. Being an amateur fossil hunter myself, it was motivating to see how a group of people could come together over this shared interest and take on such a large project. I thoroughly enjoyed all the photos of the site itself, the excavation in progress, and the fossils in-situ.
I’m somebody that is always very interested in the ‘why’ when it comes to fossils and where we find them, so I found the chapter that discusses attritional assemblage (natural deaths over time) vs. catastrophic assemblage (an event such as a storm, flood, drought, etc.) very intriguing. Renz details how things such as the types of animals, animals age at time of death, bite marks on bones, weather & preservation of specimens, etc. can help scientists learn more about the ‘why’. Unfortunately, for many of our favorite fossil collecting sites, we may never know the ‘why’; this is one of the many reasons Mark Renz advocates for donating any significant finds to the museum for research.
While the first 1/3 of the book covers the discovery and process, the remaining 2/3 is dedicated to cataloguing the finds which include both photographs (many on site as they were found) and labels. You can view a full list of the museum’s collection from the LaBelle Highway Pit here.
Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age by Adrian Lister and Paul Bahn
Mammoths pictured with several mammoth teeth from various locations.I cannot recommend this book enough. It is one of the most interesting and detailed books about mammoths that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I learned more than I ever knew I wanted to know from this book. It covers life, death, and preservation, starting with ancestral lineage dating back 55 million years up until interactions with early man and extinction. It also covers notable fossil discoveries around the world. In addition, the illustrations in the book make it very easy to understand some of the more scientific concepts and topics, such as evolution, migration and extinction.
While the Woolly Mammoth is the more well-known species, the mammoth fossils we find diving here in Venice, Florida are from the Columbian Mammoth, and I found it very educational to learn more about both them and the ancestors they evolved from. One of the most interesting things to me was the information about the adaptations of their skulls, tusks and teeth throughout the years.
Related Florida History Reads
Article: Manasota Key Offshore Native American Burial Site
Secrets of the Springs: Warm Mineral Springs and Little Salt Springs by Robin Brown and Scott Derks
Secrets of the Springs pictures at modern day Warm Mineral Springs Park.This book gives a good overview of the history of the springs, both in the past and modern times, through alternating chapters. Really, it’s almost three perspectives since the modern account can be broken down into the scientific discoveries in the springs and the more broad history of the area. It’s not a book you need to read cover to cover, though recommended if you have the time; with the alternating chapter setup it’s easy to skip around as you see fit.
The historical perspective is written as a fact-based-fiction that really sets the scene and allows you to imagine what it may have been like during the Paleo days. The stories are paired with pictures of artifacts recovered from the area and help to depict how they may have been used, such as a rawhide bucket or bottle gourd.
The more recent factual account details the discoveries made in Warm Mineral Springs and Little Salt Springs - one of the first places where they documented underwater stalactites and skeletal remains dating back at least 10,000 years. That these discoveries were made in 1959 when dive equipment was not nearly as advanced as it is today makes them even more remarkable.
