Field Guide to Fossils: No. 2 - Fossils of the Chalk

The Chalk, a charateristic white limestone deposited across much of northern Europe during the Upper Cretaceous, contains a remarkably diverse and well preserved fossil fauna. Previously, descriptions of this important fauna were scattered throughout numerous specialist monographs. Here for the first time this book provides a pocket-sized field guide to the identification of the almost complete range of macrofossils likely to be encountered in the Chalk of Britain. Following a brief introduction there are 11 chapters each dealing with a specific fossil group, ranging from sponges to dinosaurs, and written by individual specialists. Almost 400 species are illustrated photographically in 59 plates and each is accompanied by a brief diagnosis to aid identification together with notes on its stratigraphical range and distribution. Numerous other species comparable with those illustrated are also discussed in the text and their diagnostic differences noted. In addition each chapter provides a guide to the more important monographs and specialist publications where a fuller account of each group might be found. With almost all of the commonly encountered.

Chalk fossils illustrated and a considerable number of the rarer species also covered, this book should be essential to all those interested in the Chalk, both amateur and professional.