Dawning of the Dinosaurs: The Story of Canada's Oldest Dinosaurs

Patrick Colgan is associate director of programs at the Canadian Museum
of Nature.

Paleontologically, the Fundy region ranks with the Burgess shale of
British Columbia in richness, which is why it is featured in the new
mineral hall at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Hence, this account of
the region’s dinosaurs, written by a local naturalist and supported by
district agencies, is very valuable.

The chapters provide a pleasant blend of the geology of the area, its
dinosaurian fossils, and the history of study ranging from the early
work (150 years ago) of such individuals as Charles Lyell and William
Dawson (who, to nitpick with the author, did not actually found McGill
University) to more recent discoverers, including devoted amateurs.
There are good overviews of successive geologic periods and dating, the
nature of fossils, the groups of dinosaurs found regionally, and the
specific localities to explore. Well presented are the excitement of the
study; the topic of mass extinctions and their causes; how, for
instance, the Jurassic sediments serve as a Rosetta stone for
understanding life in that time; and how ichnology (the study of
trackways) enables biological inferences. There are also important
cautions regarding collecting regulations and hazards with tides and
cliffs.

The book includes a bibliography, an index of dinosaurs, and
illustrations. Among the latter are those of successive sections of one
region, which, together with the compact format, facilitate the book’s
use in the field by hikers. Like a visit to the Fundy Geological Museum,
this book is most worthwhile.