Egypt's Prehistoric Fauna

About this book

At the World Heritage site of Wadi al-Hitan, or the Valley of the Whales, in Egypt's Western Desert, an ecotour in the desert reveals a site of invaluable prehistoric fossils, from whales and rays to sea turtles and crocodiles. Forty million years ago, this region in Egypt was submerged under the ocean, with a coastline of mangrove swamps. Yet while this site reveals incredible steps in the evolution of some species, it also proves the extraordinary perfection of others: crocodiles, sea turtles, and even bats have changed very little over the course of millions of years! Today, their descendants can still be found in Egypt, struggling to survive a much greater challenge than they faced with the dinosaurs: people. Water-resistant and compact, filled with colorful illustrations and photographs, comprehensive text, diagrams, and maps, this foldout guide is the perfect travel companion through geological time.

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Biography

Dominique Navarro is an Emmy Award winning art director, natural history artist, and writer. In 2014, she won an Emmy for her work as art director on the History Channel (H2) series Big History. She has collaborated on environmental projects producing posters, books, and field guides for museums, schools, and tourism and ecology programs in California. As a trained forensic artist, she produces illustrations and sculptural reconstructions of unidentified persons and ancient archaeological remains.

Matthew Lamanna is assistant curator of vertebrate paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA. Lamanna and his colleagues have discovered and named multiple new dinosaur species, including Paralititan stromeri, a long-necked herbivore from Egypt that is among the largest land animals yet found.