A “superbly written, richly illustrated” guide to the animals who lived 450 million years ago—in the fossil-rich area where Cincinnati, Ohio now stands (Rocks & Minerals). The region around Cincinnati, Ohio, is known throughout the world for the abundant and beautiful fossils found in limestones and shales that were deposited as sediments on the sea floor during the Ordovician Period, about 450 million years ago—some 250 million years before the dinosaurs lived. In Ordovician time, the shallow sea that covered much of what is now the North American continent teemed with marine life. The Cincinnati area has yielded some of the world’s most abundant and best-preserved fossils of invertebrate animals such as trilobites, bryozoans, brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms, and graptolites. So famous are the Ordovician fossils and rocks of the Cincinnati region that geologists use the term “Cincinnatian” for strata of the same age all over North America. This book synthesizes more than 150 years of research on this fossil treasure-trove, describing and illustrating the fossils, the life habits of the animals represented, their communities, and living relatives, as well as the nature of the rock strata in which they are found and the environmental conditions of the ancient sea. “A fascinating glimpse of a long-extinct ecosystem.” —Choice

Crinoids have graced the oceans for more than 500 million years. Among the most attractive fossils, crinoids had a key role in the ecology of marine communities through much of the fossil record, and their remains are prominent rock forming constituents of many limestones. This is the first comprehensive volume to bring together their form and function, classification, evolutionary history, occurrence, preservation and ecology. The main part of the book is devoted to assemblages of intact fossil crinoids, which are described in their geological setting in twenty-three chapters ranging from the Ordovician to the Tertiary. The final chapter deals with living sea lilies and feather stars. The volume is exquisitely illustrated with abundant photographs and line drawings of crinoids from sites around the world. This authoritative account recreates a fascinating picture of fossil crinoids for paleontologists, geologists, evolutionary and marine biologists, ecologists and amateur fossil collectors.

Have you ever wondered what left behind those prints and tracks on the seashore, or what made those marks or dug those holes in the dunes? Life Traces of the Georgia Coast is an up-close look at these traces of life and the animals and plants that made them. It tells about how the tracemakers lived and how they interacted with their environments. This is a book about ichnology (the study of such traces) and a wonderful way to learn about the behavior of organisms, living and long extinct. Life Traces presents an overview of the traces left by modern animals and plants in this biologically rich region; shows how life traces relate to the environments, natural history, and behaviors of their tracemakers; and applies that knowledge toward a better understanding of the fossilized traces that ancient life left in the geologic record. Augmented by illustrations of traces made by both ancient and modern organisms, the book shows how ancient trace fossils directly relate to modern traces and tracemakers, among them, insects, grasses, crabs, shorebirds, alligators, and sea turtles. The result is an aesthetically appealing and scientifically grounded book that will serve as source both for scientists and for anyone interested in the natural history of the Georgia coast.

Collector's Guide to Fort Payne Crinoids and Blastoids is the first comprehensive guide for identifying the fossils of echinoderms from hundreds of millions of years ago, when North America was covered by a warm, equatorial sea. Crinoids and blastoids, echinoderms (the same family of marine animals to include starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars) from the Fort Payne Formation in Kentucky, are rarely seen at gem, mineral, and fossil shows, nor are they regularly displayed at major museums. By combining high-quality color photographs and an accompanying descriptive text, William W. Morgan provides the first comprehensive identification guide to these fascinating fossils. Collector's Guide to Fort Payne Crinoids and Blastoids features photographs, often offering more than one view, of the best-quality specimens curated in the Smithsonian and other prominent invertebrate fossil museums. Morgan includes photographs that are unlabeled so that readers can test themselves to see whether they can differentiate some of the more subtle features that may be necessary for accurate identification.

60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Cincinnati covers the best and oftentimes little-known hiking destinations within 60 miles of the greater Cincinnati area. The hikes were selected based on family friendliness, scenery, and history. Many of the hikes fall between 3 to 5 miles in length, providing parents with a relaxing and revitalizing hike that even little ones can enjoy. Author Tammy York hiked most of the trails with her two young daughters. 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Cincinnati was created with other parents and newbie hikers in mind, yet it provides plenty of challenging hikes for skilled outdoor adventurers. Trails in this guide cover Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, and range from easy to difficult.

Explore the eccentric side of yesterday's Queen City Cincinnatians today wrap themselves in a comforting blanket of serene conformity, soothed by the myth that the Queen City has always been a bland, somewhat Germanic, little backwater. History tells us otherwise. Old Cincinnati was a pretty strange place. UFOs? Witchcraft? Sea Monsters? Occult societies? Public executions? All very common in Old Cincinnati. Over its history, this burgeoning river metropolis pursued the unusual, the sensational and the controversial. Cincinnati was big - among the ten largest U.S. cities. And it was rude and crude, still shaking off the dust from its years as a frontier outpost. Much of the popular nightlife then would be illegal today. Buckle up as author Greg Hand leads a rambunctious tour through the old, weird Cincinnati.

This book serves as an up-to-date introduction, as well as overview to modern trace fossil research and covers nearly all of the essential aspects of modern ichnology. Divided into three section, Trace Fossils covers the historical background and concepts of ichnology, on-going research problems, and indications about the possible future growth of the discipline and potential connections to other fields. This work is intended for a broad audience of geological and biological scientists. Workers new to the field could get a sense of the main concepts of ichnology and a clear idea of how trace fossil research is conducted. Scientists in related disciplines could find potential uses for trace fossils in their fields. And, established workers could use the book to check on the progress of their particular brand of ichnology. By design, there is something here for novice and veteran, insider and outsider, and for the biologically-oriented workers and for the sedimentary geologists.* Presents a review of the state of ichnology at the beginning of the 21st Century* Summarizes the basic concepts and methods of modern trace fossil research* Discusses crucial background information about the history of trace fossil research, the main concepts of ichnology, examples of current problems and future directions, and the potential connections to other disciplines within both biology and geology

In 1971 I published a review of ichnology other concentrating only on traces made (Houston AAPG: SEPM Trace Fossil Field by a certain group of organisms, regardless Trip Guidebook) that I thought could be of their setting. Nevertheless, needless re dundancy has hopefully been eliminated. expanded rather easily into a worthwhile Some of the chapters are more special book on the subject. I probed that possi ized than others (because of the nature of bility for a while, thinking that I would particular topics); hence, these may be write the book myself. As I began to out somewhat less familiar or "comprehensible" line the chapters in more detail, however, than others-depending upon the reader's it soon became apparent that my personal own interests and background. Other dif knowledge of too many facets of ichnology ferences in the scope and content of vari scraped bottom all too soon. I quickly de ous chapters stem from the simple fact cided that a better book could be produced that a considerably greater backlog of pre by soliciting specific contributions from vious work is available in certain facets of other workers who, collectively, had first ichnology than in others. But we hope hand experience with virtually every aspect that all of the chapters will prove to be use of the field. That became the actual plan, ful to anyone wishing to delve 'into them. the result of which is this book.