Ice Age Mammals of North America

This popular nontechnical introduction to the strange and marvelous beasts of the Pleistocene ice ages is now even better. Since Ice Age Mammals of North America was first published in 2002, new information from the rapidly evolving sciences of genetics and radiometric dating, coupled with new fossil discoveries, has revolutionized our understanding of these mostly extinct animals. Lange untangles the complex evolutionary lineages of mammal families, including the gomphotheres, elephant-like creatures that coexisted with humans at the end of the Pleistocene. You�ll learn about the geologic events that led to the ice ages, along with possible causes for the mass extinctions of so many species. Fun sidebars explore such topics as the enormous size of some Ice Age animals, what teeth tell us about diets, how fossils and Ice Age mummies are preserved, and how scientists obtain DNA from fossilized dung. A state-by-state list of fossil and museum sites will guide you to the closest places to learn about Ice Age mammals.


About the Author
Lange, Ian M.: - Ian M. Lange, a graduate of Dartmouth College, has a PhD in geology from the University of Washington. When he was young, a Life magazine article sparked his fascination with Ice Age animals. He saw paintings of gargantuan beasts and a photo of a baby woolly mammoth frozen in the Arctic tundra, sending him on a lifelong quest to know and understand more about the Pleistocene world and its inhabitants. Lange worked for the US Geological Survey, consulted for mineral exploration companies, and is a professor emeritus in geology at the University of Montana in Missoula.Norton, Dorothy S.: - Dorothy S. Norton is an artist and scientific illustrator specializing in astronomy, geology, and paleontology. She illustated Rocks from Space (1998) and wrote and illustrated What�s So Mysterious about Meteorites? (2012), also available from Mountain Press Publishing Company. Her colorful paintings of extinct animals grace the walls of Japan�s National Geological Museums. From her home in Bend, Oregon, she produces instructional science slides for use in college and university classrooms.