Fossiling in Florida: A Guide for Diggers and Divers
Title: FOSSILING IN FLORIDA: A Guide for Diggers and Divers
Author: Mark Renz
Illustrator: Marisa Renz
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Signed copies available.
"The adventure and discovery of Florida field paleontology are well
exemplified in these charming chapters.
Mark Renz has an appealing, light-hearted style and tells most of his
experiences in the first person. On the other other hand,
he conveys a substantial body of information from the
scholarly literature in a condensed,
but accurate manner. The underwater searching and excavating techniques
are really quite original". S.
David Webb
Distinguished Research Curator
Florida Museum of Natural History.
With boundless enthusiasm, Mark Renz stumbles onto the skeletal
remains of fierce sabercats, gentle sea cows, massive mammoths and mastodons,
Volkswagen-size armadillos, and an ancient five-ton giant ground sloth,
and then shares his experiences in
this humorous, illustrated book for beginning fossil collectors.
Want to look for fossils yourself but not sure how to get started?
Renz tells how and where to hunt and how to preserve your finds for
another million years, and he provides
more than 250 photographs that help identify these bones and teeth and
distinguish a
prehistoric bison from a farmer's lost cow. He also ponders such
philosophical thoughts
as "Which came first, the fossilized chicken or its egg?" and "How do
you swim across a river loaded down with fossils when there's an
alligator at your back?"
Guided by an appreciation for the professional paleontologist and
also for the laws
that regulate his hobby, Renz explains, for example, why it is okay to
dig for fossils in a
state-owned creek bed (providing one possesses a state permit and does
not dig in a state
park), and why it is illegal to engage in the same activity in search of
artifacts. With
writing that's free of technical jargon but full of love for fossiling,
this book will inspire
you to explore the huge number of rich fossil deposits in Florida that
can be found with
just a shovel and a keen eye"
"Few disciplines encompassed by the study of nature and human culture
have such wide appeal as those of
paleontology and archaeology. It has always been a balancing act to
understand and control the excitement
of initial discovery and to develop the skills needed to recognize
significant finds. If the promotion of
knowledge is key to the salvation of the paleontological resource, then
the work of Mark Renz promises to provide a timely and much needed step
forward."
James S. Dunbar,
Archaeological Field Supervisor
Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research.
Mark Renz, writer and amateur paleontologist, has taught continuing
education classes geared for
beginner fossil collectors for Edison Community College in Fort Myers
and leads Fossil-Finding Expeditions
in Southwest Florida. He was the first president of the
Paleontological Society of Lee County,
Florida.
Renz lives in Lehigh Acres, Florida.
Order book through PaleoPress by:
1. Providing VISA or Mastercard information by phone (239-368-3252), or
e-mail (fossilx@earthlink.net),or
2. Enclosing a check or money order payable to PaleoPress
for $19.95, plus 3.75 postage & handling (plus 6% sales tax for Florida residents). Foreign orders welcomed, but will have to be computed on an individual basis, depending on rates for each country.
(fossilx@earthlink.net)
must be accompanied by credit card information, an international
Money Order, or a check drawn on a U.S. bank.
In the USA, call 239-368-3252. Business address for checks: PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Avenue, Lehigh Acres, FL 33972