Big meg : the story of the largest and most mysterious predator that ever lived

First Title Value for Searching:

Personal Author:

Flannery, Tim F. (Tim Fridtjof), 1956-

Edition:

First Grove Atlantic hardcover editon.

Physical Description:

216 pages, 4 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 22 cm.

Summary:

"Internationally bestselling author and renowned scientist Tim Flannery and his daughter, scientist Emma Flannery, deliver an informative-yet-intimate portrait of the megalodon, an extinct shark and the largest predator of all time. When Tim Flannery was a boy he found a fossilized tooth of the giant shark megalodon at a beach near his home in Australia. This remarkable find-the tooth was large enough to cover his palm-sparked an interest in paleontology that was to inform his life's work and a lifelong quest to uncover the secrets of the great shark Otodus megalodon. Tim passed on his love of the natural world and interest in the fossil record to his daughter, Emma, a scientist and writer. And now, together, they have written a fascinating account of this ancient marine creature. Big Meg charts the evolution of megalodon, its super-predator status for about fifteen million years and its decline and extinction. It delves into the fossil record to answer questions about its behavior and role in shaping marine ecosystems as well as its impact on the human psyche. It contains stories of the scientist and amateur fossil hunters who have scoured the seas, and land, for fossil remains, drawn to the beauty and mystique of the great shark, sometimes meeting their death in the process. Deemed "in the league of the all-time great explorers" by David Attenborough, Tim Flannery has come together with Emma Flannery to spin a story of the great natural history of our planet as enthralling as the fossil record itself"--

Contents:

The discovery -- The Megalodon -- Origins: the evolution of sharks -- The miocene: the Megalodon's heyday -- Extinction -- Charms, tools and jewels -- the sweating teeth of malta -- The don of Megalodons -- Where the beautiful Megs lie -- Shark eats man -- Man eats shark -- The imaginary Meg.

Subject Term:

Carcharocles megalodon

Additional Credits:

Publication Info:

New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2024.

Subject:

Carcharocles megalodon

Paleontology

Animals, Fossil

Sharks, Fossil

Sharks

Carcharodon megalodon

Megalodon

Fossilogy

Fossilology

Palaeontology

Paleontology, Zoological

Paleozoology

Animal fossils

Animals, Antediluvian

Animals, Prehistoric

Antediluvian animals

Fauna, Prehistoric

Prehistoric animals

Prehistoric fauna

SAILS ISBN:

9780802162588

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Fiske Public Library	597.33 FLANNERY	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lakeville Public Library	597.33 FLA	NEW BOOK SHELF	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mansfield Public Library	597.3 FLAN	NEW NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... New Bedford Wilks Branch	597.33 FLA 2024	NEW NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Norfolk Public Library	597.31 FLAN	NEW NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Plympton Public Library	597.33 F	NEW NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Rehoboth - Blanding Free PL	597.33 FLA	NEW NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Seekonk Public Library	597.33 FLANNERY	NEW NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Taunton Public Library	597.33 F614B	LOBBY	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wareham Free Library	597.3 FLANNERY 2023	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Internationally bestselling author and renowned scientist Tim Flannery and his daughter, scientist Emma Flannery, delivers an informative-yet-intimate portrait of the megalodon, an extinct shark and the largest predator of all time

When Tim Flannery was a boy he found a fossilized tooth of the giant shark megalodon at a beach near his home in Australia. This remarkable find--the tooth was large enough to cover his palm--sparked an interest in paleontology that was to inform his life's work and a lifelong quest to uncover the secrets of the great shark Otodus megalodon.

Tim passed on his love of the natural world and interest in the fossil record to his daughter, Emma, a scientist and writer. And now, together, they have written a fascinating account of this ancient marine creature.

Big Meg charts the evolution of megalodon, its super-predator status for about fifteen million years and its decline and extinction. It delves into the fossil record to answer questions about its behavior and role in shaping marine ecosystems as well as its impact on the human psyche. It contains stories of the scientist and amateur fossil hunters who have scoured the seas, and land, for fossil remains, drawn to the beauty and mystique of the great shark, sometimes meeting their death in the process.

Deemed "in the league of the all-time great explorers" by David Attenborough, Tim Flannery has come together with Emma Flannery to spin a story of the great natural history of our planet as enthralling as the fossil record itself.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Paleontologist Tim Flannery (The Eternal Frontier) teams up with his scientist daughter Emma (Weirdest Creatures in Time) for this intermittently stimulating examination of the megalodon, an extinct shark species that lived from 20 to five million years ago. Admitting that the megalodon "remains largely a mystery," with the only known remnants consisting of "fossilised teeth and a few vertebrae," the authors gamely cover what scientists have speculated on the basis of this evidence. Because megalodon teeth are usually found "as isolated specimens," it's believed the megalodon, like most sharks, produced and lost teeth continuously, with each individual "capable of producing tens of thousands of teeth over its century-long life." A study of growth bands in a megalodon vertebra found in Belgium suggested the animal was more than two meters long when it was born. Among extant sharks, the authors observe, such "large pups are indicative of both live birth and an unsavoury behaviour known as intrauterine cannibalism." The impressive science highlights how much researchers have been able to learn from a limited fossil record. Unfortunately, there's still a fair bit of filler about contemporary shark attacks on humans, the decimation of shark populations due to overfishing, and the evolution of sharks generally. Still, this is worth diving into. Agent: David Forrer, InkWell Management. (Feb.)

Kirkus Review

A fascinating account of a super-predator that once ruled the seas. Australian scientist, explorer, and conservationist Tim Flannery teams up with his daughter, Emma, a scientist and writer, to offer a comprehensive look at the largest predator that ever lived, Otodus megalodon, a gigantic shark that's been extinct for millions of years. Tim Flannery's fascination with the beast began in 1973, when he was 16 and discovered a fossilized tooth on a beach. "The fossil," he recalls, "was large enough to cover my palm. Its silken chestnut-brown enamel shone brilliantly in the sunshine." It seemed magical. Such fossils, he discovered, were the only evidence that the megalodon ever existed, but they are not rare. The shark had about 272 teeth in its mouth, each replaced every few weeks. From the chemical composition of the fossils, scientists conclude that the megalodon consumed other predators. Much larger than even the largest of its ancestors, the megalodon weighed between 50 and 100 tons; an orca, weighing about six tons, would provide a mere snack. The modern shark, note the authors, came into existence some 200 million years ago, and about 100 million years ago began to act as the ocean's top predator. But when a huge bolide struck the Earth about 66 million years ago, non-avian dinosaurs, and about a third of all shark species, died out. Some 40 million years later, the megalodon arose and dominated the oceans, and the cause for its extinction between 4.5 and 2.5 million years ago remains a mystery. Besides imparting scientific information, including descriptions of many bizarre shark species, the authors report on humans' responses to sharks, which arise in rituals, myths, and tales, including Jaws (which incited Emma Flannery's recurring nightmares) and the 2018 film The Meg, which portrays the great shark "as a one-dimensional, murderous monster." A lively investigation into a marine mystery. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Australian environmentalist and prolific author Flannery (Europe: A Natural History, 2019) teams up with his scientist daughter to introduce readers to the largest predator in the planet's history: the megalodon. Now best known as Jason Statham's action movie nemesis, the immense shark went extinct at the end of the Pliocene epoch (approximately 3.5 million years ago). The enigma of a shark so large it dwarfs the humpback whale and the Tyrannosaurus Rex, offers an opportunity to reconsider the entire ecology of the ancient oceans. Here, the Flannerys do just that, using data gleaned from fossils and the rock formations containing them. Chapters on shark evolution, the heyday of megalodon, and the ecological and environmental changes that caused their extinction help give a picture of the immense shark and its underwater world. Other chapters about the human/megalodon fossil connection, where to find the best fossils, and the long history of human vs. shark lore complete a biography of a fearsome predator.

Chapter 1 The Discovery	1
Chapter 2 The Megalodon	11
Chapter 3 Origins: The Evolution of Sharks	47
Chapter 4 The Miocene: The Megalodon's Heyday	73
Chapter 5 Extinction	84
Chapter 6 Charms, Tools and Jewels	106
Chapter 7 The Sweating Teeth of Malta	121
Chapter 8 The Don of Megalodons	133
Chapter 9 Where the Beautiful Megs Lie	139
Chapter 10 Shark Eats Man	159
Chapter 11 Man Eats Shark	184
Chapter 12 The Imaginary Meg	190
References	205
Index	213

Available:

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

Table of Contents