MEETING A GIANT OF THE DINOSAUR AGE (Via Its Fossil Remains)

Giant Sea Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age. At the Royal Tyrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta

I love learning about dinosaurs and the world as it was when they were alive. My book, Giant Sea Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age (Clarion Books, 2007) looks at the diversity of large reptiles that once inhabited the world’s oceans. Like the dinosaurs, they all became extinct 65 million years ago. We know about them today from their fossil remains.

Opening pages of Giant Sea Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age

On my recent trip to the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada I was thrilled to see up close the remains of Shonisaurus sikanniensis, the huge ichthyosaur that I wrote about in the opening pages of the book. It is huge, filling an entire room at the museum. Here's what I wrote:

Fossil skeleton of Shonisaurus sikanniensis.

Two hundred and twenty million years ago, in waters that covered what is now western Canada, a huge marine reptile cruised the shallow seas. Propelling itself with flat, flipper-like limbs, the 70-foot long animal hunted for shellfish and other small ocean animals, which it sucked into its long, toothless snout and swallowed. This fearsome creature was Shonisaurus sikanniensis, a species of ichthyosaur, one of several types of large sea reptiles that inhabited the world’s oceans in the Dinosaur Age.

The fossil remains of Shonisaurus sikanniensis were first discovered in 1991 when a hiker in northern British Columbia spotted some big fossil bones eroding out of the banks of the Sikanni Chief River. He reported his find to the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology, in Drumheller, Alberta, where one of the curators, Dr. Elizabeth Nicholls, was an expert on prehistoric sea reptiles. She visited the site and was amazed by what she saw. The bones were bigger than those of any known marine reptile, and, incredibly, most of the skeleton was intact. The only missing parts were the hind limbs. Over the course of three summers, the fossil skeleton was dug out of the ground and transported to the museum, where it was studied and prepared for exhibit. Every part of the animal proved to be huge. The massive skull weighed more than one and a half tons, and the largest vertebrae, which measured nearly 11 inches across, were the size of dinner plates. In 2006, the giant skull of Shonisaurus sikanniensis went on display at the museum. Along with the rest of the skeleton, it will help answer questions about the appearance and lifestyle of this giant prehistoric predator and why it grew so big.

As Elizabeth Nicholls is quoted in the museum display: "The world we live in right now is just a blink in the history of life on our planet. 220 million years ago there was a tremendous diversity of life that we know so little about."

Giant Sea Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age is illustrated with beautiful detailed watercolor paintings by Laurie Caple. The book is no longer available in print, but you can look for it in your local library.  It will introduce you to some of the most amazing creatures that ever swam in the oceans the world.

 

VISIT TO THE CALGARY PUBLIC LIBRARY

 

Calgary Public Library, Alberta, Canada

Thirty-one years ago I came to Calgary for a library conference. Last week I returned to Calgary while my husband, Art, attended a conference there. As I almost always do when I travel, I visited the local library, in this case the new Central Library, just a few blocks from my hotel in downtown Calgary. The library, opened in 2018, is a soaring structure filled with light and wood.

The central skylight celebrates Calgary's famously sunny skies and brings natural light into the building.

I had arranged to meet children’s librarian Jennifer Mason, who gave me a tour of the children’s section—filled both with books and with inviting play areas where kids could do puzzles, build with blocks, Legos, or plastic pieces, climb into a structure, or just stretch out and read. In one area, families could choose a book to read together and then do activities in a take-home brochure. I thank Jennifer for taking time out of her day to meet with me and chat about books.

While many of the books in the Calgary library are by Canadian authors, there are also many by American writers. I was pleased to learn that the Calgary library system has nineteen of my books, including most of my new ones. All of their copies of Hatching Chicks in Room 6 were checked out—which made me wonder how many children were hatching chicks at home or at school.

Collaborative works by indigenous artists are seen throughout the library.

Much of the fourth floor of the library is devoted to indigenous cultures with books in indigenous languages and  a room for meetings and events. On the afternoon that I visited an elder was meeting with students in the room. 

View of downtown Calgary and rail line. The library was built over the rail line.

As I walked around the library I was impressed by both its use as a library and community center but also as an architectural wonder. From the fourth floor windows one gets an amazing view of the city, framed in the windows. As the free brochure explains: The modular hexagonal forms of the facade reflect the surrounding city and sky above. Familiar forms emerge from this varied geometry, where parts of the pattern might resemble an open book, beehives, or interlocking houses, anchoring the idea of collectives and community.