Reviewed by Blandine Hautier (Independent fossil preparator; Bonn, Germany)
Ijouiher, J. 2022. The Desert Bones: The Paleontology and Paleoecology of Mid-Cretaceous North Africa. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN. 326 pp. ($45.50 cloth, $45.49 e-book with 30% PS discount.)
A book that must be included in the collection of anyone working on Mid-Cretaceous North African paleontology!
Inspired by the structure of John Foster’s Jurassic West book, Jamale Ijouiher has put together a very necessary and richly illustrated catalogue of the flora and fauna of an area of the world that is too often overlooked despite its rich fossil heritage. After thoroughly setting the stage by describing in details the geological and environmental context of North Africa, Ijouiher proceeds to describe every taxon named and discovered so far from this area. The massive work of compiling all existing (and sometimes even contradictory!) data is very well done, and the author expresses every now and then his own opinion on disputed hypotheses.
Almost nothing is left aside for each species, and when information exists, whether it is on their cladistic affinities, nomenclature, biology, or paleoenvironment, you will probably find it here. Ijouiher also includes species with dubious origins, which still need to be reviewed, or that have been lost to science. This allows the reader to have an extensive overview of the work that has already been done (or still has to be completed!) in paleontology for this area, whether it is on micropaleontology, vertebrate or invertebrate paleontology, or paleobotany. A massive benefit is the detailed and well-made paleoartistic pieces by renowned artists such as J. Knüppe, A. Atuchin, Christopher DiPiazza and James McKay, which vividly bring the animals and plants to life. Used to seeing dinosaurs stealing the spotlight, it was refreshing to observe the same level of attention has been dedicated to all clades, whether for plants, invertebrates and vertebrates.
The book finishes with discussions on migration, radiations, and extinction events. Between the introduction and the final chapters, the reader can have a great overview of the whys and hows that led to this incredible ancient diversity and rich fossil record. I enjoyed reading it and discovering species I had never heard of. I would recommend this very complete book to anyone who would like to have a solid base and broad overview on the fossil record and geology of North Africa during the Mesozoic.