About the book «When the Volga was the sea. Leviathan and the pilgrims»

Abstract

The reviewed book is a popular scientific summary of the Mesozoic fauna of the Volga region. Many remains of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and pliosaurs, which are extremely important for understanding the evolution of Mesozoic marine reptiles, were preserved in the rocks left over from the Russian sea. In recent years, many researches were done for their study in Russia, more, than in the previous two centuries. It became apparent that the genera and species of marine reptiles were virtually identical across the planet. The Volga region with its extensive deposits of the Mesozoic sea is one of the most important regions in the world for the study of reptiles and fills several «white spots» in their history. The book also tells about sea crocodiles, sea turtles, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, birds, fish, and various cephalopods. The data on the features of their morphology and lifestyle, geographical and stratigraphic distribution, information about the paleogeographic situation and its changes during the Mesozoic era have been analyzed. Data on the most known and productive locations have been given. The prospects of further research have been considered.