Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms: The Story of the Animals and Plants That Time Has Left Behind

505 Pages·2012·7.2 MB·English

by  Richard Fortey

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THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK
PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
Copyright © 2011 by Richard Fortey
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a
division of Random House Inc., New York.
www.aaknopf.com
Originally published in Great Britain as Survivors by HarperPress, an imprint
of HarperCollins Publishers, London, in 2011.
Knopf, Borzoi Books and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random
House, Inc.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to Curtis Brown, Ltd.
for permission to reprint an excerpt from “The Coelacanth” from Selected
Poems by Ogden Nash, copyright © 1972 by Ogden Nash (London: Little,
Brown & Co., 1972).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fortey, Richard A.
Horseshoe crabs and velvet worms : the story of the animals and plants that
time has left behind / by Richard Fortey. — 1st American ed.
p. cm.
“Originally published as Survivors in Great Britain by HarperPress, an imprint
of HarperCollins Publishers, London.”
Includes index.
eISBN: 978-0-307-95741-2
1. Arthropoda—Conservation 2. Invertebrates—Conservation. 3. Limulus
polyphemus—Conservation. 4. Worms. 5. Plant conservation. I. Title.
QL434.F67 2012
595—dc23
2011039941
Cover image: Horseshoe crabs by Ernst Haeckel from Kunstformen der Natur
(detail)
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Cover design by Barbara de Wilde
v3.1
4
To my sister, with love
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CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Table of Geological Periods
1. Old Horseshoes
2. The Search for the Velvet Worm
3. Slimy Mounds
4. Life in Hot Water
5. An Inveterate Bunch
6. Greenery
7. Of Fishes and Hellbenders
8. Heat in the Blood
9. Islands, Ice
10. Survivors Against the Odds
Epilogue
Additional Images
Glossary
Illustration Credits
Further Reading
Index
A Note About the Author
Other Books by This Author
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people have helped me in my quest to visit survivors
from former worlds. My book has bene(cid:633)ted immeasurably
from their knowledge and enthusiasm. I freely acknowledge
their contribution, without allowing them to take
responsibility for any errors that may have appeared despite
my best intentions.
Those who have helped this book to reach completion are
listed below more or less in the order in which their
contribution appears in the text: all were equally important
in helping the project onwards. Glenn Gauvry’s enthusiasm
for the horseshoe crab was invaluable during our sojourn
around Delaware Bay. He introduced me to Carl Shuster,
doyen of Limulus studies; I learned many of my crab facts
directly from the great man. For unstinting hospitality in
Portugal, and a guided tour around the Arouca trilobite site,
Dr. Artur Sa is gratefully acknowledged. In New Zealand,
our old friends Roger and Robyn Cooper were generous
hosts, and Roger introduced me to George Gibbs, who
showed me where to (cid:633)nd the velvet worm. I could not have
managed without his help. In Newfoundland, Dr. Andy Kerr
kindly arranged for me to visit the famous fossil site at
Mistaken Point, and even arranged the (cid:633)ne weather (most
unusual). Thanks are extended to the sta(cid:643) at the Ecological
Reserve for their kindness in allowing access to the cliffs. For
advice on early microfossils and ancient sea chemistry,
Professor Andrew Knoll of Harvard University is an
incomparable source of wisdom. I know little about
seaweeds, and what little I do know is because of the
kindness of Juliet Brodie at the Natural History Museum in
London, who directed me to a site at Sidmouth where
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Porphyra grows. Paul and Kay Griew generously invited us to
stay with them in their house by the sea while this research
was carried out. The sta(cid:643) at the Visitor Center in
Yellowstone National Park at Mammoth Springs kindly
passed on information about hot springs and ancient
bacteria. In Hong Kong we stayed with my oldest friend. Bob
Bunker was at school with me, and now we had the chance
to get to know his delightful wife, Sally. Dr. Paul Shin and
his colleagues at Hong Kong University generously gave of
their time to take us to (cid:633)nd Lingula in the New Territories;
they even supplied us with wellington boots. Rupert
McCowan of the Royal Hong Kong Geographical Society
contributed to the (cid:633)nancing of this part of the expedition.
Dr. John Taylor (and Emily Glover) from the Natural History
Museum in London kindly directed me towards Australian
contacts in the molluscan world, and gave me much
information about Solemya. Dr. John Hooper of the
Queensland Museum could not have been more helpful in
taking us to Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay. He spent
much time successfully convincing me of the pivotal
importance of sponges. John Hooper also introduced me to
Andy Dunstan, who kindly helped me to understand the
living Nautilus in a way I never had before.
I have known Professor David Bruton and his wife, Anne,
since we did (cid:633)eldwork together several decades ago, but I
had never been to their cabin in the mountains until we
went in search of the primitive plant Huperzia. We had a
wonderful time cooking mushrooms and nosing through the
forest. My colleague at the Natural History Museum, Dr. Paul
Kenrick, gave me much useful advice on plant evolution, as
did the former Director of Kew Gardens, Sir Ghillean Prance.
I enjoyed his pictures of Welwitschia. In the search for
ginkgo in China, several of my colleagues at the Nanjing
Institute of Geology and Palaeontology could not have been
kinder. My old friend Zhou Zhiyi and his brother Zhiyan in
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particular deserve thanks for setting up my trip within the
People’s Republic. Paul and Miriam Cli(cid:643)ord very kindly
allowed us to stay with them in Beijing, and took us to the
(cid:635)ea market. Only two years earlier Miriam had taken us
around the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York. Peter
Kind generously took us on a (cid:633)eld trip to see where the
Australian lung(cid:633)sh lived in rural Queensland, and told me
many interesting things about this remarkable survivor.
Professor Jean Joss actually allowed me to handle a large
specimen (cid:633)shed from her tanks on the roof of Macquarie
University. I thank Jean and her husband for giving up a day
to explain their research into these lung(cid:633)sh. My sister-in-law
Caroline Lawrence was her hospitable self in Sydney, and
shared the driving elsewhere. My near namesake and
colleague Peter Forey generously shared with me his
unrivalled knowledge of coelacanth (cid:633)shes. Adam Hilliard
and his team at the Environment Agency in the UK allowed
me to get in their way as they (cid:633)shed up the lamprey from
the River Lambourn late in 2010. I am grateful to the British
Council for inviting me to lecture in Vilnius, where I had an
enjoyable, if unsuccessful hunt for a related species. In New
Zealand, Rob Stone led us around Somes Island o(cid:643)
Wellington until we found the tuatara, minding its own
business.
So we go on to mammals, and back to Australia. I am
indebted to Peggy Rismiller for sharing her unrivalled
knowledge of the echidna, as we chased it around Kangaroo
Island. My old friend Jim Jago, and slightly newer friend
Jim Gehling showed me the Cambrian Emu Bay Shale on
another part of the same island. Company on this jaunt was
provided by the younger Coopers, Alan and Sarah, who also
accommodated us in Adelaide; and the wine was delicious. I
am grateful to Jørn Hurum for showing me the famous early
primate fossil, known in the popular press as Ida, as it hides
behind the scenes in the Palaeontological Museum in Oslo,
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Norway. Professor Lynn Margulis kindly asked me to speak
at a World Summit on Evolution on the Galapagos Islands a
few years ago, and subsequently I was able to visit the cloud
forest in Ecuador—which was a wonderful treat (and the
home of the tinamou). Samuel Pinya looks after the interests
of the Mallorcan midwife toad, and took my wife and me on
a hunt to (cid:633)nd some of these delightful animals tucked away
remotely in the mountains. It would have been impossible
without his help. My encounter with the musk ox goes back
to such an early stage in my history that the principal actors
are no more, but a posthumous greeting would not be out of
place to Brian Harland, who set me on course to become a
professional palaeontologist by inviting me on an
expedition to Spitsbergen. Like some of the organisms
portrayed in this book, luck has played an important part in
my life also.
Arabella Pike at HarperCollins has been a great editor for
(cid:633)ve of my books, and my debt to her is evident. Heather
Godwin read the (cid:633)rst draft of this book, as she has my
previous ones. She has the best critical eye I know, and if we
occasionally disagree she has always proved right in the end.
She worked very hard on this particular book, and my
gratitude to her is immense. Katharine Reeve’s very careful
reading helped identify any ambiguities or inadequacies that
still survived. I sincerely thank her for her meticulous
attention to detail and Sophie Goulden for guiding the book
so e(cid:637)ciently through the design and editorial process.
Professor Derek Siveter from Oxford University applied his
eagle eye to the manuscript to spot scienti(cid:633)c errors, and
earns my unfeigned gratitude for his work. Finally, my wife,
Jackie, has made this book possible. She organised nearly
all the (cid:633)eld trips, a few of which were highly complex. She
was the “o(cid:637)cial photographer” while I busied myself with
my notebooks. To cap it all, she was the picture researcher,
and added her own editorial input. I doubt whether the
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