ANIMAL PARADE
MERMAIDS AND MASTODONS, by Richard Carrington; Chatto and Windus, English price 25/-. ERMAIDS and ~mastodons. are among the least interesting creatures in this book about living and extinct animals. The author makes no claims to
new knowledge, but gives reliable information for the ordinary reader and a bibliography of 13 pages. The first part shows how living animals may have been connected with the legends of mermaids, sea serpents, and mythical birds; the second tells of some real monsters of the past and their reconstruction from fossils, and, in the case of the mammoth, from a frozen carcase found in Siberia in 1901->perfectly preserved after 25,000 years. The third part deals with some "living fossils,’ e.g., the coelacanth and the maidenhair tree (of which there are a few specimens introduced into New Zealand), but no mention is made of our tuatara, though there is a chapter about the unique ancient forms of life in Australia, The last part tells how the quagga, the passenger pigeon, and the northern seacow have recently become extinct, and concludes with the story of Notornis which, in spite of strict protection, the author regards as a "fossil of tomorrow." Illustrated by drawings and photographs.
L. J.
W.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 941, 23 August 1957, Page 18
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204ANIMAL PARADE New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 941, 23 August 1957, Page 18
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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