Paperback book (202 pages, 259 B&W photos)

* Over 250 photos of author's Florida fossil finds, including sharks, whales, dolphins, mammoths, mastodons, sloths, camels, alligators, and horses.
* Shows where to look, how and when to look, and how to preserve your finds.
* Informative, humorous, written in layperson's words

Paperback book (200 pages, 150-plus B&W photos)

Author: Mark Renz
Publisher: PaleoPress
Release date August 2009
Signed copies available through PaleoPress, or unsigned through Amazon.
Price: $19.95, plus $3 shipping in U.S. (add 6% sales tax for Florida residents). Overseas orders, please e-mail us for shipping price. Send check or money order to PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Avenue, Lehigh Acres, FL 33972. Or for credit card orders, call 239-368-3252. E-mail "fossilx@earthlink.net" for overseas orders.

Did great white sharks evolve from makos or the mighty C. megalodon? How do researchers trace the great white's evolutionary path? What makes the deserts of Peru the perfect place for uncovering clues? What can such finds teach us, not only about ancient marine life, but ourselves?

Armed with a camera and an abundance of curiosity, paleo prospector Mark Renz joins Peruvian paleontologists on a journey into one of the driest regions on Earth, searching for big sharks and their food sources. At an elevation of 2,100 feet above sea level, the group discovers articulated primitive whales, dolphins and seals eroding away on the desert floor. The preservation is so remarkable that the impression of baleen in a 35 ft. whale is still perfectly intact. Through an unusual search method, Renz comes face-to-teeth with a 10 million year-old mako shark.

There's science and old bones here, yes. But none of it is dry.

"DESERT SHARKS" is vintage Renz: light but tasty science, sprinkled with a slightly warped view of the world. Includes several hundred black & white photos of fossil sharks, whales, dolphins and seals exposed in the desert, plus an ID section tracing the evolutionary path of an extinct mako shark as it slowly transforms into our contemporary great white. Renz takes the time to get to know his host country's proud people and affectionate canines, and leaves with a healthy respect for the nobility and warmth of both.


FOREWORDS

A stunning feast for the eyes and imagination..."Desert Sharks" is more than just a tale of fossils, it is commentary on the human condition, one of ongoing wanderlust, adventure, and the quest for discovery. --Charles N. Ciampaglio, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Geology, Wright State University

Mark Renz has captured the spirit of these desert hills and brought to life in words and photographs the sharks, whales, and other animals that once inhabited the long-absent marine waters - and he has given long-overdue credit to the Peruvian paleontologists responsible for writing many of the chapters in the unfinished Pisco paleo-narrative. --Dr. Thomas DeVries, Associate, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA.

An excellent job... Mark Renz supports his work with scientific data and reveals the great potential Peru has for future exploration and study. The photographs alone are spectacular. --Dr. Gordon Hubbell, shark researcher

Mark Renz captures the passion that compels professionals and amateurs alike to explore the unknown and to unearth the past. --Sean B. Carroll, author of "Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species"

Paperback book (170 pages, 400 photos, some in color)

Author: Mark Renz
Illustrators: Walter Hunt, Dan Varner, Todd Marshall, Rob Sula, Marisa Renz, Kyle Kirby
Publisher: PaleoPress
Signed copies available through PaleoPress; unsigned at Amazon.
Price: 29.95 plus 3.75 shipping (U.S. only) and 6 percent sales tax (1.50) for Florida residents. Overseas orders, please e-mail us for shipping price. Send check or money order to PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Avenue, Lehigh Acres, FL 33972. Or for credit card orders, call 239-368-3252.

How does a shark grow 40 to 60 feet in length? Why would it need to? What sharks were its ancestors? What could possibly bring about its extinction? Or is this beast still out there somewhere in the vastness of our deepest seas, feeding on whales and giant squids, but leaving no trace of its activities?

* 48 international sites where you can search for Meg teeth
* The controversial rise and fall of Meg
* Color Identification section for Meg and her ancestors
* Terror index: Was Meg the baddest of the bad?
* Rumored Meg sightings
* 390 illustrations and photos

From the Forewords and Introductions:

"...The ultimate terror of the waters, sixty feet long, and just as predaceous in its behavior as the modern great white shark, was good old C. megalodon. Now, Mark Renz, who writes so well about Florida fossils, has given it its proper due. I hope you, the reader, enjoy this account as much as I have."
-- S. David Webb, Distinguished Research Curator of Fossil Vertebrates, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

"...It is unusually refreshing to have a combination of total fantasy and scientific accuracy. Mark Renz has a compulsive style of writing and has sought some of the most respected authorities available, to ensure this book is both up to date and scientifically credible." --David J. Ward, Fossil shark researcher and co-author of "Fossils"

"...In this beautifully illustrated book, Mark Renz has faithfully captured the sense of awe and discovery that accompanies finding and studying megalodon fossils. More importantly, he has been able to condense the arcane discussions of scientists to a manageable level of complexity, while maintaining a sense of wonder at the richness and complexity of the world around us." Bretton W. Kent, Author of "Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Bay Region", and faculty member, College of Life Sciences at the University of Maryland at College Park

"Mark Renz is back with "Supershark." And does he have some stories to tell!" --Edward Morris, reviewer for BookPage and ForeWord

"Forget T-rex and the rest of his dino-pals. If you want to read about the number one monster of all time, read this book." --Steve Alten, novelist, "Meg" and "The Trench"