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Pleistocene grassland drawing

Further Reading and Other Resources

Further Reading: Websites

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Cretaceous Atlas of Ancient Life

An online guide to the types of fossils found in deposits from the Western Interior Sea, with photographs of many types of invertebrate and vertebrate fossil material. Managed by the Paleontological Research Institution as part of the Digital Atlas of Ancient Life project.

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Oceans of Kansas Paleontology

One of the most extensive sources of online information about life in the Western Interior Sea. This website is run by Mike Everhart, Adjunct Curator of Paleontology at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, Kansas. It features lots of excellent information about all types of extinct animals from the Cretaceous of Kansas.

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Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology

An open-access 55 volume series from the University of Kansas Paleontological Institute detailing information about all known groups of prehistoric invertebrates. All volumes can be downloaded as pdf files from the Treatise website. 

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Animals of Ashfall, Nebraska Public Media

Produced in collaboration with the University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural History. This website presents descriptions, illustrations and 3D models of some of the fossils of Miocene animals found at the Ashfall Fossil Beds in northern Nebraska.

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Ammonites.org

An online database with entries on hundreds of ammonoid and nautiloid species sorted by chronology and by their evolutionary relationships. Many entries have high quality photographs of cephalopod fossil specimens.  Written in French.

Further Reading: Books

Oceans of Kansas cover image

Oceans of Kansas: Second Edition (2017)

Written by Mike Everhart and published by Indiana University Press. This second edition builds on the original version of the book published in 2005. An excellent resource about the geology and paleontology of the entire Western Interior Sea

Elephants cover image

Elephants and Their Fossil Relatives: A 60 Million Year Journey (2026)

Written by Asier Larramendi and Marco P. Ferretti, illustrated by Shu-yu Hsu, published by Princeton University Press. A very comprehensive guide to all types of extinct proboscideans, featuring some excellent illustrations of these animals in their habitats. All of the proboscidean genera known from the Midwest are discussed in this book. A very good reference for anyone who wants to learn about the anatomy and ancient evolutionary history of extinct elephant relatives.

Coloring Pages and Anatomical Diagrams

We have produced a series of downloadable anatomical coloring pages for those who would like to learn more about the anatomies of prehistoric animals. Coloring pages featuring drawings of the animals themselves are also available.

Sea turtle coloring page anatomy diagram
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