November 15, 2006 (Vol. 26, No. 20)
URL:
http://www.devoniantimes.org
Rating:
Strong Points: Brilliant idea done well
Weak Points: None
Summary:
An informative site with a very clever opening page, “Devonian Times” reports on “All the news that is in the record.” They’re referring, of course, to the fossil record. The Devonian Period ran from 417–354 million years ago (MYA), and the creator of the site, Dennis Murphy, wins my high praise for putting this into a newspaper format. The top of the opening page identifies the paper’s home as Fram Formation, Euramerica with a date of Sunday, 382 MYA. Headline stories include a “Fishapod from the North” with a subheading of “Gaps in the Fossil Record are Diminishing.” Clicking on any of the story links leads visitors to informative stories on the fossil record. I can’t think of a better way to get people reading stories about evolutionary history. One of the best ideas I’ve seen in a long time.
