Ichnologists should not miss the remake of Godzilla that played in the cinemas in the summer of 1998. In the first few minutes of the film, the ichnologist is treated to the sight of the largest footprints ever made. To give the moviemakers credit, the tracks have a complex lower surface with clearly reptilian pads. Of course, even a non-ichnologist may notice that the tracks are scooped out of the ground, not impressed in it, and the surrounding ground shows no sign of distortion. When I pointed this out to colleagues, they gleefully explained that grass and ground alike were annihilated by the giant lizard's radioactivity. Why didn't I think of that?

To add to the ichnologist's delight, the world's largest footprints are followed up by the world's largest burrows, and then the worldís largest nest filled with the world's largest eggs. The venue for the nest is a little surprising, and I wonít spoil it for you. I will say that I wondered why the cast continued to refer to Godzilla as "he" long after it became clear that she was a mother. But then, most of the characters in this film seem to be rather slow, with the conspicuous exception of the monster herself. The concept of a dimwitted mayor of New York is amusing, but it went a far way toward destroying my suspension of disbelief.

In fact, this movie contains so many items that require suspension of disbelief that I recommend paleontological pedagogues to have their classes see the movie and report on its factual and scientific errors. It contains almost as many errors as Jurassic Park, which has been used for the same purpose (DeSalle and Lindley, 1997). One of the less obvious errors is the mispronunciation of the Japanese gojira, which actually sounds much like "Godzilla" except for the vowels.

As a long-term aficionado of science-fiction movies, no matter how bad they are, I enjoyed Godzilla immensely. So turn your brain off, sit back with a bag of popcorn, and enjoy!

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