The Complete Dinosaur
Published on 1. June 2012
Book
Hardback
768 pages
978-0-253-33349-0 (ISBN)
Description
This is a "New York Public Library Outstanding Reference Book" of 1998. While the inhabitants of the lost world have long held sway over our imaginations, in recent years dinosaur science has experienced an explosive growth. More books on dinosaurs have been published in the past decade than in all the previous 150 years since Richard Owen named these 'fearfully great lizards' (correctly, 'reptiles'), and dinosaur research continues to make headlines. Reporting the latest discoveries and research, this book is an exuberant celebration of dinosaurs and of our ongoing fascination with them. Here, in one volume, is the single, most-authoritative account of dinosaur paleontology for the general reader. So rapidly has the field expanded that no individual can hope to master all the aspects of dinosaur paleontology. For this book, the editors have brought together forty-six experts in subjects ranging from functional morphology and paleobiology to biogeography and systematics to present a thorough survey of the dinosaurs from the earliest discoveries through the contemporary controversies over their extinction.
Where contention exists, as over the question of whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded, the editors have let the experts agree to disagree. Throughout technical jargon is kept to a minimum, and there is also a glossary of less familiar terms. Readers will find a wealth of information on the study and classification of dinosaurs, on each of the dinosaur groups, and on dinosaur biology and evolution. Not the least among these riches are the more than 350 illustrations (Including 16 pages of color plates), many prepared especially for this volume. The volume concludes with a survey of dinosaurs in the media and a chronology of the history of dinosaur science. This is the single most authoritative account of dinosaur paleontology for the general public, all in one volume.
Sumptuously illustrated, with up-to-the-minute information, it features: more than 350 illustrations, including 16 pages in full color; each chapter written by an expert in dinosaur studies; includes the latest dinosaur discoveries; new information on the warm-blooded/cold-blooded debate; new insights on the possibility of isolating dinosaur DNA; what dinosaurs ate and how we know about it; dinosaurs in the media; a time-line of the history of dinosaur science; and much, much more!
Where contention exists, as over the question of whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded, the editors have let the experts agree to disagree. Throughout technical jargon is kept to a minimum, and there is also a glossary of less familiar terms. Readers will find a wealth of information on the study and classification of dinosaurs, on each of the dinosaur groups, and on dinosaur biology and evolution. Not the least among these riches are the more than 350 illustrations (Including 16 pages of color plates), many prepared especially for this volume. The volume concludes with a survey of dinosaurs in the media and a chronology of the history of dinosaur science. This is the single most authoritative account of dinosaur paleontology for the general public, all in one volume.
Sumptuously illustrated, with up-to-the-minute information, it features: more than 350 illustrations, including 16 pages in full color; each chapter written by an expert in dinosaur studies; includes the latest dinosaur discoveries; new information on the warm-blooded/cold-blooded debate; new insights on the possibility of isolating dinosaur DNA; what dinosaurs ate and how we know about it; dinosaurs in the media; a time-line of the history of dinosaur science; and much, much more!
Reviews / Votes
"... stimulating armchair company for cold winter evenings ... Best of all, the book treats dinosaurs as intellectual fun. What other book asks whether Tyrannosaurus rex was warm or cold-blooded by recalling a scene from Jurassic Park and then calculating how many lawyesr it would take to feed a predator with each type of metabolism?" --New Scientist " ... a gift to serious dinosaur enthusiasts ... a highly successful volume." --Science "The book is useful both as a reference and as a browse-and-enjoy compendium ..." --Natural History "The amount of information in just 750 pages is amazing. This book should be on the shelves of dinosaur freaks as well as those who need to know more about the paleobiology of extinct animals. It will be an invaluable library reference." --American Reference Books Annual "An excellent encyclopedia that serves as a nice bridge between popular and scholarly dinosaur literature." --Library Journal "... copiously illustrated and scrupulously up-to-date ... the book reveals dinos through the fractious fields that make a study of them." --Publishers WeeklyMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Bloomington, IN
United States
Target group
Children/juvenile
Illustrations
104 b&w photographs, 22 colour plates
Dimensions
Height: 273 mm
Width: 190 mm
Weight
300 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-253-33349-0 (9780253333490)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Content
PREFACE: James O. Farlow and M. K. Brett-Surman PART ONE: THE DISCOVERY OF DINOSAURS The Earliest Discoveries: William A. S. Sarjeant European Dinosaur Hunters: Hans-Dieter Sues North American Dinosaur Hunters: Edwin H. Colbert Asian Dinosaur Hunters: John R. Lavas Dinosaur Hunters of the Southern Continents: Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. PART TWO: THE STUDY OF DINOSAURS Hunting for Dinosaur Bones: David D. Gillette The Osteology of the Dinosaurs: Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. and M. K.Brett-Surman The Taxonomy and Systematics of the Dinosaurs: Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. and M. K. Brett-Surman Dinosaurs and Geologic Time: James O. Farlow The Scientific Study of Dinosaurs: Ralph E. Chapman Molecular Paleontology: Rationale and Techniques for the Study of Ancient Biomolecules: Mary Higby Schweitzer Dinosaurs as Museum Exhibits: Kenneth Carpenter Restoring Dinosaurs as Living Animals: Douglas Henderson PART THREE: THE GROUPS OF DINOSAURS Introduction: James O. Farlow and M. K. Brett-Surman Politics and Paleontology: Richard Owen and the Invention of Dinosaurs: Hugh Torrens Evolution of the Archosaurs: J. Michael Parrish Origin and Early Evolution of Dinosaurs: Michael J. Benton Theropods: Philip J. Currie Segnosaurs (Therezinosaurs): Teresa Maryanska Prosauropods: Jacques VanHeerden Sauropods: John S. McIntosh, M. K. Brett-Surman, and James O. Farlow Stegosaurs: Peter M. Galton Ankylosaurs: Kenneth Carpenter Marginocephalians: Catherine A. Forster and Paul C. Sereno Ornithopods: M. K. Brett-Surman PART FOUR: BIOLOGY OF THE DINOSAURS Land Plants as Food and Habitat in the Age of Dinosaurs: Bruce H. Tiffney What Did Dinosaurs Eat? Coprolites and Other Direct Evidence of Dinosaur Diets: Karen Chin Dinosaur Combat and Courtship: Scott Sampson Dinosaur Eggs: Karl F. Hirsch and Darla K. Zelenitsky How Dinosaurs Grew: R. E. H. Reid Engineering a Dinosaur: R. McN. Alexander Dinosaurian Paleopathology: Bruce M. Rothschild Dinosaurian Physiology: the Case for "Intermediate" Dinosaurs: R. E. H. Reid Oxygen Isotopes in Dinosaur Bone: Reese E. Barrick, Michael K. Stoskopf, and William J. Showers A Blueprint for Giants: Do Living Reptiles, Birds or Mammals Provide the Best Model for the Physiology of Large Dinosaurs? Frank V. Paladino, James R. Spotila, and Peter Dodson New Insights into the Metabolic Physiology of Dinosaurs: John Ruben, Andrew Leitch, Willem Hillenius, Nicholas Geist, and Terry Jones The Scientific Study of Dinosaur Footprints: James O. Farlow and Ralph E. Chapman The Paleoecological and Paleoenvironmental Utility of Dinosaur Tracks: Martin G. Lockley PART FIVE: DINOSAUR EVOLUTION IN THE CHANGING WORLD OF THE MESOZOIC ERA Biogeography for Dinosaurs: Ralph E. Molnar Major Groups of Non-Dinosaurian Vertebrates of the Mesozoic Era: Michael Morales Continental Tetrapods of the Early Mesozoic: Faunas and Faunal Changes: Hans-Dieter Sues Dinosaurian Faunas of the Later Mesozoic: Dale A. Russell and Jose F. Bonaparte The Extinction of the Dinosaurs: A Dialogue Between a Catastrophist and a Gradualist: Dale A. Russell and Peter Dodson PART SIX: DINOSAURS AND THE MEDIA Dinosaurs and the Media: Donald F. Glut and M. K. Brett-Surman APPENDIX: A CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF DINOSAUR PALEONTOLOGY: M. K. Brett-Surman GLOSSARY CONTRIBUTORS INDEX