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Fra forlagets egen omtale: This is a large format
field guide (a playful notion) to the true dinosaurs - the Tetrapoda (no
pterosaurs or marine reptiles). Dinosaur taxonomy is complex and contentious,
and while more than 1500 species have been claimed, many records are based on
partial remains or are without adequate scientific documentation. The author
recognises 600+ species. An extensive introduction treats a wide range of topics
from taxonomy, evolution, biology and behaviour to a discussion of fossil
discoveries and paleontological research. The bulk of the book is devoted to
full treatment of the five dinosaur groups: protodinosaurs; predatory dinosaurs
and protobirds; prosauropods; sauropods; and ornithiscians. After each family
introduction, the species text includes biometrics, fossil remains (proportion
of full animal recovered and sites at which specimens have been found), age,
distribution and formations, habitat (where known), and habits (mainly based on
anatomical features). The level of knowledge about species varies considerably
and this is fully reflected in the species accounts. Many of the species
descriptions are accompanied by black-and-white anatomical reconstructions
and/or skull diagrams as well as numerous colour renderings of the complete
animal. There are also supplementary illustrations – eggs, trackways, herds,
juveniles and so forth – and evocative colour and black-and-white ‘scenes’
of dinosaur behaviour.
About
the Author(s)
Gregory Paul is an
independent scholar and ‘paleoartist.’ He is author and illustrator of
Predatory Dinosaurs of the World (Simon & Schuster, 1989) and Dinosaurs of
the Air (Johns Hopkins, 2002), and editor of The Scientific American Book of
the Dinosaurs (St Martin’s Press, 2003). His scientific writings and papers
have appeared in Scientific American, The New York Times, Nature and numerous
specialist journals and publications.
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