A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs PDF Download

Author: Matthew P. Martyniuk
Publisher: Pan Aves
ISBN: 0988596504
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
A field guide to mesozoic birds and other winged dinosaurs is a comprehensive guide to the diverse species comprising the evolutionary transition from the first dinosaurs with true, feathered wings in the mid-Jurassic period, 160 million years ago, to the late Cretaceous period and the first modern birds [...]. --from publisher.

Author: Mark P. Witton
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400847656
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
The most authoritative illustrated book on flying reptiles available For 150 million years, the skies didn't belong to birds—they belonged to the pterosaurs. These flying reptiles, which include the pterodactyls, shared the world with the nonavian dinosaurs until their extinction 65 million years ago. Some pterosaurs, such as the giant azhdarchids, were the largest flying animals of all time, with wingspans exceeding thirty feet and standing heights comparable to modern giraffes. This richly illustrated book takes an unprecedented look at these astonishing creatures, presenting the latest findings on their anatomy, ecology, and extinction. Pterosaurs features some 200 stunning illustrations, including original paintings by Mark Witton and photos of rarely seen fossils. After decades of mystery, paleontologists have finally begun to understand how pterosaurs are related to other reptiles, how they functioned as living animals, and, despite dwarfing all other flying animals, how they managed to become airborne. Here you can explore the fossil evidence of pterosaur behavior and ecology, learn about the skeletal and soft-tissue anatomy of pterosaurs, and consider the newest theories about their cryptic origins. This one-of-a-kind book covers the discovery history, paleobiogeography, anatomy, and behaviors of more than 130 species of pterosaur, and also discusses their demise at the end of the Mesozoic. The most comprehensive book on pterosaurs ever published Features some 200 illustrations, including original paintings by the author Covers every known species and major group of pterosaurs Describes pterosaur anatomy, ecology, behaviors, diversity, and more Encourages further study with 500 references to primary pterosaur literature

Author: John Long
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199706905
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Scientists have recovered more than a billion fossils, but no discovery has been more breath-taking than the fossils recently found in northern China, findings which prove that several families of dinosaurs had feathers, or feathery hair-like coverings, adorning their bodies. Now in the beautifully designed Feathered Dinosaurs, paleontologist John Long and illustrator Peter Schouten provide a stunning visual record of these extraordinary prehistoric creatures, illuminating the evolutionary march from primitive, feathered dinosaurs through to the first true flying birds. Schouten, an acclaimed natural history artist, has created 80 full-color paintings that capture the striking physical traits of these feathered dinosaurs. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the lifestyles of modern birds and mammals, plus the extant scientific data regarding how these dinosaurs might have looked and behaved, Schouten has produced not only the most beautiful but also the most accurate visual representations of these animals in print. Equally important, John Long, a noted paleontologist and widely published science author (with some 24 books to his credit), provides an engaging companion text that places these feathered dinosaurs within the larger family of dinosaurs--for instance, outlining their relationship to T. Rex and Velociraptor, species well known to Jurassic Park fans--and discusses the factual information that can be deduced from their fossil remains, in effect providing an insightful natural history of this remarkable group. A true marriage of art and science, Feathered Dinosaurs presents an unprecedented visual record of one of the most significant breakthroughs in the history of vertebrate paleontology--the discovery that many predatory dinosaurs were cloaked with feathers, perhaps just as colorful and fanciful as those of their living relatives.

Author: Henry Gee
Publisher: Chartwell Books
ISBN: 9780785829027
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Sensational discoveries during the past decade have shed new light on the most intimate details of dinosaurs’ lives, including their appearance and behavior, their family structures, and their sex lives. The latest dinosaur findings present a far more vivid and complete picture of this extraordinarily successful group of animals than would have been thought possible only a few years ago. Recent findings in South America, Madagascar, Mongolia, China, and Australia have revealed the existence of amazing and exotic dinosaurs. Paleontologist Henry Gee and artist Luis Ray have seamlessly integrated all of the most recent discoveries in the making of this unique book. In A Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Renowned dinosaur artist Luis V. Rey and paleontologist and writer Henry Gee use up-to-the-minute research findings to paint a vivid picture of the dinosaurs’ world. Their unique approach gives readers lifelike portrayals of dinosaurs similar to that of naturalists in the wild, observing living animals of our own era. Readers will experience dinosaurs as living, breathing creatures, with each kind described “from the field” and shown in breathtaking illustrations. Dinosaur physiology is shown in full-color paintings, anatomical sketches, and a host of fascinating incidental detail, much of it never published outside specialist journals. Readers will understand the dinosaurs’ environment in terms of the world’s changing face throughout the 180-million-year extent of the dinosaur-dominated Mesozoic Era, with a detailed, full-color chart that relates the time span of each dinosaur group. The book also includes at-a-glance icons that convey information about different dinosaur groups, including size, taxonomy, geological period, and geographical origins.

Author: Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0553536869
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Jurassic World is the long-awaited next installment of the groundbreaking Jurassic Park series. T. rex’s, velociraptors, triceratops—as well as some all-new dinosaurs—will roar across the screen in this epic action-adventure directed by Colin Trevorrow starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson! Dinosaur Field Guide, written by two noted paleontologists and illustrated in big bold colors, is a kid-friendly nonfiction guide that uses simple text to describe over 100 dinosaurs! Kids will learn tons of awesome facts about the most well-known dinosaurs and some of the newest discoveries.

Author: Gerald Mayr
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119020735
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Knowledge of the evolutionary history of birds has much improved in recent decades. Fossils from critical time periods are being described at unprecedented rates and modern phylogenetic analyses have provided a framework for the interrelationships of the extant groups. This book gives an overview of the avian fossil record and its paleobiological significance, and it is the only up-to-date textbook that covers both Mesozoic and more modern-type Cenozoic birds in some detail. The reader is introduced to key features of basal avians and the morphological transformations that have occurred in the evolution towards modern birds. An account of the Cenozoic fossil record sheds light on the biogeographic history of the extant avian groups and discusses fossils in the context of current phylogenetic hypotheses. This review of the evolutionary history of birds not only addresses students and established researchers, but it may also be a useful source of information for anyone else with an interest in the evolution of birds and a moderate background in biology and geology.

Author: Matthew P. Martyniuk
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780988596559
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
Beasts of Antiquity explores our ever-changing views about the animals of the prehistoric world - how they were related, how they looked, and how they lived. Stem-Birds In the Solnhofen Limestone details the fossil bird-line archosaur species known the Solnhofen Archipelago of Bavaria. From their history of princes, duchesses, and conquring armies, to the diversity of these spectaculrly preserved fossils, Stem-Birds In the Solnhofen Limestone brings the world of these ancient creatures to life. Featuring full-color illustrations of each species as well as photographs and historical reproductions, Stem-Birds In the Solnhofen Limestone offers a complete summary of the history, geology, and state-of-the-art paleontology of the bird lineage in one spectacular Jurassic ecosystem.

Author: Alan Feduccia
Publisher: BrownWalker Press
ISBN: 1599426064
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Birds and dinosaurs have dominated human interest for decades. In this well-supported revolutionary view of the field, critical questions are explored with credible evidence and biological thought. Are birds derived directly from advanced dinosaurs, or are they closely related dinosaur cousins? Did flight originate via the natural "gravity-assisted" trees-down model, or from the improbable “gravity-resisted” ground-up model? Were the earliest birds ground-predators or trunk-climbing gliders? Were dinosaurs hot-blooded with insulating protofeathers, or highly active, cold-blooded reptiles? These are among the questions addressed in this path-breaking book. Current consensus suggests that early birds were earth-bound and flight began on the ground. Reversing that logic, since birds are hot-blooded, by inference so too were dinosaurs, and extraordinarily complex feathers, flight brain and inner ear, evolved before flight in dinosaurs. The iconic early bird Archaeopteryx, despite innumerable flight and arboreal features, is now displayed as an earth-bound predator that could not fly. In reality, we have yet to provide satisfactory explanations for much of the biological origin and early evolution of birds. Among the questions addressed is whether truly feathered dinosaurs are in reality lost or "hidden birds?" The architectural complexity of feathers leads the author to the conclusion that if an animal has evolved extraordinarily complex, aerodynamically-designed feathers, an avian flight hand, flight membranes, and a flight brain, it's a bird. Birds and dinosaurs captivate and enchant the human imagination. These intriguing animals have dominated the field of paleontology and evolution for the past half century, engendering heated debate on avian ancestry, the origin of flight and feathers, and the biology of their fossils. Are birds living dinosaurs? In this series of entertainingly contentious and captivating essays evolutionary biologist Alan Feduccia writes with verve and humor to expose major problems in the field and advocate liberation from the shackles of consensus thinking about birds and dinosaurs. He maintains that the euphoria of paleontologists claiming to have solved the major problems of bird evolution is premature, largely generated by the adoption of a rigid, cult-like methodology, heavily blended with ideology, and excluding many biological and geological principles. He adroitly exposes and elucidates major mistakes in the field and their aftermath. Romancing the Birds and Dinosaurs is a lucid revelation of clarity and synthesis, a fascinating unveiling of the underlying science that has produced the good, but also often appalling fossil research and wild speculation in bird and dinosaur evolution. A must read for anyone interested in this rapidly evolving field, the short, concise and incisive essays provide the reader with access to this complex topic. REVIEWS and WORDS OF PRAISE In this strikingly unconventional and brilliant book, Professor Alan Feduccia presents the current status of the recent controversy about the origin of birds with clarity and vigor. A thought-provoking personal exploration of what the bird fossils represent. ---Sankar Chatterjee, Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor of Geosciences and Curator of Paleontology, Texas Tech University. Feduccia's book eloquently reminds us that consensus science is to be shied away from especially when it is used to plead special cases against basic scientific principles. The concept of “lost birds” is particularly intriguing as it defines what birds are and how special science obfuscates the simplicity of evolution. ---David A. Burnham, Associate Researcher, University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum. Based on a thorough understanding of the empirical evidence, Feduccia presents a convincing account of avian origins from their putative ancestors. ---Walter J. Bock, Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Columbia University and Research Associate, American Museum of Natural History. With candor, clear thinking, humor, and abundant evidence, Alan Feduccia’s Romancing the Birds and Dinosaurs should be mandatory reading for the countless millions who are intrigued by dinosaurs and their relatives, the birds. Feduccia points out the many empirical and logical shortcomings in the stubborn majority view that birds evolved from dinosaurs, an idea now solidly entrenched as dogma in education and popular culture. This new book will be as interesting to those who study human behavior and scientific methods as it will to students of vertebrate evolution. ---David W. Steadman, Curator of Ornithology, Professor of Biology, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida.

Author: Gregory S. Paul
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400883148
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
A fully updated and expanded new edition of the acclaimed, bestselling dinosaur field guide The bestselling Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs remains the must-have book for anyone who loves dinosaurs, from amateur enthusiasts to professional paleontologists. Now extensively revised and expanded, this dazzlingly illustrated large-format edition features some 100 new dinosaur species and 200 new and updated illustrations, bringing readers up to the minute on the latest discoveries and research that are radically transforming what we know about dinosaurs and their world. Written and illustrated by acclaimed dinosaur expert Gregory Paul, this stunningly beautiful book includes detailed species accounts of all the major dinosaur groups as well as nearly 700 color and black-and-white images—skeletal drawings, "life" studies, scenic views, and other illustrations that depict the full range of dinosaurs, from small feathered creatures to whale-sized supersauropods. Paul's extensively revised introduction delves into dinosaur history and biology, the extinction of nonavian dinosaurs, the origin of birds, and the history of dinosaur paleontology, as well as giving a taste of what it might be like to travel back in time to the era when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Now extensively revised and expanded Covers nearly 750 dinosaur species, including scores of newly discovered ones Provides startling new perspectives on the famed Brontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Features nearly 700 color and black-and-white drawings and figures, including life studies, scenic views, and skull and muscle drawings Includes color paleo-distribution maps and a color time line Describes anatomy, physiology, locomotion, reproduction, and growth of dinosaurs, as well as the origin of birds and the extinction of nonavian dinosaurs

Author: Steve Brusatte
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062490451
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
"THE ULTIMATE DINOSAUR BIOGRAPHY," hails Scientific American: A thrilling new history of the age of dinosaurs, from one of our finest young scientists. "A masterpiece of science writing." —Washington Post A New York Times Bestseller • Goodreads Choice Awards Winner • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Smithsonian, Science Friday, The Times (London), Popular Mechanics, Science News "This is scientific storytelling at its most visceral, striding with the beasts through their Triassic dawn, Jurassic dominance, and abrupt demise in the Cretaceous." —Nature The dinosaurs. Sixty-six million years ago, the Earth’s most fearsome creatures vanished. Today they remain one of our planet’s great mysteries. Now The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs reveals their extraordinary, 200-million-year-long story as never before. In this captivating narrative (enlivened with more than seventy original illustrations and photographs), Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field—naming fifteen new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork—masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy. Captivating and revelatory, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a book for the ages. Brusatte traces the evolution of dinosaurs from their inauspicious start as small shadow dwellers—themselves the beneficiaries of a mass extinction caused by volcanic eruptions at the beginning of the Triassic period—into the dominant array of species every wide-eyed child memorizes today, T. rex, Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and more. This gifted scientist and writer re-creates the dinosaurs’ peak during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, when thousands of species thrived, and winged and feathered dinosaurs, the prehistoric ancestors of modern birds, emerged. The story continues to the end of the Cretaceous period, when a giant asteroid or comet struck the planet and nearly every dinosaur species (but not all) died out, in the most extraordinary extinction event in earth’s history, one full of lessons for today as we confront a “sixth extinction.” Brusatte also recalls compelling stories from his globe-trotting expeditions during one of the most exciting eras in dinosaur research—which he calls “a new golden age of discovery”—and offers thrilling accounts of some of the remarkable findings he and his colleagues have made, including primitive human-sized tyrannosaurs; monstrous carnivores even larger than T. rex; and paradigm-shifting feathered raptors from China. An electrifying scientific history that unearths the dinosaurs’ epic saga, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs will be a definitive and treasured account for decades to come. Includes 75 images, world maps of the prehistoric earth, and a dinosaur family tree.