Very little has been published about Australia's prehistoric life, but the facts about Australia's ancient past are astonishing. Created in conjunction with the expert palaeontologists and talented publications staff at the Queensland Museum, Steve Parish Publishing's AMAZING FACTS ABOUT AUSTRALIAN DINOSAURS takes you back to the Age of Dinosaurs, when giant beasts and fierce carnivores reigned supreme.
A jaw-dropping collection of incredible facts and visual comparisons about dinosaurs and prehistoric life Astonish your friends and family with this incredible collection of mind-boggling facts about the scariest animals ever to walk the Earth. Did you know that the largest dinosaur was four times longer than a fire engine, but its babies were the size of geese? Or that the smallest dinosaur weighed less than a teaspoon of sugar? Or that the largest flying reptile was as tall as a giraffe with wings the size of a fighter jet? 1,000 Amazing Dinosaur Facts! is packed with bite-size nuggets of unbelievable information. Find out which dinosaur had the sharpest teeth, the longest claws, the smallest brain, and the largest droppings. Discover the fastest, the slowest, the deadliest, and the downright weirdest dinosaurs ever to roam the planet.
“A tour de force…highlights the odd reptiles that roamed all corners of the earth millions of years ago.”—Sydney Morning Herald From the outback of Australia to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and the savanna of Madagascar, the award-winning science writer and dinosaur enthusiast John Pickrell embarks on a world tour of new finds, meeting the fossil hunters who work at the frontier of discovery. He reveals the dwarf dinosaurs unearthed by an eccentric Transylvanian baron; an aquatic, crocodile-snouted carnivore bigger than T. rex that once lurked in North African waterways; a Chinese dinosaur with wings like a bat; and a Patagonian sauropod so enormous it weighed more than two commercial jet airliners. Other surprising discoveries hail from Alaska, Siberia, Canada, Burma, and South Africa. Why did dinosaurs grow so huge? How did they spread across the world? Did they all have feathers? What do sauropods have in common with 1950s vacuum cleaners? The stuff of adventure movies and scientific revolutions, Weird Dinosaurs examines the latest breakthroughs and new technologies that are radically transforming our understanding of the distant past. “This history of the discovery of some of the most outlandish creatures that ever lived, and the excitement of paleontological research, will be sure to both entertain and instruct.”—Spencer Lucas, author of Dinosaurs: The Textbook, Sixth Edition “Fascinating.... Readers learn of beautiful opalised dinosaur bones from Australia and a crested dinosaur found approximately 13,000 feet up Antarctica's Mt. Kirkpatrick, demonstrating that dinosaurs were widely distributed across the globe.”—Publishers Weekly
An illustrated record book of theropod facts and figures--from the biggest to the fastest to the smartest. This compendium features more than 3,000 records, covers some 750 theropod species, and includes a wealth of illustrations ranging from diagrams and technical drawings to full-color reconstructions of specimens.
Reimagining Dinosaurs argues that transatlantic popular literature was critical for transforming the dinosaur into a cultural icon between 1880 and 1920
In this 2018 New York Times Notable Book,Paige Williams "does for fossils what Susan Orlean did for orchids" (Book Riot) in her account of one Florida man's attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia--a story "steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science, and politics" (Rebecca Skloot). In 2012, a New York auction catalogue boasted an unusual offering: "a superb Tyrannosaurus skeleton." In fact, Lot 49135 consisted of a nearly complete T. bataar, a close cousin to the most famous animal that ever lived. The fossils now on display in a Manhattan event space had been unearthed in Mongolia, more than 6,000 miles away. At eight-feet high and 24 feet long, the specimen was spectacular, and when the gavel sounded the winning bid was over $1 million. Eric Prokopi, a thirty-eight-year-old Floridian, was the man who had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A onetime swimmer who spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fueled a thriving business hunting, preparing, and selling specimens, to clients ranging from natural history museums to avid private collectors like actor Leonardo DiCaprio. But there was a problem. This time, facing financial strain, had Prokopi gone too far? As the T. bataar went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. As an international custody battle ensued, Prokopi watched as his own world unraveled. In the tradition of The Orchid Thief, The Dinosaur Artist is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history and a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, The Dinosaur Artist illuminates the history of fossil collecting--a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, enthusiast and opportunist, can easily blur. In her first book, Paige Williams has given readers an irresistible story that spans continents, cultures, and millennia as she examines the question of who, ultimately, owns the past.
The Australian Library collection is an eclectic mix of titles which are continually in demand by both school and public librarians. These titles cover some of the Australian history needs of the upper primary school, and provide a glimpse into the lives of some Australians who have made their mark in their chosen fields of endeavour. Suitable for 7-12 year olds.
Discover the dinosaur world and find out how these creatures ruled the planet for millions of years. Everything from the gigantic Brachiosaurus to the ferocious Tyrannosaurus is included, and stunning images make this book a fantastic visual guide to some of the most amazing creatures ever to roam the Earth. 1000 facts on 100 key topics Hundreds of colour illustrations Ideal for use at home and at school.