Dinosaur Paleobiology
Dinosaur Paleobiology

Author: Stephen L. Brusatte

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-04-30

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0470656581

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The study of dinosaurs has been experiencing a remarkable renaissance over the past few decades. Scientific understanding of dinosaur anatomy, biology, and evolution has advanced to such a degree that paleontologists often know more about 100-million-year-old dinosaurs than many species of living organisms. This book provides a contemporary review of dinosaur science intended for students, researchers, and dinosaur enthusiasts. It reviews the latest knowledge on dinosaur anatomy and phylogeny, how dinosaurs functioned as living animals, and the grand narrative of dinosaur evolution across the Mesozoic. A particular focus is on the fossil evidence and explicit methods that allow paleontologists to study dinosaurs in rigorous detail. Scientific knowledge of dinosaur biology and evolution is shifting fast, and this book aims to summarize current understanding of dinosaur science in a technical, but accessible, style, supplemented with vivid photographs and illustrations. The Topics in Paleobiology Series is published in collaboration with the Palaeontological Association, and is edited by Professor Mike Benton, University of Bristol. Books in the series provide a summary of the current state of knowledge, a trusted route into the primary literature, and will act as pointers for future directions for research. As well as volumes on individual groups, the series will also deal with topics that have a cross-cutting relevance, such as the evolution of significant ecosystems, particular key times and events in the history of life, climate change, and the application of a new techniques such as molecular palaeontology. The books are written by leading international experts and will be pitched at a level suitable for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers in both the paleontological and biological sciences. Additional resources for this book can be found at: http://www.wiley.com/go/brusatte/dinosaurpaleobiology.

Tyrannosaurid Paleobiology
Tyrannosaurid Paleobiology

Author: J. Michael Parrish

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2013-07-05

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0253009472

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Drawn from a 2005 international symposium, these essays explore current tyrannosaurid current research and discoveries regarding Tyrannosaurus rex. The opening of an exhibit focused on “Jane,” a beautifully preserved tyrannosaur collected by the Burpee Museum of Natural History, was the occasion for an international symposium on tyrannosaur paleobiology. This volume, drawn from the symposium, includes studies of the tyrannosaurids Chingkankousaurus fragilis and “Sir William” and the generic status of Nanotyrannus; theropod teeth, pedal proportions, brain size, and craniocervical function; soft tissue reconstruction, including that of “Jane”; paleopathology and tyrannosaurid claws; dating the “Jane” site; and tyrannosaur feeding and hunting strategies. Tyrannosaurid Paleobiology highlights the far ranging and vital state of current tyrannosaurid dinosaur research and discovery. “Despite being discovered over 100 years ago, Tyrannosaurus rex and its kin still inspire researchers to ask fundamental questions about what the best known dinosaur was like as a living, breathing animal. Tyrannosaurid Paleobiology present a series of wide-ranging and innovative studies that cover diverse topics such as how tyrannosaurs attacked and dismembered prey, the shapes and sizes of feet and brains, and what sorts of injuries individuals sustained and lived with. There are also examinations of the diversity of tyrannosaurs, determinations of exactly when different kinds lived and died, and what goes into making a museum exhibit featuring tyrannosaurs. This volume clearly shows that there is much more to the study of dinosaurs than just digging up and cataloguing old bones.” —Donald M. Henderson, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

The Dinosaurs Rediscovered
The Dinosaurs Rediscovered

Author: Michael J. Benton

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Published: 2019-05-13

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 0500774684

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Giant sauropod dinosaur skeletons from Patagonia; dinosaurs with feathers from China; a tiny dinosaur tail in Burmese amber complete down to every detail of its filament-like feathers, skin, bones and mummified muscles. Dinosaurs continue to regularly cause a media sensation. Remarkable new fossil finds are the lifeblood of modern palaeobiology, but it is the advances in technologies and methods that have allowed the revolution in the scope and confidence of the field. Over the past twenty years, the study of dinosaurs has become a true scientific discipline. New technologies have revealed secrets locked in the prehistoric bones in ways that nobody predicted we can now work out the colour of dinosaurs, their bite forces, top speeds and even how they cared for their young. The Dinosaurs Rediscovered gathers together all the latest palaeontological evidence and takes us behind the scenes on expeditions and in museum laboratories, tracing the transformation of dinosaur study from its roots in antiquated natural history to a highly technical, computational and indisputably scientific field today. Michael J. Benton explores what we know of the world of the dinosaurs, how dinosaur remains are found and excavated, and how palaeontologists read the details of the lives of dinosaurs from fossils their colours, their growth, feeding and locomotion, how they grew from egg to adult, how they sensed the world, and even whether we will ever be able to bring them back to life. Dinosaurs are still very much a part of our world.

Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record
Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record

Author: Michael J. Benton

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-04-25

Total Pages: 1001

ISBN-13: 1118685407

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This book presents a comprehensive overview of the science of the history of life. Paleobiologists bring many analytical tools to bear in interpreting the fossil record and the book introduces the latest techniques, from multivariate investigations of biogeography and biostratigraphy to engineering analysis of dinosaur skulls, and from homeobox genes to cladistics. All the well-known fossil groups are included, including microfossils and invertebrates, but an important feature is the thorough coverage of plants, vertebrates and trace fossils together with discussion of the origins of both life and the metazoans. All key related subjects are introduced, such as systematics, ecology, evolution and development, stratigraphy and their roles in understanding where life came from and how it evolved and diversified. Unique features of the book are the numerous case studies from current research that lead students to the primary literature, analytical and mathematical explanations and tools, together with associated problem sets and practical schedules for instructors and students. “..any serious student of geology who does not pick this book off the shelf will be putting themselves at a huge disadvantage. The material may be complex, but the text is extremely accessible and well organized, and the book ought to be essential reading for palaeontologists at undergraduate, postgraduate and more advanced levels—both in Britain as well as in North America.” Falcon-Lang, H., Proc. Geol. Assoc. 2010 “...this is an excellent introduction to palaeontology in general. It is well structured, accessibly written and pleasantly informative .....I would recommend this as a standard reference text to all my students without hesitation.” David Norman Geol Mag 2010 Companion website This book includes a companion website at: www.blackwellpublishing.com/paleobiology The website includes: · An ongoing database of additional Practical’s prepared by the authors · Figures from the text for downloading · Useful links for each chapter · Updates from the authors

The Sauropods
The Sauropods

Author: Kristina Curry Rogers

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2005-12-16

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 0520932331

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Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to walk the earth, and they represent a substantial portion of vertebrate biomass and biodiversity during the Mesozoic Era. The story of sauropod evolution is told in an extensive fossil record of skeletons and footprints that span the globe and 150 million years of earth history. This generously illustrated volume is the first comprehensive scientific summary of sauropod evolution and paleobiology. The contributors explore sauropod anatomy, detail its variations, and question the myth that life at large size led to evolutionary stagnation and eventual replacement by more "advanced" herbivorous dinosaurs. Chapters address topics such as the evolutionary history and diversity of sauropods; methods for creating three-dimensional reconstructions of their skeletons; questions of sauropod herbivory, tracks, gigantism, locomotion, reproduction, growth rates, and more. This book, together with the recent surge in sauropod discoveries around the world and taxonomic revisions of fragmentary genera, will shed new light on "nature's greatest extravagances."

Bringing Fossils to Life
Bringing Fossils to Life

Author: Donald R. Prothero

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2013-11-05

Total Pages: 689

ISBN-13: 0231536909

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One of the leading textbooks in its field, Bringing Fossils to Life applies paleobiological principles to the fossil record while detailing the evolutionary history of major plant and animal phyla. It incorporates current research from biology, ecology, and population genetics, bridging the gap between purely theoretical paleobiological textbooks and those that describe only invertebrate paleobiology and that emphasize cataloguing live organisms instead of dead objects. For this third edition Donald R. Prothero has revised the art and research throughout, expanding the coverage of invertebrates and adding a discussion of new methodologies and a chapter on the origin and early evolution of life.

The Complete Dinosaur
The Complete Dinosaur

Author: Michael K. Brett-Surman

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2012-06-27

Total Pages: 1161

ISBN-13: 0253357012

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Praise for the first edition "A gift to serious dinosaur enthusiasts" --Science "The amount of information in these] 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 (starred review) "Copiously illustrated and scrupulously up-to-date... the book reveals dinos through the fractious fields that make a study of them." --Publishers Weekly "Stimulating armchair company for cold winter evenings.... Best of all, the book treats dinosaurs as intellectual fun." --New Scientist "The book is useful both as a reference and as a browse-and-enjoy compendium." --Natural History What do we know about dinosaurs, and how do we know it? How did dinosaurs grow, move, eat, and reproduce? Were they warm-blooded or cold-blooded? How intelligent were they? How are the various groups of dinosaurs related to each other, and to other kinds of living and extinct vertebrates? What can the study of dinosaurs tell us about the process of evolution? And why did typical dinosaurs become extinct? All of these questions, and more, are addressed in the new, expanded, second edition of The Complete Dinosaur. Written by many of the world's leading experts on the "fearfully great" reptiles, the book's 45 chapters cover what we have learned about dinosaurs, from the earliest discoveries of dinosaurs to the most recent controversies. Where scientific contention exists, the editors have let the experts agree to disagree. Copiously illustrated and accessible to all readers from the enthusiastic amateur to the most learned professional paleontologist, The Complete Dinosaur is a feast for serious dinosaur lovers everywhere.

Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs

Author: David E. Fastovsky

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-08-27

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 1107276462

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Updated with the material that instructors want, Dinosaurs continues to make science exciting and understandable to non-science majors through its narrative of scientific concepts rather than endless facts. It now contains new material on pterosaurs, an expanded section on the evolution of the dinosaurs and new photographs to help students engage with geology, natural history and evolution. The authors ground the text in the language of modern evolutionary biology, phylogenetic systematics, and teach students to examine the paleontology of dinosaurs exactly as the professionals in the field do using these methods to reconstruct dinosaur relationships. Beautifully illustrated, lively and engaging, this edition continues to encourage students to ask questions and assess data critically, enabling them to think like a scientist.

Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World
Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World

Author: Michael J. Benton

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Published: 2021-11-23

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 050077708X

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The world’s leading paleontologist takes us on a visual tour of the latest dinosaur science, illustrated with accurate and stunning paleoart. Dinosaurs are not what you thought they were—or at least, they didn’t look like you thought they did. The world-leading paleontologist Michael J. Benton brings us a new visual guide to the world of the dinosaurs, showing how rapid advances in technology and amazing new fossil finds have changed the way we see these extinct beasts forever. Stunning new illustrations by paleoartist Bob Nicholls display the latest and most exciting scientific discoveries in vibrant color. From Sinosauropteryx, the first dinosaur to have its color patterns identified—a ginger-and-white striped tail—by Benton’s team at the University of Bristol in 2010, to recent research on the surprising mixed feathers and scales of Kulindadromeus, this is one of the first books to include cutting-edge scientific research in paleontology. Each chapter focuses on a particular extinct species, featuring a specially commissioned illustration that brings to life the latest scientific breakthroughs, with accompanying text exploring how paleontologists have determined new details, such as the patterns on skin and the colors of feathers of animals that lived millions of years ago. This visual compendium surprises and challenges everything you thought you knew about what dinosaurs looked like and how they lived.

Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs
Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs

Author: Donald R. Prothero

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2009-07-01

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 0231518323

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Donald R. Prothero's science books combine leading research with first-person narratives of discovery, injecting warmth and familiarity into a profession that has much to offer nonspecialists. Bringing his trademark style and wit to an increasingly relevant subject of concern, Prothero links the climate changes that have occurred over the past 200 million years to their effects on plants and animals. In particular, he contrasts the extinctions that ended the Cretaceous period, which wiped out the dinosaurs, with those of the later Eocene and Oligocene epochs. Prothero begins with the "greenhouse of the dinosaurs," the global-warming episode that dominated the Age of Dinosaurs and the early Age of Mammals. He describes the remarkable creatures that once populated the earth and draws on his experiences collecting fossils in the Big Badlands of South Dakota to sketch their world. Prothero then discusses the growth of the first Antarctic glaciers, which marked the Eocene-Oligocene transition, and shares his own anecdotes of excavations and controversies among colleagues that have shaped our understanding of the contemporary and prehistoric world. The volume concludes with observations about Nisqually Glacier and other locations that show how global warming is happening much quicker than previously predicted, irrevocably changing the balance of the earth's thermostat. Engaging scientists and general readers alike, Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs connects events across thousands of millennia to make clear the human threat to natural climate change.