What did your guinea pig's great-great-great-great-great-grandparents look like? Paleontologist Dr. Dean Lomax takes a close look at seven of our favorite pets and uses fossil clues to reveal who their prehistoric ancestors might be. Incredible pop-ups bring you face-to-face with awesome ancient creatures, including a velociraptor, a saber-toothed cat, and the giant snake Titanoboa. This book is packed full of fun facts about amazing animals and fascinating fossils.
Meet the incredible animals that have disappeared due to competition, mass extinctions, hunting, and human activity. Lost Animals brings back to life some of the most charismatic creatures to inhabit the planet. It captures the imagination with more than 200 incredible photographs, artworks of fossils, and scientific drawings of charming creatures like dodos, paraceratherium (the largest land mammal), spinosaurus (the biggest carnivorous dinosaur), placeoderm fishes (the sharks of their day), and more! Lost Animals is a captivating documentation of evolution and extinction. Each chapter focuses on a specific time in Earth's history, from the Cambrian explosion (the most intense surge of evolution the world has ever experienced) to present times, with profiles of the key species that lived then. From long extinct animals to Lazarus species--animals that were thought to be extinct before being rediscovered--this book takes readers on a journey through Earth's natural history, highlighting the world's biggest animal losses and its moments of conservational hope.
What if elephants were as small as dogs? What if frogs were protected by armor? In prehistoric times, they were! In fact, other than a few unique changes, lots of prehistoric beasts looked similar to modern animals that live on Earth. Hedgehogs had long tails and no quills, some birds laid eggs the size of footballs, and dragonflies could eat reptiles and amphibians! If these extinct beasts came to life, they might look familiar—but you wouldn't want to get in their way! Read this book to learn more about the incredible and terrifying prehistoric ancestors of modern animals.
Gorillas can be pretty big, but just wait until you see Gigantopithecus. This huge ape lived 9 million years ago and was three times as heavy and two times as tall as a modern gorilla. There were lots of other prehistoric giants, too. Giant camels lived in the United States and even in the Arctic. Another beast was Stupendemys—a turtle so large that a car could fit on its shell! What would happen if these giant beasts came to life? Imagine prehistoric giants walking the streets of New York and climbing the Great Wall of China—and learn amazing facts about these fascinating creatures!
The ocean is filled with giant, strange, and scary creatures such as whales, octopuses, and sharks—but the prehistoric megalodon was powerful enough to crush a killer whale. Other sea beasts of the past could hold their own against even the most mysterious of modern sea creatures. Sea scorpions had claws the size of tennis rackets. Tanystropheus used its long neck to catch fish from land. And Leedsichthys had as many as 40,000 teeth! What would happen if these extinct beasts came to life? Imagine prehistoric sea beasts chasing dolphins, fighting crocodiles, and hunting humpback whales—and learn all about the prehistoric creatures of the deep!
You haven’t changed a bit! Living fossils, or modern-day animals that very closely resemble their ancient relatives. Meet the coelacanth, horseshoe crab, dragonfly, tuatara, nautilus, and Hula painted frog. All are living fossils. Why have they changed so little over time, while other animals evolved or went extinct? Using contrasting "then" and "now" illustrations, veteran nonfiction writer Caroline Arnold alternates between a prehistoric creature in its native environment and its contemporary living-fossil counterpart. An amazing way to experience the ancient past! Back matter includes a time line, additional information about the six living fossils, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading.
Did you know that dinosaurs weren't the only prehistoric beasts on Earth? Even before the time when dinosaurs lived, there were many other incredible creatures, and some were even bigger and more terrifying than T. rex. Entelodonts had strong jaws designed to crush bones. Quetzalcoatlus was the largest ever flying creature—about the size of a fighter jet! And Dimetrodons were the first animals to have notched teeth for slicing through flesh. What would happen if these beasts came back to life? Imagine these prehistoric predators facing off against tigers, bears, and wolves—and learn all about the terrifying creatures of the past!
Offers a look at the scientific research on the relationship between birds and dinosaurs according to past and present findings, including the recent discovery of a dinosaur with feathers.