Complete Book Of Dinosaurs

Description

This is the ultimate reference to 355 dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, including more than 900 illustrations, maps, timelines and photographs. It features all the key groups: sauropods, theropods, ornithopods, ankylosaurs, stegosaurs, carnosaurs, polacanthids, diplodocids, iguanodonts, boneheads, and many more. It includes non-dinosaurs such as placodonts, mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, nothasaurs, plesiosaurs and ptersoaurs. Expert identification text provides a description of each creature and technically accurate artworks show how each looked according to the latest scientific understanding. It features an overview of the evolution of the earth's geology, the development of life and the arrival of the dinosaurs, the process of fossilization, and development of dinosaur discovery and excavation techniques. Here is the ultimate identification guide for dinosaur enthusiasts, featuring more than 355 creatures, written by an acknowledged expert. A comprehensive introduction explains the Age of Dinosaurs and their classification and development. Fascinating anatomical drawings demonstrate their skeletal make up, and the habitats in which they lived are depicted.
The main section of the book is an encyclopedia of dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures, arranged according to type. Each entry contains a description of the creature's key identifying features, evolutionary adaptations and details of the fossil evidence.

Author description

Dougal Dixon was born in Scotland and later graduated from The University of St Andrews with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1970 and a Master of Science degree in 1972. He began his career as a geological consultant for a publishing company in 1973, nurturing a special interest in fossils and evolution. He is now a full-time writer specializing in earth sciences and has written many children's books and encyclopedia with a special interest in dinosaurs. He has made several television appearances and acted as a consultant and animator for videos about dinosaurs. As a practical geologist, he was involved in excavating a dinosaur-rich site in Jurassic rocks at Durlston on the Dorset coast in 1987, and he took part in the 1995 Open University/Earthwatch expedition to Askja Caldera in central Iceland. As part of his research he has visited many of the classic dinosaur sites - especially in Germany, in Belgium and in China - and has worked during three field seasons on a Stegosaurus excavation in Montana. Dougal was presented with the Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism by The Educational Press Association of America in 1993, the Helen Roney Sattler Award in 1993, The Children's Book Council 1994 Outstanding Trade Science Book Award, and The Times Educational Supplement Primary Schoolbook Award in 1996. In the same year he was appointed as a trustee of the Dinosaur Society, UK.