Dinosaurs of Italy (Life of the Past) Book

In the last decade, Italian Mesozoic marine deposits have revealed the unexpected presence of dinosaurs. Dinosaurs of Italy is a faithful report of those discoveries. It is a popular but thorough book, written by one of the leading dinosaur paleontologists in Italy with the collaboration of the science writer Giuseppe Brillante. After an introduction to the world of dinosaurs, each chapter deals with one finding: from dinosaur footprints (including new sites from southern Italy found in 2000) and the exciting discovery and description of Scipionyx, to the Trieste hadrosaurs and the very recent "saltriosaur." Italian marine and flying reptiles are also described, represented by spectacular specimens such as the large shastasaurid ichthyosaur Besanosaurus and the most ancient pterosaur Eudimorphodon. Other chapters deal with the K/T boundary of Gubbio and its role in reconstructing the story of dinosaur extinction and offer speculations about future findings. The book includes original drawings as well as pictures of key fossils, including never published detailed photos of Scipionyx.

Life of the Past -- James O. Farlow, editor