Ultimate Guides - Dinosaurs: The Ultimate Guide to Prehistoric Life (Collins ultimate guides) Book

Dinosaurs is a highly illustrated and up-to-date compendium and reference guide to the "terrible lizards" and their relatives for all novice "dinomaniacs" from eight to 80 years old. Six sections by different authors, all experts in various fields of the study of fossils, introduce the reader to how and where dinosaurs are found, excavated, identified; where and when they lived; their relatives; how they lived and died; and what is new in our understanding of the beasts. The second section portrays more details about a selection of some 79 individual kinds of dinosaurs. These include recent finds of the last decade from Liaoning in China and some surprising scientific discoveries. It is now pretty clear that feathers are not unique to birds. New Chinese dinosaurs include the long-legged and turkey-sized dinosaur Caudipteryx, which was found in 1998. This bizarre animal had bunches of feathers on its arms and tail but they were not for flying with. They may have been used to help catch insects and/or sexual display. We now know that although most dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago, in a sense they are still very much with us but are flying around and are otherwise known as birds. There is a useful guide to 18 major dinosaur sites and museums around the world and a few Web sites. The latter could have usefully been expanded, especially as there is no reading guide to other books but there is a glossary and index. --Douglas PalmerRead More