Flying Dinosaurs

How Fearsome Reptiles Became Birds
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-0-231-17178-6
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 240 Seiten, Format (B × H): 159 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 522 g

The discovery of stunning, feathered dinosaur fossils coming out of China since 2006 suggest that these creatures were much more bird-like than paleontologists previously imagined. Further evidence bones, genetics, eggs, behavior, and more has shown a seamless transition from fleet-footed carnivores to the ancestors of modern birds.

Mixing colorful portraits with news on the latest fossil findings and interviews with leading paleontologists in the United States, China, Europe, and Australia, John Pickrell explains and details dinosaurs' development of flight. This special capacity introduced a whole new range of abilities for the animals and helped them survive a mass extinction, when thousands of other dinosaur species that once populated the Earth did not. Pickrell also turns his journalistic eye toward the stories behind the latest discoveries, investigating the role of the Chinese black market in trading fossils, the controversies among various dinosaur hunters, the interference of national governments intent on protecting scientific information, and the race to publish findings first that make this research such a dynamic area of science.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Pickrell, John

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Geologie Paläontologie, Taphonomie
• Geowissenschaften Geologie Paläozoologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Wirbeltiere (Vertebrata) Vögel (Ornithologie)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword, by Philip CurriePrefaceIntroduction: A whole new worldBefore we begin1. The missing link2. A feathered revolution begins3. The dinosaur hunters4. From dinosaur to bird5. Fake fossils6. The evolution of feathers7. The struggle to the skies8. Sex for T. rex9. Colouring in the dinosaurs10. Back from the dead11. The survival gameRelationships of the theropod dinosaursAn A;Z of feathered dinosaursReferencesGlossarySelect bibliographyAcknowledgmentsIndex

Leseproben

Read "A Whole New World," the introduction to Flying Dinosaurs:

Über Autor(innen)

John Pickrell is an award-winning science writer and the editor of Australian Geographic magazine. He has worked in London, Washington, D.C., and Sydney for numerous publications, including New Scientist, Science, Science News, and Cosmos. He has been a finalist for the Australian Museum's Eureka Prizes three times, has won an Earth Journalism Award, and has been featured in the 2011 and 2014 editions of The Best Australian Science Writing.