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Flying dinosaurs : how fearsome reptiles became birds / John Pickrell.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Columbia University Press, [2014]Copyright date: ©2014Description: xxiv, 217 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780231171786
  • 0231171781
Subject(s):
Contents:
Foreword / Philip Currie -- Introduction: A whole new world -- Before we begin -- The missing link -- A feathered revolution begins -- The dinosaur hunters -- From dinosaur to bird -- Fake fossils -- The evolution of feathers -- The struggle to the skies -- Sex for T. rex -- Colouring in the dinosaurs -- Back from the dead -- The survival game -- Relationships of the theropod dinosaurs -- An A-Z of feathered dinosaurs.
Summary: The discovery of feathered dinosaur fossils coming out of China since 2006 suggests 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 these 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.
Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 568 P597 Available 33111008794956
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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.

"First published in Australia by NewSouth, an imprint of the University of New South Wales Press, Ltd."--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-204) and index.

Foreword / Philip Currie -- Introduction: A whole new world -- Before we begin -- The missing link -- A feathered revolution begins -- The dinosaur hunters -- From dinosaur to bird -- Fake fossils -- The evolution of feathers -- The struggle to the skies -- Sex for T. rex -- Colouring in the dinosaurs -- Back from the dead -- The survival game -- Relationships of the theropod dinosaurs -- An A-Z of feathered dinosaurs.

The discovery of feathered dinosaur fossils coming out of China since 2006 suggests 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 these 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.

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