The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures

A comprehensive introduction explains the evolution of earth's geology and the development of animal and plant life within it, culminating with the arrival of the dinosaurs. It explains the classification of dinosaurs and how they developed over the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous eras, from the smallest sea creature to the largest land-dwelling dinosaurs with the greatest body mass. The different habitats where dinosaurs are thought to have lived are all depicted, from deserts to lagoons, lakes, mountains, swamps and plains, together with the fossil evidence that helps to explain the presence of dinosaurs in each site.

Fascinating anatomical drawings demonstrate the skeletal make up of the different dinosaurs - sauropods, theropods, ornithopods, and armoured dinosaurs - and explain how they functioned, moved and lived. Expert analysis of fossils has provided theories about what dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures ate; fossil footprints help explain how they socialized, whether moving in herds, or in solitary isolation; and the discovery of eggs provides theories about how dinosaurs formed colonies, migrating to different areas to rear their young. Finally the role of the dinosaur hunters is explained, with a glimpse at how fossils are excavated, and where the most important fossil sites are in the world.

512 pages / ingles / author: Dougal Dixon / Editorial: Southwater Publishing