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The last few years have witnessed an unparalleled rate of discoveries of early birds and their dinosaurian predecessors. Written by a recognised authority in the field, 'The Glorified Dinosaurs' provides a comprehensive summary of these discoveries and addresses the fascinating topic of how modern birds evolved from fearsome dinosaurs akin to the celebrated Velociraptor. The book focuses on an evolutionary approach and presents current research and fossil discoveries. The title includes coloured photographs of fossils and fossil localities, many of which have been rarely reproduced elsewhere.
Preface.Chapter One. Mesozoinc Birds and Their World.Chapter Two. The Ancestry of Birds and the Origin of Flight.Chapter Three: The Bizarre Mononykus and its Kin: An Evolutionary Experiment.Chapter Four. Archaeopteryz: The Earliest Bird.Chapter Five. Rahonavis and Other Long-tailed Birds.Chapter Six. The Firs Short-Tailed Birds.Chapter Seven. The Great Mesozoic Radiation: The Flying Enantiornithes.Chapter Eight. Early Predecessors of Modern Birds.Chapter Nine. Hesperornis and its relatives: Divers of the Cretaceous Seas.Chapter Ten. The Beginnings of Modern Birds.Epilogue.Acknowledgements.Glossary.Index.
Luis M. Chiappe is Director of the Dinosaur Institute and Curator of the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Dr Chiappe has conducted extensive research on the evolution of dinosaurs, particularly the origin and early evolution of birds, and is considered a world authority in the field of early bird evolution. of birds, and is considered a world authority in the field of early bird evolution. His research has been published in numerous articles as well as books, including Walking on Eggs and Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs. He is a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the Alexander Humboldt Foundation, an Adjunct Professor at University of Southern California, and a Research Associate at the American museum of Natural History in New York City.
...'Glorified Dinosaurs' is a book you won't want to miss. (Fossil News, June 2007) "This book is bound to appeal to anyone with an interest in dinosaurs, ornithology, evolution and natural history." (Nature, 10th May 2007) "...an invaluable resource for every paleontologist, ornithologist, evolutionary biologist, geology and life sciences student and professional. It is also exciting reading...for all those with a general interest in the topic." (SirReadaLot.org, March 2007) "...the best summary yet of how dinosaurs evolved into birds." (Books-On-Line) "...Chiappe's breaking deep ground, escorting us across the threshold of many new and intriguing realms...the full-color illustrations are breath-taking." (Electric Review, March/April 2007)
