United States
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Geared toward a broad variety of students, Dinosaurs: The Textbook offers a concise and lucid presentation of the core biological and geological concepts of dinosaur science. Revised throughout to reflect recent fossil discoveries and the current scientific consensus, this seventh edition details the evolution, phylogeny, and classification of various dinosaur species while modelling the best approach for navigating new and existing research.
Spencer G. Lucas takes readers through the major taxonomic groups, including theropods, sauropodomorphs, ornithopods, ceratopsians, pachycephalosaurs, stegosaurs, and ankylosaurs. He also examines the behaviour and extinction of the dinosaurs, their biological relationship to birds, and their representation (or misrepresentation) in art, literature, film, and other forms of popular culture.
This seventh edition of the leading text for introductory courses on dinosaurs incorporates comprehensive updates based on the latest research. Lucas highlights how dinosaur science is rapidly evolving, exploring how new discoveries, methods, and ideas are expanding the frontiers of knowledge. The book features cutting-edge and scientifically rigorous illustrations by leading paleoartists. It also includes extensive and reader-friendly end-of-chapter summary tools, review questions, a detailed glossary, a dinosaur dictionary, and a comprehensive index.
List of Boxed Readings
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Evolution, Phylogeny, and Classification
3. Fossils, Sedimentary Environments, and Geologic Time
4. The Origin of Dinosaurs
5. Theropods
6. Sauropodomorphs
7. Ornithopods
8. Stegosaurs and Ankylosaurs
9. Ceratopsians and Pachycephalosaurs
10. The Dinosaurian World
11. Dinosaur Hunters
12. Dinosaur Trace Fossils
13. Dinosaur Biology and Behavior
14. Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs?
15. Dinosaurs and the Origin of Birds
16. The Extinction of Dinosaurs
17. Dinosaurs in the Public Eye
Appendix: A Primer of Dinosaur Anatomy
Glossary
A Dinosaur Dictionary
Index
Spencer G. Lucas is the curator of palaeontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. He has published more than 500 scientific articles and authored or coedited close to twenty volumes, including Chinese Fossil Vertebrates (Columbia, 2002).
"Lucas brings four decades of experience in vertebrate paleontology to this logical and thorough treatment of dinosaurs. A challenging – and rewarding – text for students."
– Lawrence H. Tanner, professor of environmental science systems and director of the Center for the Study of Environmental Change, Le Moyne College
"I don't think that you can produce a better book than what Lucas has written. It has been well proved over many years, and this thoroughly updated edition meets the demands of the rapidly evolving science."
– Sherwood W. Wise Jr., professor emeritus of geological sciences, Florida State University
"This book is the best available introduction to dinosaurs for college students, as earlier editions have been."
– John Cisne, professor emeritus of earth and atmospheric sciences, Cornell University
"Dinosaurs is a concise, well-written, and profusely illustrated introduction to this ever-fascinating subject. It is ideally suited for college-level courses."
– Hans-Dieter Sues, senior research geologist and curator of vertebrate paleontology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, coauthor of Triassic Life on Land: The Great Transition
