Download or read book Bird Fossils written by Sara Meehan and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2016-12-15 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1861, paleontologists unearthed a dinosaur fossil that looked like a bird! Archaeopteryx, as this species is known today, was a link between ancient dinosaurs and modern birds. In this guide, based on fundamental elementary science concepts, readers view amazing bird fossils and learn how they formed. Readers also learn how scientists know birds are descended from dinosaurs by comparing traits from both. Amazing photographs are paired with accessible text to make this book both educational and fun. Sidebars provide additional chances to dazzle young readers.
Download or read book Birds of Stone written by Luis M. Chiappe and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Captivating photographs of the world’s most detailed bird fossils illuminate the early diversity of avifauna. When fossils of birds from China’s Jehol region first appeared in scientific circles, the world took notice. These Mesozoic masterpieces are between 120 and 131 million years old and reveal incredible details that capture the diversity of ancient bird life. Paleontologists all over the world began to collaborate with Chinese colleagues as new and wondrous fossil-related discoveries became regular events. The pages of National Geographic and major scientific journals described the intricate views of feathers as well as food still visible in the guts of these ancient birds. Now, for the first time, a sweeping collection of the most interesting of Jehol’s avian fossils is on display in this beautiful book. Birds of Stone makes visible the unexpected avian diversity that blanketed the earth just a short time (geologically speaking) after a dinosaur lineage gave rise to the first birds. Our visual journey through these fossils is guided by Luis M. Chiappe, a world expert on early birds, and Meng Qingjin, a leading figure in China's natural history museum community. Together, they help us understand the "meaning" of each fossil by providing straightforward narratives that accompany the full-page photographs of the Jehol discoveries. Anyone interested in the history of life—from paleontologists to inquisitive birders—will find Birds of Stone an irresistible feast for the eyes and mind.
Download or read book Bird Fossils written by Sara Meehan and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2016-12-15 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1861, paleontologists unearthed a dinosaur fossil that looked like a bird! Archaeopteryx, as this species is known today, was a link between ancient dinosaurs and modern birds. In this guide, based on fundamental elementary science concepts, readers view amazing bird fossils and learn how they formed. Readers also learn how scientists know birds are descended from dinosaurs by comparing traits from both. Amazing photographs are paired with accessible text to make this book both educational and fun. Sidebars provide additional chances to dazzle young readers.
Download or read book Birds of Stone written by Luis M. Chiappe and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2016-11 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Captivating photographs of the world’s most detailed bird fossils illuminate the early diversity of avifauna. When fossils of birds from China’s Jehol region first appeared in scientific circles, the world took notice. These Mesozoic masterpieces are between 120 and 131 million years old and reveal incredible details that capture the diversity of ancient bird life. Paleontologists all over the world began to collaborate with Chinese colleagues as new and wondrous fossil-related discoveries became regular events. The pages of National Geographic and major scientific journals described the intricate views of feathers as well as food still visible in the guts of these ancient birds. Now, for the first time, a sweeping collection of the most interesting of Jehol’s avian fossils is on display in this beautiful book. Birds of Stone makes visible the unexpected avian diversity that blanketed the earth just a short time (geologically speaking) after a dinosaur lineage gave rise to the first birds. Our visual journey through these fossils is guided by Luis M. Chiappe, a world expert on early birds, and Meng Qingjin, a leading figure in China's natural history museum community. Together, they help us understand the "meaning" of each fossil by providing straightforward narratives that accompany the full-page photographs of the Jehol discoveries. Anyone interested in the history of life—from paleontologists to inquisitive birders—will find Birds of Stone an irresistible feast for the eyes and mind.
Download or read book The Rise of Birds written by Sankar Chatterjee and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2015-04-01 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most comprehensive account of the origin of ancient and modern birds—the "living dinosaurs." A small set of fossilized bones discovered almost thirty years ago led paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee on a lifelong quest to understand their place in our understanding of the history of life. They were clearly the bones of something unusual, a bird-like creature that lived long, long ago in the age of dinosaurs. He called it Protoavis, and the animal that owned these bones quickly became a contender for the title of "oldest known bird." In 1997, Chatterjee published his findings in the first edition of The Rise of Birds. Since then Chatterjee and his colleagues have searched the world for more transitional bird fossils. And they have found them. This second edition of The Rise of Birds brings together a treasure trove of fossils that tell us far more about the evolution of birds than we once dreamed possible. With no blind allegiance to what he once thought he knew, Chatterjee devours the new evidence and lays out the most compelling version of the birth and evolution of the avian form ever attempted. He takes us from Texas to Spain, China, Mongolia, Madagascar, Australia, Antarctica, and Argentina. He shows how, in the "Cretaceous Pompeii" of China, he was able to reconstruct the origin and evolution of flight of early birds from the feathered dinosaurs that lay among thousands of other amazing fossils. Chatterjee takes us to where long-hidden bird fossils dwell. His compelling, occasionally controversial, revelations—accompanied by spectacular illustrations—are a must-read for anyone with a serious interest in the evolution of "the feathered dinosaurs," from vertebrate paleontologists and ornithologists to naturalists and birders.
Download or read book Avian Evolution written by Gerald Mayr and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-10-31 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Knowledge of the evolutionary history of birds has much improved in recent decades. Fossils from critical time periods are being described at unprecedented rates and modern phylogenetic analyses have provided a framework for the interrelationships of the extant groups. This book gives an overview of the avian fossil record and its paleobiological significance, and it is the only up-to-date textbook that covers both Mesozoic and more modern-type Cenozoic birds in some detail. The reader is introduced to key features of basal avians and the morphological transformations that have occurred in the evolution towards modern birds. An account of the Cenozoic fossil record sheds light on the biogeographic history of the extant avian groups and discusses fossils in the context of current phylogenetic hypotheses. This review of the evolutionary history of birds not only addresses students and established researchers, but it may also be a useful source of information for anyone else with an interest in the evolution of birds and a moderate background in biology and geology.
Download or read book Discovering Fossils written by Frank A. Garcia and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 1998 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complete beginner's guide, with vertebrate and invertebrate fossil descriptions.
Download or read book Bird Fossils written by Sara Paulson Meehan and published by . This book was released on 2017-01-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1861, paleontologists unearthed a dinosaur fossil that looked like a bird! Archaeopteryx, as this species is known today, was a link between ancient dinosaurs and modern birds. In this guide, based on fundamental elementary science concepts, readers view amazing bird fossils and learn how they formed. Readers also learn how scientists know birds are descended from dinosaurs by comparing traits from both. Amazing photographs are paired with accessible text to make this book both educational and fun. Sidebars provide additional chances to dazzle young readers.
Download or read book Paleogene Fossil Birds written by Gerald Mayr and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-04-21 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the present book the Paleogene fossil record of birds is detailed for the first time on a worldwide scale. I have developed the idea for such a project for several years, and think that it is an appropriate moment to present a summary of our c- rent knowledge of the early evolution of modern birds. Meanwhile not only is there a confusing diversity of fossil taxa, but also significant progress has been made concerning an understanding of the higher-level phylogeny of extant birds. Hypotheses which were not considered even a decade ago are now well supported by independent analyses of different data. In several cases these group together morphologically very different avian groups and allow a better understanding of the mosaic character distribution found in Paleogene fossil birds. The book aims at bringing some of this information together, and many of the following data are based on first-hand examination of fossil specimens.
Download or read book Fossil Birds in the Marsh Collection of Yale University written by Robert Wilson Shufeldt and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Romancing the Birds and Dinosaurs written by Alan Feduccia and published by BrownWalker Press. This book was released on 2020-10-15 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Birds and dinosaurs have dominated human interest for decades. In this well-supported revolutionary view of the field, critical questions are explored with credible evidence and biological thought. Are birds derived directly from advanced dinosaurs, or are they closely related dinosaur cousins? Did flight originate via the natural "gravity-assisted" trees-down model, or from the improbable “gravity-resisted” ground-up model? Were the earliest birds ground-predators or trunk-climbing gliders? Were dinosaurs hot-blooded with insulating protofeathers, or highly active, cold-blooded reptiles? These are among the questions addressed in this path-breaking book. Current consensus suggests that early birds were earth-bound and flight began on the ground. Reversing that logic, since birds are hot-blooded, by inference so too were dinosaurs, and extraordinarily complex feathers, flight brain and inner ear, evolved before flight in dinosaurs. The iconic early bird Archaeopteryx, despite innumerable flight and arboreal features, is now displayed as an earth-bound predator that could not fly. In reality, we have yet to provide satisfactory explanations for much of the biological origin and early evolution of birds. Among the questions addressed is whether truly feathered dinosaurs are in reality lost or "hidden birds?" The architectural complexity of feathers leads the author to the conclusion that if an animal has evolved extraordinarily complex, aerodynamically-designed feathers, an avian flight hand, flight membranes, and a flight brain, it's a bird. Birds and dinosaurs captivate and enchant the human imagination. These intriguing animals have dominated the field of paleontology and evolution for the past half century, engendering heated debate on avian ancestry, the origin of flight and feathers, and the biology of their fossils. Are birds living dinosaurs? In this series of entertainingly contentious and captivating essays evolutionary biologist Alan Feduccia writes with verve and humor to expose major problems in the field and advocate liberation from the shackles of consensus thinking about birds and dinosaurs. He maintains that the euphoria of paleontologists claiming to have solved the major problems of bird evolution is premature, largely generated by the adoption of a rigid, cult-like methodology, heavily blended with ideology, and excluding many biological and geological principles. He adroitly exposes and elucidates major mistakes in the field and their aftermath. Romancing the Birds and Dinosaurs is a lucid revelation of clarity and synthesis, a fascinating unveiling of the underlying science that has produced the good, but also often appalling fossil research and wild speculation in bird and dinosaur evolution. A must read for anyone interested in this rapidly evolving field, the short, concise and incisive essays provide the reader with access to this complex topic. REVIEWS and WORDS OF PRAISE In this strikingly unconventional and brilliant book, Professor Alan Feduccia presents the current status of the recent controversy about the origin of birds with clarity and vigor. A thought-provoking personal exploration of what the bird fossils represent. ---Sankar Chatterjee, Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor of Geosciences and Curator of Paleontology, Texas Tech University. Feduccia's book eloquently reminds us that consensus science is to be shied away from especially when it is used to plead special cases against basic scientific principles. The concept of “lost birds” is particularly intriguing as it defines what birds are and how special science obfuscates the simplicity of evolution. ---David A. Burnham, Associate Researcher, University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum. Based on a thorough understanding of the empirical evidence, Feduccia presents a convincing account of avian origins from their putative ancestors. ---Walter J. Bock, Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Columbia University and Research Associate, American Museum of Natural History. With candor, clear thinking, humor, and abundant evidence, Alan Feduccia’s Romancing the Birds and Dinosaurs should be mandatory reading for the countless millions who are intrigued by dinosaurs and their relatives, the birds. Feduccia points out the many empirical and logical shortcomings in the stubborn majority view that birds evolved from dinosaurs, an idea now solidly entrenched as dogma in education and popular culture. This new book will be as interesting to those who study human behavior and scientific methods as it will to students of vertebrate evolution. ---David W. Steadman, Curator of Ornithology, Professor of Biology, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida.
Download or read book Palaeobiology of Giant Flightless Birds written by Delphine Angst and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2017-11-16 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fossil record of giant flightless birds extends back to the Late Cretaceous, more than 70 million years ago, but our understanding of these extinct birds is still incomplete. This is partly because the number of specimens available is sometimes limited, but also because widely different approaches have been used to study them, with sometimes contradictory results. This book summarizes the current knowledge of the paleobiology of seven groups of giant flightless birds: Dinornithiformes, Aepyornithiformes, Dromornithidae, Phorusrhacidae, Brontornithidae, Gastornithidae and Gargantuavis. The first chapter presents the global diversity of these birds and reviews the tools and methods used to study their paleobiology. Chapters 2 to 8 are each dedicated to one of the seven groups of extinct birds. Finally, a conclusion offers a global synthesis of the information presented in the book in an attempt to define a common evolutionary model. Focuses on the giant flightless birds that evolved independently in different parts of the world since the Cretaceous period Covers a number of different families with different evolutionary histories, providing a source of interesting comparisons Provides emphasis on the palaeobiology of these birds, including their evolution, adaptations, mode of life, ecology and extinction
Download or read book Evolution of Birds written by Carol Hand and published by ABDO. This book was released on 2018-12-15 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Evolution of Birds explores what we know about bird evolution, from theories of the past to recent breakthroughs in research. This title also looks at the science behind the research, from studying fossils to analyzing DNA. Features include a glossary, references, websites, source notes, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
Download or read book For Want of Wings written by Jill Hunting and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2022-02-24 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1872, a young graduate of Yale University named Thomas Russell unearthed the bones of an 83,000,000-year-old dinosaur in western Kansas. The rare fossil, an avian dinosaur with teeth and flightless wings, proved that birds evolved from reptiles. More than a century later, Russell’s great-granddaughter set out to retrace her ancestor’s forgotten expedition. Part detective history, part memoir, For Want of Wings is Jill Hunting’s captivating account of her journey into prehistory, national history, and family history. In her quest to piece together fragments of her family’s past, Hunting ends up crisscrossing the United States, from California to Connecticut. On her first trip across the Colorado Rockies to the fossil bed site near Russell Springs, Kansas, Hunting brings along her then twenty-six-year-old daughter. When the book opens, mother and daughter are both at crossroads, each seeking to understand the impact of personal decisions on the landscape of her life. As Hunting ventures forward, she encounters unexpected resources, such as ten-year-old triplets who converse with her about dinosaurs and a Connecticut museum where portraits of her ancestors hang on the walls. Through lively descriptions of these visits, Hunting advances a view of history as nonlinear and full of unlikely coincidences. For Want of Wings is also the carefully researched story of the least known of Yale’s four expeditions into the American West, led by eminent paleontologist O. C. Marsh; the friendship between Russell’s father and abolitionist John Brown; a portrait of a mother and daughter evolving in self-understanding; and an inquiry into matters of race in American history and the author’s own family. In the end, all these pieces converge, like fragments of a fossil, to form an exquisitely patterned work of historical exploration.
Download or read book The Lost World of Fossil Lake written by Lance Grande and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-06-14 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The landscape of southwestern Wyoming around the ghost town of Fossil is beautiful but harsh; a dry, high mountain desert with cool nights and long, cold winters inhabited by a sparse mountain desert community. But during the early Eocene, more than fifty million years ago, it was a subtropical lake, surrounded by volcanoes and forests and teeming with life. Buried within the sun-baked limestone is spectacular evidence of the lush vegetation and plentiful fauna of the ancient past, a transitional ecosystem giving us clues to how North America recovered from a great extinction event that wiped out dinosaurs and the majority of all species on the planet. Paleontologists have been conducting excavations at Fossil Butte for more than 150 years, and with The Lost World of Fossil Lake, one of the world’s leading experts on the fossils from this spectacular locality takes readers on a fascinating journey through the history of the discovery and exploration of the site. Deftly mixing incredible color photographs of the remarkable fossils uncovered at the site with an explanation of their evolutionary significance, Grande presents an unprecedented, comprehensive portrait of the site, its treasures, and what we’ve learned from them. Grande presents a broad range of fossilized organisms from Fossil Lake—from single-celled algae to palm trees to crocodiles—and together they make this long-extinct community come to life in all its diversity and splendor. A field guide and atlas round out the book, enabling readers to identify and classify the majority of the known fossils from the site. Lavishly produced in full color, The Lost World of Fossil Lake is a stunning reminder of the intellectual and physical beauty of scientific investigation—and a breathtaking window onto our planet’s long-lost past.
Download or read book Archaeopteryx the Primordial Bird written by Fred Hoyle and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Flying Dinosaurs written by John Pickrell and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-09-16 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “It will be difficult for any reader to think about dinosaurs—or birds—in the same ways they had before.”—Publishers Weekly The discovery of stunning, feathered dinosaur fossils coming out of China in the twentieth century 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 the animals and helped them survive a mass extinction, when thousands of other dinosaur species that once populated 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. “Fascinating.”
