Download or read book Dinosaurs of the Air written by Gregory S. Paul and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2002-05 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book synthesises the growing body of evidence which suggests that modern-day birds have evolved from theropod dinosaurs of prehistoric times. The author argues that the ancestor-descendant relationship can also be reversed.
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 Feathered Dinosaurs written by John Long and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientists have recovered more than a billion fossils, but no discovery has been more breath-taking than the fossils recently found in northern China, findings which prove that several families of dinosaurs had feathers, or feathery hair-like coverings, adorning their bodies. Now in the beautifully designed Feathered Dinosaurs, paleontologist John Long and illustrator Peter Schouten provide a stunning visual record of these extraordinary prehistoric creatures, illuminating the evolutionary march from primitive, feathered dinosaurs through to the first true flying birds. Schouten, an acclaimed natural history artist, has created 80 full-color paintings that capture the striking physical traits of these feathered dinosaurs. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the lifestyles of modern birds and mammals, plus the extant scientific data regarding how these dinosaurs might have looked and behaved, Schouten has produced not only the most beautiful but also the most accurate visual representations of these animals in print. Equally important, John Long, a noted paleontologist and widely published science author (with some 24 books to his credit), provides an engaging companion text that places these feathered dinosaurs within the larger family of dinosaurs--for instance, outlining their relationship to T. Rex and Velociraptor, species well known to Jurassic Park fans--and discusses the factual information that can be deduced from their fossil remains, in effect providing an insightful natural history of this remarkable group. A true marriage of art and science, Feathered Dinosaurs presents an unprecedented visual record of one of the most significant breakthroughs in the history of vertebrate paleontology--the discovery that many predatory dinosaurs were cloaked with feathers, perhaps just as colorful and fanciful as those of their living relatives.
Download or read book Living Dinosaurs written by Dr. Gareth Dyke and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-02-15 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Living Dinosaurs offers a snapshot of our current understanding of the origin and evolution of birds. After slumbering for more than a century, avian palaeontology has been awakened by startling new discoveries on almost every continent. Controversies about whether dinosaurs had real feathers or whether birds were related to dinosaurs have been swept away and replaced by new and more difficult questions: How old is the avian lineage? How did birds learn to fly? Which birds survived the great extinction that ended the Mesozoic Era and how did the avian genome evolve? Answers to these questions may help us understand how the different kinds of living birds are related to one another and how they evolved into their current niches. More importantly, they may help us understand what we need to do to help them survive the dramatic impacts of human activity on the planet.
Download or read book Mesozoic Birds written by Luis M. Chiappe and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2002-12-05 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Mesozoic Birds is the first book to bring together world-renowned specialists on fossil birds and their importance to avian origins and, more importantly, it stresses a unified approach (cladistics) and presents the most anatomically detailed analyses available to date. No other study or collection of studies has ever done so much. How could the project not be welcomed by its audience of paleontologists, ornithologists, and evolutionary biologists!"—David Weishampel, editor of The Dinosauria "This is the first comprehensive volume dedicated to the relationships and evolution of the birds that lived during the Age of Dinosaurs. Its wealth of information and its diversity of viewpoints will ensure that this indispensable volume is used and discussed for many years to come."—Kevin Padian, University of California, Berkeley
Download or read book Feathered Dragons written by Philip J. Currie and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The setting -- Osteology and Ichnology -- Eggs, nests, feathers, and flight.
Download or read book A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs written by Matthew P. Martyniuk and published by Pan Aves. This book was released on 2012 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A field guide to mesozoic birds and other winged dinosaurs is a comprehensive guide to the diverse species comprising the evolutionary transition from the first dinosaurs with true, feathered wings in the mid-Jurassic period, 160 million years ago, to the late Cretaceous period and the first modern birds [...]. --from publisher.
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 Dinosaurs with Feathers written by Caroline Arnold and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2001 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers a look at the scientific research on the relationship between birds and dinosaurs according to past and present findings, including the recent discovery of a dinosaur with feathers.
Download or read book Out of Thin Air written by Peter Ward and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2006-09-26 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For 65 million years dinosaurs ruled the Earth-until a deadly asteroid forced their extinction. But what accounts for the incredible longevity of dinosaurs? A renowned scientist now provides a startling explanation that is rewriting the history of the Age of Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were pretty amazing creatures-real-life monsters that have the power to fascinate us. And their fiery Hollywood ending only serves to make the story that much more dramatic. But fossil evidence demonstrates that dinosaurs survived several mass extinctions, and were seemingly unaffected by catastrophes that decimated most other life on Earth. What could explain their uncanny ability to endure through the ages? Biologist and earth scientist Peter Ward now accounts for the remarkable indestructibility of dinosaurs by connecting their unusual respiration system with their ability to adapt to Earth's changing environment-a system that was ultimately bequeathed to their descendants, birds. By tracing the evolutionary path back through time and carefully connecting the dots from birds to dinosaurs, Ward describes the unique form of breathing shared by these two distant relatives and demonstrates how this simple but remarkable characteristic provides the elusive explanation to a question that has thus far stumped scientists. Nothing short of revolutionary in its bold presentation of an astonishing theory, Out of Thin Air is a story of science at the edge of discovery. Ward is an outstanding guide to the process of scientific detection. Audacious and innovative in his thinking, meticulous and thoroughly detailed in his research, only a scientist of his caliber is capable of telling this surprising story.
Download or read book Feathered Dinosaurs written by John A. Long and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2008 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A stunning visual record of feathered dinosaurs illuminates the evolutionary march from these extraordinary prehistoric creatures through to the first true flying birds and includes an engaging companion text that places these feathered dinosaurs within the larger family of dinosaurs.
Download or read book The Origin of Birds written by Gerhard Heilmann and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
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 Feathered Dinosaurs written by Thom Holmes and published by Enslow Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the connection between birds and dinosaurs, details the time and areas where these dinosaurs roamed, as well as what they ate and how they behaved, and discusses major related fossil discoveries.
Download or read book The Sauropod Dinosaurs written by Mark Hallett and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2016-11 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anyone with a passion for dinosaurs or prehistoric life will cherish this once-in-a-generation masterpiece.The book includes the following features: Over 200 full-color illustrations More than 100 color photographs from museums, field sites, and collections around the world Thoughtfully placed drawings and charts Clearly written text reviewed by major sauropod researchers Descriptions of the latest sauropod concepts and discoveries A field guide to major groups of sauropods Detailed skeletal reconstructions and anatomical restorations A comprehensive glossary
Download or read book The Mistaken Extinction written by Lowell Dingus and published by W H Freeman & Company. This book was released on 1998 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For centuries, science has been searching for clues to the disappearance of the dinosaurs without answering a critical question - Are all the dinosaurs really extinct? In The Mistaken Extinction: Dinosaur Evolution and the Origin of Birds, crackerjack paleontologists Lowell Dingus, President of Infoquest, a nonprofit education and research foundation, and former Director of the Fossil Hall Renovation at the American Museum of Natural History and Timothy Rowe, J. Nalle Gregory Regents Professor of Geology at the University of Texas, Austin, and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Texas Memorial Museum lead us on an adventurous tour through the history of our own planet Earth. And they force us to face a shocking truthThe answer to that critical question is no.
Download or read book Is It True that Birds are Dinosaurs written by Ruth Owen and published by Ruby Tuesday Readers: The Dinosaur Club. This book was released on 2019-03-30 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
