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Lädt ... Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomyvon Mark P. Witton
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Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. The name is probably a better description than any review. It's a book. About Pterosaurs. It's really good. ( ) What is most fascinating to me is that the more we know about these creatures the more bizarre they seem to be. At the very least you'll come away from this study no longer viewing them as being bird analogues; the pterosaurs were very much their own thing and the author does a good job of laying out the evidence of why this was the case. An illustrated guide to everyone's favorite flying saurians. The book consists of a number of introductory general chapters about the Pterosauria and "pterosaurology" as a whole, followed by a roughly chronological survey of some sixteen "family-level" groups - starting with the Triassic Dimorphodontidae and ending with latest Cretaceous azhdarchids - and rounded off with a brief chapter on why the pterosaurs went extinct. The last doesn't really offer a definite conclusion: Witton mostly stresses that when the end-Cretaceous extinction came around, there were seemingly only azhdarchids and perhaps nyctosaurids left to wipe out: the real question is probably why pterosaur diversity had slowly declined throughout the Late Cretaceous. The text is accompanied by lavish illustrations, both photographs and life reconstructions by Witton himself - he's a talented artist as well as a palaeontologist. The only criticism I'd make is stylistic; Witton's mixture of scientific jargon and breezy conversationality is sometimes jarring (though one suspects this is what most scientists sound like on lunch break). If you've been looking for a pterosaur book, get this one. If you haven't, get it anyway if you've ever been enthused by prehistoric animals. Zeige 3 von 3 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
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"For 150 million years, the skies didn't belong to birds--they belonged to the pterosaurs. These flying reptiles, which include the pterodactyls, shared the world with the nonavian dinosaurs until their extinction 65 million years ago. Some pterosaurs, such as the giant azhdarchids, were the largest flying animals of all time, with wingspans exceeding thirty feet and standing heights comparable to modern giraffes. This richly illustrated book takes an unprecedented look at these astonishing creatures, presenting the latest findings on their anatomy, ecology, and extinction. Pterosaurs features some 200 stunning illustrations, including original paintings by Mark Witton and photos of rarely seen fossils. After decades of mystery, paleontologists have finally begun to understand how pterosaurs are related to other reptiles, how they functioned as living animals, and, despite dwarfing all other flying animals, how they managed to become airborne. Here you can explore the fossil evidence of pterosaur behavior and ecology, learn about the skeletal and soft-tissue anatomy of pterosaurs, and consider the newest theories about their cryptic origins. This one-of-a-kind book covers the discovery history, paleobiogeography, anatomy, and behaviors of more than 130 species of pterosaur, and also discusses their demise at the end of the Mesozoic; The most comprehensive book on pterosaurs ever published; features some 200 illustrations, including original paintings by the author; covers every known species and major group of pterosaurs; describes pterosaur anatomy, ecology, behaviors, diversity, and more; encourages further study with 500 references to primary pterosaur literature"-- Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)567.918Natural sciences and mathematics Fossils & prehistoric life Fossil cold-blooded vertebrates Reptilia Dinosaurs By Family PterosauriaKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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