Encyclopedia Of Dinosaurs And Other Prehistoric Creatures

[Patience Quiett]

TheSimon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life is an encyclopedia that was published in 1999 by Simon & Schuster. The book was first published in 1988.[1]

The Houston Chronicle stated, "this reference work for the serious student combines succinct scientific descriptions with superbly rendered color illustrations".[1] In a positive review for Palaeos, M. Alan Kazlev wrote, "This is a very good non-technical introduction to prehistoric vertebrates" and "it is the sheer number and diversity of creatures covered here, that makes this book so interesting".[2] The Globe and Mail said of the book, "Here's an elegantly illustrated directory of ancient animals, from a tiny marine creature of Canada called a pkaia through a dim-witted, 21-metre dinosaur named after the Alamo, to mankind's departed brethren, the Cro-Magnon."[3]

Occasionally there will be a loose theme within a page, such as a collection of questions about bugs, evolution, etc. Readers used to more organized books, though, may find it somewhat jarring that it just as often eschews any connecting threads between the questions at all.

This intentionally disorganized format does how its advantages, however. It can make it easier to (briefly) cover a wider range of species and topics, for one thing. On the other hand, its greatest advantage is that it is likely helpful in keeping the attention of more distractible kids, keeping things fresh by quickly answering an interesting question before bouncing on to the next.

The cartoon illustrations by Jack Viant are perhaps a bit looser than I might have personally preferred (Did You Know Dino? and Mammoth is Mopey are good examples of cartoonish illustrations I like), but it is generally clear what species the illustrations intend to represent, even when unlabeled. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the pterosaurs on pages 8-9.

I think the audience for this one might simultaneously be broader and more specific than some. If you have a kid who perhaps has a strong interest in prehistoric creatures, but not as strong of an interest in actually reading about them, then this might be the sort of book that could capture their attention. Curious Questions and Answer About Prehistoric Animals has got enough in it to teach some interesting facts not widely represented in basic dinosaur media, but not so detailed as to require a more dedicated interest in it. As I mentioned previously, however, Curious Questions and Answers About Fossils is in many ways similar but superior to its counterpart, so I would perhaps recommend that one instead.

For books that might appeal to a roughly similar target demographic, I suggest the Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs Pop-Up Book, Sharkabet: A Sea of Sharks From A to Z, Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Life, Shine-A-Light: Dinosaurs, Out of the Blue, and Animals of a Bygone Era. They all have very different styles, but should all appeal to roughly the same age of kids.

The Philadelphia area has played a major part in paleontology, the study of past life through fossils, yielding discoveries that have helped to illuminate millions of years of existence. In the early 1800s, Philadelphia became the birthplace of vertebrate paleontology, the study of ancient back-boned animals, and the Academy of Natural Sciences became a hub for paleontological work. The unearthing of the first nearly complete dinosaur skeleton in Haddonfield, New Jersey, in 1858, sparked interest in dinosaurs across North America. Since then, research and excavations conducted in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, have continued to yield fossils and knowledge about ancient life.

Discoveries of dinosaur fossils continued in southern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania during the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Not long after the Hadrosaurus find came the discovery of a fossil of the tyrannosaurid Dryptosaurus, a carnivore, in Barnsboro, New Jersey, in 1866. The rock formations known as the Newark Supergroup, running from southeast Pennsylvania through New Jersey and into Connecticut, also yielded discoveries. In 1905, Gilbert van Ingen (1869-1925) and William J. Sinclair (1877-1935) uncovered the oldest known tetrapod fossil from the Newark Supergroup in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The fossil, Calamops paludosus, a large tetrapod amphibian, dated to the late Triassic period (235-208 million years ago) and was closely related to long-snouted trematosaurs found all over the world. Excavators also found another type of amphibian, the metoposaurs, in the Newark Supergroup, in central New Jersey, and in Chester and York Counties in Pennsylvania.

Dinosaur fossils also emerged from the Inversand Company quarries of Sewell, New Jersey, including a duck-billed Hadrosaurus minor, found in 1947 and identified in 1948, and a fragment of a Hadrosaurus in 1957. Two skulls of Mosasaurus maximus were discovered at the site in 1961. Mosasaurus, a 40-foot aquatic reptile, was abundant in New Jersey. The Inversand pits yielded additional fragments of Hadrosaurus fossils in 1980, 1988, and 1991.

Construction sites also produced discoveries of dinosaurs and other reptiles. On November 9, 1981, workers building the Limerick Nuclear Power Plant in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, uncovered eighteen rock slabs bearing footprints from two species: the theropod dinosaur Grallator and Chirotherium, a Triassic archosaur that resembled a crocodile. Dredging of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in Delaware between 1982 and 1985 brought up many fossils, including hadrosaurids and ornithomimosaurs (theropods that resembled modern ostriches and emus) from the late Cretaceous period. In 1993, construction at the Graterford State Correctional Institution of Montgomery County yielded more than one hundred footprints left behind by the Triassic (245-208 million years ago) theropods Grallator and Atreipus. Some of the other footprints belonged to Rhynchosauroides and Gwyneddichnium, two Triassic archosaurs (related to modern birds and crocodiles).

The Grallator, featured in this display at the Rutgers Geology Museum, was discovered as a result of construction work in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Workers building a nuclear power plant uncovered eighteen rock slabs bearing the fossilized footprints of the Grallator in 1981. Additional footprints of this dinosaur were found during construction at the Graterford State Correctional Institution of Montgomery County in 1993. This site yielded hundreds of footprints of the Grallator, measuring from four to eight inches. The number of footprints has made this area one of the most prolific dinosaur track sites in Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1895, the New Jersey State Museum has funded invaluable excavations, including the 1886 and 1989 digs at Phoebus Landing, North Carolina, which unearthed the fossilized remains of the Tylosaurus, Dryptosaurus, Ceolosaurus, Hypsibema, and Deinosuchus dinosaurs that dwelled there. During expeditions in New Jersey, excavation teams studied the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary rock layer, which marks the period of time when dinosaurs went extinct. They determined that large dinosaurs and some sea creatures had already died out by this period. The museum has curated a collection of over 250,000 dinosaur fossils and specimens, illustrating the richness of dinosaur fossils to be found in the New Jersey area.

British Wildlife is the leading natural history magazine in the UK, providing essential reading for both enthusiast and professional naturalists and wildlife conservationists. Published eight times a year, British Wildlife bridges the gap between popular writing and scientific literature through a combination of long-form articles, regular columns and reports, book reviews and letters.

Conservation Land Management (CLM) is a quarterly magazine that is widely regarded as essential reading for all who are involved in land management for nature conservation, across the British Isles. CLM includes long-form articles, events listings, publication reviews, new product information and updates, reports of conferences and letters.

The dinosaur world as you've never seen it before. Knowledge Encyclopedia Dinosaur! reveals jaw-dropping 3D dinosaur images which show each awe-inspiring creature in greater detail than ever before and bring the wonders of the dinosaur world to life. This is the only dinosaur encyclopedia you'll ever need, covering all the main dinosaur groups as well as marine reptiles, pterosaurs and other prehistoric animals.

An all-new library of amazing 3D dinosaur images allow you a closer look at your favourite dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus Rex and Barosaurus, while new dinosaur facts and theories bring you up-to-date with the latest developments in the dinosaur world. Packed full of facts, charts, timelines and illustrations Knowledge Encyclopedia Dinosaur! explores the amazing dinosaur world bringing these prehistoric animals back to life.

This engaging hardcover book introduces children to dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures through exciting look and find activities, as well as stickers to complete a landscape scene. Young readers will love to learn all about dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures with this engaging hardcover book. Fun look and find activities introduce children to the mighty creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years ago.

- Detailed, full-color artwork ensures that children will find something new on the pages every time they open the book.

- The book includes a sheet of stickers for children to add to a landscape page to create their own prehistoric scene.

- The introduction includes a brief history of the development of life on Earth, as well as a visual timeline.

- This 48-page book also features fun facts about the dinosaurs and other creatures throughout, and an index.

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