Dinosaurs of the Air

Dinosaurs of the Air PDF Author: Gregory S. Paul
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801867637
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description
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.

Dinosaurs of the Air

Dinosaurs of the Air PDF Author: Gregory S. Paul
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801867637
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description
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.

Feathered Dinosaurs

Feathered Dinosaurs PDF Author: John A. Long
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195372662
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
"In this book, palaeontologist and popular science author John Long unravels the mysteries of the origin of birds and the evolution of flight. He details the transition from small, feathered dinosaur to primitive flying bird - a shift that is now widely accepted as an anatomically seamless evolutionary event."--Jacket.

Romancing the Birds and Dinosaurs

Romancing the Birds and Dinosaurs PDF Author: Alan Feduccia
Publisher: BrownWalker Press
ISBN: 1599426064
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
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.

Feathered Dragons

Feathered Dragons PDF Author: Philip J. Currie
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253343734
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
The setting -- Osteology and Ichnology -- Eggs, nests, feathers, and flight.

Living Dinosaurs

Living Dinosaurs PDF Author: Dr. Gareth Dyke
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119990459
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
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.

Mesozoic Birds

Mesozoic Birds PDF Author: Luis M. Chiappe
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520200942
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description
"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

A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs

A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs PDF Author: Matthew P. Martyniuk
Publisher: Pan Aves
ISBN: 0988596504
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
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.

Dinosaurs with Feathers

Dinosaurs with Feathers PDF Author: Caroline Arnold
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618003983
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
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.

Birds of Stone

Birds of Stone PDF Author: Luis M. Chiappe
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421420252
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
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.

The Sauropod Dinosaurs

The Sauropod Dinosaurs PDF Author: Mark Hallett
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421420287
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
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