The Case of the Dinosaur Birds

The Case of the Dinosaur Birds PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781480654457
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The Case of the Dinosaur Birds

The Case of the Dinosaur Birds PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781480654457
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description


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.

The Case of the Dinosaur Birds

The Case of the Dinosaur Birds PDF Author: John R. Erickson
Publisher: Hank the Cowdog
ISBN: 9781591882541
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Unaware that his nemesis Pete the Barncat is playing yet another prank on him, Hank the Cowdog, Head of Ranch Security, tries to save the world from "terradogtail" dinosaur birds armed with bacon-stealing laser tongs.

The Case of the Dinosaur Birds[CD].

The Case of the Dinosaur Birds[CD]. PDF Author: John R. Erickson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781591887546
Category : Dogs
Languages : en
Pages : 135

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Book Description
It's scrap day on the ranch, and Hank is looking forward to a delicious feast of juicy, fatty bacon scraps. But just as Little Alfred is doling out the goods, two very unusual looking creatures fly overhead, and what was promising to be a glorious day takes a dramatic turn for the worse.

The Mistaken Extinction

The Mistaken Extinction PDF Author: Lowell Dingus
Publisher: W H Freeman & Company
ISBN: 9780716733843
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
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.

Out of Thin Air

Out of Thin Air PDF Author: Peter Ward
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309141230
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
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.

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.

Angry Birds Playground: Dinosaurs

Angry Birds Playground: Dinosaurs PDF Author: Jill Esbaum
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
ISBN: 1426313241
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Fans can fly with their favorite Angry Birds characters as they travel back in time on a zany search to find their eggs. Kids will be hooked on this wacky mystery as they analyze and observe the wonderful world of dinosaurs as they are building basic skills through fun and fascinating activities. Full color.

The Dinosaur Feather

The Dinosaur Feather PDF Author: Sissel-Jo Gazan
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 085738242X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 493

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Book Description
Anna Bella Nor is just two weeks away from revealing her controversial research on the evolutionary origin of birds when her supervisor Lars Helland is found dead . . . his tongue and a copy of her thesis in his lap. As the police investigate the most brutal and calculated case they've ever known, Anna remains convinced someone is trying to stop her research coming to light. She must fight to prove her innocence . . . and fight for her life.

The Origin of Birds

The Origin of Birds PDF Author: Gerhard Heilmann
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description