Today, any kid can rattle off the names of dozens of dinosaurs. But it took centuries of scientific effort—and a lot of luck—to discover and establish the diversity of dinosaur species we now know. How did we learn that Triceratops had three horns? Why don’t many paleontologists consider Brontosaurus a valid species? What convinced scientists that modern birds are relatives of ancient Velociraptor?
In The Story of the Dinosaurs in 25 Discoveries, Donald R. Prothero tells the fascinating stories behind the most important fossil finds and the intrepid researchers who unearthed them. In twenty-five vivid vignettes, he weaves together dramatic tales of dinosaur discoveries with what modern science now knows about the species to which they belong. Prothero takes us from eighteenth-century sightings of colossal bones taken for biblical giants through recent discoveries of enormous predators even larger than Tyrannosaurus. He recounts the escapades of the larger-than-life personalities who made modern paleontology, including scientific rivalries like the nineteenth-century “Bone Wars.” Prothero also details how to draw the boundaries between species and explores debates such as whether dinosaurs had feathers, explaining the findings that settled them or keep them going. Throughout, he offers a clear and rigorous look at what paleontologists consider sound interpretation of evidence. An essential read for any dinosaur lover, this book teaches us to see an ancient world ruled by giant majestic creatures anew.
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Part I. In the Beginning
- 1. Megalosaurus: The “Great Lizard,” the “Scrotum Humanum”, and the First Named Dinosaur
- 2. Iguanodon: Gideon Mantell, Louis Dollo, and the First Dinosaur Fauna
- 3. Cetiosaurus: The “Whale Lizard,” Richard Owen, and the First Known Sauropod
- 4. Hadrosaurus: Joseph Leidy and the First American Dinosaur
- 5. Eoraptor: The First Dinosaurs
- Part II. The Long-Necked Giants
- 6. Plateosaurus: Ancestors of the Giants
- 7. Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus: Marsh, Cope, and the Bone Wars
- 8. Diplodocus: The Real “Jurassic Park” and Carnegie’s Gift
- 9. Giraffatitan: The Tallest of the Tall, and the Tendaguru
- 10. Patagotitan: Who’s the Biggest of Them All?
- Part III. Red in Tooth and Claw: The Theropods
- 11. Coelophysis: The Little Dinosaur of Ghost Ranch
- 12. Cryolophosaurus: Denizen of the Polar Darkness
- 13. Spinosaurus: Lost Giants of Egypt
- 14. Tyrannosaurus: King of the Tyrant Reptiles
- 15. Giganotosaurus: Biggest Predator of All?
- 16. Deinocheirus: “Terrible Hands” Lead to Big Surprises
- 17. Velociraptor: “Terrible Claws” and the Dinosaur Renaissance
- 18. Sinosauropteryx: Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origin of Birds
- Part IV. Horns and Spikes and Armor and Duck Beaks: The Ornithischians
- 19. Heterodontosaurus: The Origin of Ornithischians
- 20. Stegosaurus: The “Roofed Lizard” and the Thagomizer
- 21. Ankylosaurus: Armored Dinosaurs and “Mr. Bones”
- 22. Corythosaurus: Duckbills with Headgear
- 23. Stegoceras: The “Unicorn Dinosaur” and the Boneheads
- 24. Protoceratops: The Griffin Legend and the Origin of Horned Dinosaurs
- 25. Triceratops: The “Dinosaurian Bison” and the Last of the Dinosaurs
- Index
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