Scientists have recovered more than a billion
fossils, but no discovery has been more breath-taking
than the fossils recently found in northern China,
findings which prove that several families of dinosaurs
had feathers, or feathery hair-like coverings, adorning
their bodies. Now in the beautifully designed Feathered
Dinosaurs, paleontologist John Long and illustrator
Peter Schouten provide a stunning visual record of these
extraordinary prehistoric creatures, illuminating the
evolutionary march from primitive, feathered dinosaurs
through to the first true flying birds. Schouten, an
acclaimed natural history artist, has created 80
full-colour paintings that capture the striking physical
traits of these feathered dinosaurs. Drawing on his
extensive knowledge of the lifestyles of modern birds
and mammals, plus the extant scientific data regarding
how these dinosaurs might have looked and behaved,
Schouten has produced not only the most beautiful but
also the most accurate visual representations of these
animals in print.Equally important, John Long, a noted
paleontologist and widely published science author (with
some 24 books to his credit), provides an engaging
companion text that places these feathered dinosaurs
within the larger family of dinosaurs--for instance,
outlining their relationship to T. Rex and Velociraptor,
species well known to Jurassic Park fans. He discusses
the factual information that can be deduced from their
fossil remains, in effect providing an insightful
natural history of this remarkable group. A true
marriage of art and science, Feathered Dinosaurs
presents an unprecedented visual record of one of the
most significant breakthroughs in the history of
vertebrate paleontology--the discovery that many
predatory dinosaurs were cloaked with feathers, perhaps
just as colorful and fanciful as those of their living
relatives. |
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