Dinosaur. The word conjures images of size and power. The creatures existed for over 300 million years and dominated the world during half that period. Their fossils have inspired awe since they were first displayed.
Armin Schmitt met his first dinosaur at age 5 in a museum in Frankfurt, Germany. He has since developed a lifelong fascination with them. The dino-crazy child grew into a vertebrate paleontologist, making a career of studying them. In this book, he shares both his knowledge of dinosaurs and his experiences and discoveries with dinosaurs during his career.
As Schmitt shows, dinosaurs were the most successful terrestrial vertebrate group in earth’s history. He tells how they appeared on the scene 252 million years ago. Dinosaurs were one of the few beneficiaries of the Great Dying, separating the Permian from the Triassic periods caused by a million years of Siberian mega-volcanoes. They were propelled into dominance by a second mass extinction 201 million years ago that killed most of the dinosaurs’ competitors. Finally, 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the earth, killing all animals larger than a modern dog, including the dinosaurs.
The author tells how dinosaurs lived and evolved and how they changed along with their environment. He also explains how we learned what we do know about the creatures. Interspersed with their descriptions, he presents the history of paleontology, the study of prehistoric life. This proves as colorful as the dinosaurs themselves. Schmitt describes the 19th-century Bone Wars between competing discoverers. He also relates his own field work, digging up dinosaurs in the 20th century, and his own discoveries.
Schmitt describes the dinosaurs, sometimes quite literally. Unlike early 20th-century belief, today, scientists know some dinosaurs were brightly colored. Schmitt explains why they sported a bright palette of colors and explains how today’s paleontologists know that. He also shows why and how they developed scales and feathers.
He shows what dinosaurs existed where and when. This includes discussions of the large carnosaurs, like the Tyrannosaurus rex, and the very biggest and smallest dinosaurs on earth. Finally, Schmitt explains why, except for their avian descendants, the dinosaurs went extinct 66 million years ago.
“The Lost World of Dinosaurs” will delight anyone with an interest in dinosaurs. Schmitt writes clearly and engagingly, explaining concepts in plain language. He also conveys his own enthusiasm for the subject. It gives readers the latest word on dinosaur research.
