Dinosaurs - 6th Edition by Spencer Lucas (Paperback)

About the Book

The perfect textbook for nonscience majors, this volume explains dinosaur evolution, phylogeny, and classification. Revised to reflect recent fossil discoveries and the current consensus on dinosaur science, the text details the behavior and extinction of the species, their relationship to birds, and their representation in popular culture.

Book Synopsis

Geared towards a broad variety of students, Dinosaurs: The Textbook, sixth edition, is a concise and lucid presentation of the biological and geological concepts of dinosaur science. It clarifies the evolution, phylogeny, and classification of the various species while modeling the best approach for navigating new and existing research. Revised to reflect recent fossil discoveries and the current consensus on dinosaur science, this text moves through the major taxonomic groups--including theropods, sauropodomorphs, ornithopods, ceratopsians, pachycephalosaurs, stegosaurs, and ankylosaurs--and concludes with updated chapters on the behavior and extinction of the dinosaurs, their biological relationship to birds, and their representation (or misrepresentation) in art, literature, film, and other forms of popular culture.

The sixth edition represents a major revision of the leading text for an introductory course on dinosaurs, including comprehensive updates based on the latest scientific discoveries, research, and literature. With an extensive art program revised by leading paleoartists that features cutting-edge illustrations, it is a complete reader-friendly pedagogical package with extensive end-of-chapter summary tools, review questions, a detailed glossary, a dinosaur dictionary, and a comprehensive index.

Please visit our supplemental materials page (https: //cup.columbia.edu/extras/supplement/dinosaurs-the-textbook-sixth-edition) to find study and teaching aides for both students and teachers using Dinosaurs: The Textbook, sixth edition in class.

Review Quotes

Dinosaurs is a concise, well-written, and profusely illustrated introduction to this ever-fascinating subject. It is ideally suited for college-level courses.--Hans-Dieter Sues, senior scientist and curator of vertebrate paleontology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, coauthor of Triassic Life on Land: The Great Transition

I don't think that you can produce a better book than what Spencer Lucas has written. It has been well proved over many years, and this thoroughly updated edition meets the demands of the rapidly evolving science.--Sherwood W. Wise Jr., professor of geological sciences, Florida State University

This book is the best available introduction to dinosaurs for college students, as earlier editions have been.--John Cisne, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, Cornell University

About the Author

Spencer G. Lucas is the curator of paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. He has published more than 500 scientific articles and authored or coedited close to twenty volumes, including Chinese Fossil Vertebrates (2001).