Dinosaur Behavior - by Michael J Benton (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A stunningly illustrated guide to these extraordinary creatures from a world-renowned paleontologist

Paleobiology has advanced from a speculative subject to a cutting-edge science. Today, researchers are applying the latest forensic technologies to the fossil record, revealing startling new insights into the lives of dinosaurs. This illustrated guide explores the behavior, evolution, physiology, and extinction of dinosaurs, taking readers inside the mysterious world of these marvelous animals. With specially commissioned illustrations by Bob Nicholls, Dinosaur Behavior explains how the dinosaurs lived and courted, fought and fed, signaled and interacted with each other, and much more.

• Features a wealth of breathtaking illustrations throughout
• Offers new perspectives on the prehistoric world inhabited by dinosaurs
• Sheds light on how dinosaurs actually looked, how they moved, and how fast they ran
• Explains the feeding habits of carnivores, herbivores, scavengers, and solitary hunters
• Discusses sight, hearing, smell, spatial orientation, and intelligence
• Brings to life the social behavior of dinosaurs, from mating and parenting to herd dynamics and migration
• Takes readers behind the scenes of the latest, most thrilling discoveries

Review Quotes

"[This] grippingly illustrated book brilliantly synthesizes science and art."---Andrew Robinson, Nature

"Thoroughly enjoyable . . . . Books like Dinosaur Behavior are the closest that we'll ever get to meeting a living, breathing non-avian dinosaur."-- "Current Biology"

"This volume chronicles the post-Jurassic Park revolution and rightly reflects its dramatic insights into behavior."---David E. Fastovsky, The Quarterly Review of Biology

"A handsomely illustrated book that offers an accessible introduction suitable for novices and possibly even curious high-school pupils."---Leon Vlieger, Inquisitive Biologist

"Michael J. Benton is a serious scientist and has conveyed serious information in this book, yet simultaneously he has transported me back to a world of childhood fantasy, in a manner that I still can't quite fathom. It is quite wonderful, however!"---David Gascoigne, Travels with Birds

"A beautifully crafted book that updates the reader on the amazing research that is providing thrilling insights into the lives of dinosaurs."---Mike Walley, Everything Dinosaur

About the Author

Michael J. Benton is professor of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Bristol and a fellow of the Royal Society. His many books include Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World, Dinosaurs Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution in Paleontology, and When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time. Bob Nicholls is a leading paleo-reconstruction artist whose work is exhibited at museums and universities around the world. His art appears in numerous books, including Dinosaur Art and The Complete Dinosaur.