The ultimate visual reference to 1000 dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures of land, air and sea from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous eras + Features the world’s best known and lesser-known dinosaurs including the very latest discoveries + Expert descriptions of appearance, behaviour, habitat and lifestyle, and the location of fossil sites“THE WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES The ultimate illustrated reference guide to more than 1000 dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures, with 2000 specially commissioned watercolours, maps and photographs DOUGAL DIXON LORENZ BOOKSIntroduction 6 ‘The Geological Timescale 8 Early Evolution 10 Reptile Classification 16 Dinosaur Classification 18 Bird and Mammal Classification 20, ‘The Anatomy of a Dinosaur 22 Coprolites and Diet 24 Fossil Footprints 26 Fossil Eggs 28 Dinosaur Babies and Family Life 30 Death and Taphonomy 32 Coal Forests 34 ‘Arid Uplands 35 ases and Desert Streams 36 Calm Lagoons 38 Riparian Forests 40 Lake Environments 42 Wetlands 44 ‘Swamp Forests 46 (Open Plains 48 Shorelines and Islands 60 Deserts 52 Tar Pits 53 Tundra 54 Extinction 56 The Fossilization Process 68 Excavation in the Fiekd 60 The Palagontologists 62 ‘The Devonian, Carboniferous ‘and Permian Periods 64 The Earliest Tetrapods 66 The Age of Amphibians 68 ‘Amphibians of the Coal Swamps 70 Primitive Armniotes and Reptiles 72 ‘Aquatic Amphibians 74 Landtliving Amphibians 76 Parareptiles and Captorhinids 78 Paroiasaurs 80 Primitive Diapsids 82 CONTENTS ‘The Peiycosaurs 84 Polycosaurs and Other Early Synapsids 86 Carnivorous Therapsids 88 Herbivorous Therapsids 90 Gorgonopsians and Other Meat-eating Therapsids 92 Dicynodonts and Cynodonts 94 ‘The Triassic Period 96 Primitive Amphibians 98 ‘Tiassic Parareptiles 100 Placodonts 102 Nothosaurs 104 Nothosaurs and the Plesiosaur Connection 106 Early Ichthyosaurs 108 More ichthyosaurs 110, Monkey Lizards and Other Small Diapsids 112 Flying Diapsids 114 Thalattosaurs 116 Diapsids ~ the Rhynchosaurs 118 ‘A Diapsid Variety 120 More Miscellaneous Diapsids 122 ‘Thecodonts © Towards the Dinosaurs 124 Rauisuchians 126 Little Crocodiles 128 Phytosaurs ~ Anticipating the Modem Crocodile 130 Astosaurs oF Stagonolepids Vegetarian Crocodiles 132 Prerosaurs 134 Early Meat-eating Dinosaurs 136 Lithe Meateaters 138 Coelophysids 140 Primitive Sauropodomorphs 142 True Prosauropods 144 More Prosauropods 146 Herbivorous Miscellany 148, Mammablike Reptiles 150 Towards Mammals 152 ‘The Jurassic Poriod 154 Ichthyosaurs 156 Early Jurassic Plesiosours 158 Jurassic Crocodiles 160 Rhamophorynchoid Pterosaurs 162 Coslophysid Meateaters 164 Diversifying Meat-eaters 166 ‘The Late Prosauropods 168 Last Prosauropods and Primitive ‘Sauropods 170 Primitive Sauropods 172 Little Omithopods 174 Primitive Armoured Dinosaurs 176 ‘Mammals and the Last Mammal-ike Reptiles 178 ‘Megalosaurus and its Clones 180 Camosaurs 182 Various Theropods 184 ‘The Sauropods of the Dashanpu Quarry, China 186 Cotiosaurs 188 ‘Sauropod Miscellany 190 ‘More Sauropods 192 ‘Omithopods 194 Early Thyreophorans 196 Late Ichthyosaurs 198 Late Jurassic Plesiosours 200 Rhamphorhynchoid Pterosaurs 202 Prerodactyloid Pterosaurs 204 ‘Morrison Formation Meat-eaters 206 ‘The Sinraptorids 208 ‘Theropods of Cleveland-Lloyd 210 ‘Smaller Theropods 212 Birds and Bird-Dinosaurs 214 Brachiosaurids and Camarasaurids 216 Diplodocids 218 ‘Mote Diplodocids 220 Omithopods 222 Stegosaurs 224 More Stegosaurs 226 ‘Ankylosaurs and Ceratopsians 228 ‘The Cretaceous Period 230 Lizards and Lizardike Animals 232 Early Cretaceous Crocodiles 234 Diverse Prerosaurs 236 Big Pterosaurs 238 Early Cretaceous Carnosaurs 240 Medium-size Theropods 242 Little Feathered Dinosaurs 244 ‘Theropod Dino-Birds 246 Liaoning Dino Birds 248 More Dino-Birds 250 Birds of Liaoning 252 More Birds from Liaoning 254 Other Known Birds 256 Fast Hunters 258, Spinosaurids 260