Dinosaur Tracks [Hardcover]

Tony Thulborn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0412328909 | ISBN-13: 978-0412328909 | Publication Date: 1990 | Edition: 1

Looking at the various tracks that dinosaurs left behind in the fossil record, this book documents their importance both from literature and the author's own research work. The way in which tracks are preserved and these tracks and their trackmakers are identified both in the field and in the laboratory is also discussed. Dinosaur tracks are of significance in the investigation of the biology of dinosaurs, giving information about their behaviour and distribution, their mode of locomotion and speed of gait. The author also documents the range of data available as well as outlining practical suggestions for future research. Interpretation of the fossil record is often difficult and a chapter is included discussing the pitfalls encountered due to anomalies in the record. Many specific examples are documented to illustrate the way in which tracks can be used to investigate dinosaurs. The book will be of interest to the professional paleaontologist and geologist as well as the zoologist, evolutionary biologist and those interested in biomechanics, but because of the style in which it is written it may also be of interest to the non-expert.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...Thulborn has tackled a difficult and frequently neglected discipline that has too often in the past suffered from lack of scientific vigour. His estimations of dinosaur's size, gait and speed from footprints will provide trackers with a useful repertoire of guidelines to apply and test; and for this reason alone specialists will want a copy of this book. - Nature; ...this book will retain its usefulness and interest for many years, it needs to be readily available for a long period of time - for future dinosaur enthusiasts as well as today's students and `Dino Trailers'. - Fossil Collector; ...this book is both concise and complete - suitable as a guide, reference, or supplementary text for the entire spectrum of interest from professional track enthusiast to the occasional track hobbyist. Its fifty-two pages of references at the end alone make it a remarkable resource. - Journal of Geological Education; the book here reviewed is a very good one... well bound and printed; the text-figures are well designed and excellently presented... text is lucidly written... It deserves to become a standard reference for all persons having a serious interest, not merely in the dinosaurs themselves, but in the Mesozoic world in general. - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology and Palaeoecology

Product Details

• Hardcover: 410 pages
• Publisher: Chapman and Hall; 1 edition (1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0412328909
• ISBN-13: 978-0412328909
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,262,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Paleontology > Vertebrate

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate and only worth while dinosaur traking volume !, March 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dinosaur Tracks (Hardcover)

Having spent the last three and a half years researching dinosaur tracks for my Ph.D., I have started to use Thulborn as an almost biblical text ! The clarity and depth with which he writes has drawn life into the subject of dinosaur tracking. Expensive..... but you pay for what you get. Phillip L. Manning Dinosaur Track Research Unit University of Sheffield United Kingdom