Customer Reviews

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs (A Salamander book)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not a "kid's book," although I would not hesitate to give it to any child seriously interested in Mesozoic life. The illustrations--beautiful color paintings and detailed charcoal sketches--are superb, top-of-the-line examples of reconstruction. The text is an exhaustive survey of the history of pterosaur finds, the taxonomy of pterosaurs, and an up-to-date review of their evolution, biomechanics and ecology. The painstaking descriptions of representative fossils some may find tedious (like I said, NOT a "children's book"), but I found it refreshing to read a mass-market, beautifully rendered reference that wasn't afraid to expose the general reader to the details of paleontology. In this, it is one of a kind, really, the "Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs," from the same publisher, coming close. Now, Mr. Publisher, how about a third volume covering the marine "reptiles" of the Mesozoic? I would purchase it in a heartbeat.

"The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs" written by Dr. Peter Wellnhofer is what is said in the title... an encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. Anything you wish to know about the Pterosaurs is in this book, if it is known. This book is excellent in comparative anatomy and has wonderful detailed and indepth illustrations, pictures and artwork to make the point.

I found this book to be very interesting and it opened my eyes to the varied and different species that were the Pterosours. Some with long tails, while others had hands attached to their wings. Without fossil finds and without paleontology, the study of life in the Earth's past, we would have no knowledge of this large, interesting, and indeed fascinating group of animals which became extinct, along with other saurians, at the end of the Cretaceous 65 million years ago. This means that no human being has ever seen a live Pterosaur, of which the largest had a wing-span of about 39 feet. We can only form an impression of them by scientific analysis of their fossil remains, bones and skeletal imprints of their skin and possibly tracks that they left behind of soft ground and by making comparisons with other flying vertebrates that we can study more closely, like birds and bats.

This book is very detailed and I wouldn't recommend it for a child unless they are exceptional, as this book imparts a very detailed knowledge into the life, habit, and habitat of Pterosaurs. In doing this it quickly becomes clear that Pterosaurs were different in many respects, Pterosaurs also occupy a special position vis-a-vis reptiles as we know them today, like snakes, lizards, tortoises, crocodiles and the tuatara. This book brings the Pterosaurs back to life in the mind's eye for no other reason this is an excellent text.

It is well-written with plenty of illustrations to example the points made in the text, giving the reader a through fixation to the points being made in the book. But that does not make them any less fascinating; indeed it leaves room for the imagination to play its part in forming an opinion of how these animals functioned. The contents of this book are as follows:

The History of Fosssil Finds
What are Pterosaurs?
Pterosaurs of the Triassic
Pterosaurs of the Jurassic
Pterosaurs of the Cretaceous
Life Style
Extinction of the Pterosaurs
Pterosaur Reconstructions
Other Flying Vertebrates
Systematics and Museums
Glossary
Index

At the time of the publication of "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs" Dr. Peter Wellnhofer has devoted twenty-five years in the study of Pterosaurs. The attention to detail shows in this published work. "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs" is an excellent reference book for those interested in dinosaurs and especially the pterosaurs. This is a solid 5 star book and there is no doubt about it, an excellent reference to your library.

This is a spectacular book on the subject of the flying reptiles that existed along with the dinosaurs. Not very many books have been written about them, mostly for children. I really enjoyed this.

Overall, this is a fine resource for information on pterosaurs, both Rhamphorhynchoid and Pterodactyloid. The main reason I would give this book four stars (instead of five) is because it was written in 1991, long before the living-pterosaur investigations began in Papua New Guinea. All the standard-model aspects of this book are becoming or about to become extinct, as evidence mounts for pterosaurs living in Papua New Guinea and in surrounding countries. (Names used by natives include "ropen," "indava," "wawanar," "duwas," and "seklo-bali."