This lavishly illustrated volume by world-renowned dinosaur illustrator and researcher Gregory Paul, is the first authoritative dinosaur book in the style of a field guide. It covers the true dinosaurs - the Tetrapoda (no pterosaurs or marine reptiles) - the great Mesozoic animals which gave rise to today's living dinosaurs, the birds.Incorporating the new discoveries and research that are radically transforming what we know about dinosaurs, this book is distinguished both by its scientific accuracy and the quality and quantity of its illustrations.The extensive introduction covers taxonomy, evolution, biology, behaviour, fossil discoveries and paleontological research. The rest of the book is devoted to full coverage of the five dinosaur groups: protodinosaurs; predatory dinosaurs and protobirds; prosauropods; sauropods; and ornithiscians. After each family introduction, the species text includes biometrics, fossil remains (proportion of full animal recovered and sites at which specimens have been found), age, distribution and formations, habitat (where known), and habits (mainly based on anatomical features).The level of knowledge about species varies considerably and this is reflected in the species accounts. Many of the species descriptions are accompanied by black-and-white anatomical reconstructions, unique skeletal drawings and numerous colour renderings of the complete animal.

There are also supplementary illustrations of eggs, trackways, herds, juveniles and other related subjects as well as evocative scenic views that depict the full range of dinosaurs, from small, feathered creatures to whale-sized supersauropods.This book is a must-have for anyone who loves dinosaurs, from the amateur enthusiast to the professional paleontologist.