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In addition to three exciting movies, Jurassic Park now lends its name to the Jurassic Park Institute. JPI is a science-based and educationally focused program which hopes to become the "world's ultimate resource for dinosaur learning and fun" for kids, families and educators. Among the offerings from JPI is a new book by paleontologists Thomas R. Holtz, Jr., and Michael Brett-Surman, Jurassic Park Institute Dinosaur Field Guide.
I was also pleased with the information presented in Dinosaur Field Guide, which is recommended for children age eight and up. The book is only 160 pages long, with 86 species of dinosaur (including early birds such as Archaeopteryx, Confuciusornis and Hesperornis) and 13 species of non-dinosaurs such as a plesiosaur, ichthyosaur and mosasaur, archosaurs and pterosaurs. (I was also pleased to note that Dinosaur Field Guide points out that Jurassic Park III incorrectly shows Pteranodons with teeth, although their name means "toothless wing." Be sure to read my review of Jurassic Park III.) Most of the dinosaurs are only given one page of information, although some of the more popular species, such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Apatosaurus, are given two pages of coverage. This means that, unfortunately, we do not get very much information about individual species. I did like the general paleontological information which is included at the beginning and end of the book. First is an explanation of the Paleozoic Era, Mesozoic Era and Cenozoic Era, with the Mesozoic Era being further divided into the Triassic Period, Jurassic Period and Cretaceous Period. This section also shows the locations of the continents during the Mesozoic Era and discusses important geologic and ecological events which influenced the development of the dinosaurs. Another section discusses the plant life during the Mesozoic Era and the development of the angiosperms (flowering plants). Next is a section entitled "Finding Fossils," which discusses the steps that paleontologists go through to find and excavate fossils, including the research and preparation that goes into the process before we even go out into the field to look for fossils and the difficult and painstaking work that goes into carefully removing and preparing the fossils. (Be sure to read my series of articles about "Fossil Preparation" for more information.) Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Book Review: JPI Dinosaur Field Guide in Paleontology is owned by Beverly Eschberger. Permission to republish Book Review: JPI Dinosaur Field Guide in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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