ABSTRACT

This textbook introduces research on dinosaurs by describing the science behind how we know what we know about dinosaurs. A wide range of topics is covered, from fossils and taphonomy to dinosaur physiology, evolution, and extinction. In addition, sedimentology, paleo-tectonics, and non-dinosaurian Mesozoic life are discussed. There is a special opportunity to capitalize on the enthusiasm for dinosaurs that students bring to classrooms to foster a deeper engagement in all sciences. Students are encouraged to synthesize information, employ critical thinking, construct hypotheses, devise methods to test these hypotheses, and come to new defensible conclusions, just as paleontologists do.

Key Features

  • Clear and easy to read dinosaur text with well-defined terminology
  • Over 600 images and diagrams to illustrate concepts and aid learning
  • Reading objectives for each chapter section to guide conceptual learning and encourage active reading
  • Companion website (teachingdinosaurs.com) that includes supporting materials such as in-class activities, question banks, lists of suggested specimens, and more to encourage student participation and active learning
  • Ending each chapter with a specific "What We Don’t Know" section to encourage student curiosity

Related Titles

Singer, R. Encyclopedia of Paleontology (ISBN 978-1-884964-96-1)

Fiorillo, A. R. Alaska Dinosaurs: An Ancient Arctic World (ISBN 978-1-138-06087-6)

Caldwell, M. W. The Origin of Snakes: Morphology and the Fossil Record (ISBN 978-1-4822-5134-0)

chapter 1|18 pages

How Do We Understand the Natural World?

The Nature of Science and the Field of Paleontology

chapter 2|34 pages

How Do We Know When Dinosaurs Lived?

Interpreting Earth’s History from Rocks

chapter 3|24 pages

How Do We Explain Variation among Past and Present Organisms?

Evolution and Evolutionary Mechanisms

chapter 4|20 pages

How Do We Know Who Is Related to Whom?

Systematics and Phylogenetic Relationships

chapter 5|28 pages

How Do We Know When and How Life Began and Evolved?

The Origin of Life and Evolution through Time

chapter 6|12 pages

How Do We Use Anatomy of Living Animals to Understand Dinosaurs?

Bones and Anatomy

chapter 7|18 pages

How Do We Know What a Dinosaur Is?

Diagnosing and Defining Dinosauria

chapter 8|34 pages

How Do We Name and Group Dinosaurs?

Part I: Ornithischian Dinosaurs

chapter 9|36 pages

How Do We Name and Group Dinosaurs?

Part II: Saurischian Dinosaurs

chapter 10|30 pages

How Do We Name and Group Mesozoic Animals That Are Not Dinosaurs?

Pterosaurs, Marine Reptiles, Mammals, and Others

chapter 11|22 pages

How Do We Know How Dinosaurs Became Part of the Fossil Record?

Taphonomy and Fossilization

chapter 12|24 pages

How Do We Interpret the Ecology of Dinosaurs?

The Relationship of Dinosaurs to Their Physical and Biological Environments

chapter 13|24 pages

How Do We Know How Dinosaurs Moved?

Dinosaur FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY

chapter 14|24 pages

How Do We Know What Dinosaurs Looked Like?

Dinosaur Appearance

chapter 15|26 pages

How Do We Know What Dinosaurs Ate?

Direct and Indirect Evidence for Dinosaur Diets

chapter 16|32 pages

How Do We Interpret Dinosaur Behavior?

Dinosaur Trackways, Herding, and Pathologies

chapter 17|32 pages

How Do We Know about Dinosaur Reproduction?

Mating and Parental Care among Dinosaurs

chapter 18|30 pages

How Do We Know if Dinosaurs Were Warm-Blooded, Cold-Blooded, or Something in Between?

Dinosaur Physiology and Metabolism

chapter 19|36 pages

How Do We Know Birds Are Dinosaurs?

The Phylogeny of Maniraptoriformes and the Origin of Flight

chapter 20|30 pages

How Do We Know about Extinctions?

The End of the Dinosaur Reign and Other Mass Extinctions