Mark Norell

Here is the book that establishes the revolution in dinosaur science that has occurred in our generation. Dinosaurs are no longer thought of as lizards so much as birds. The transformation can be seen from the first Jurassic Park movie to the recent econstructions in the BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs in America where they appear as warm blooded and feathered, attending their young and brooding their nests. This transformation in popular culture is based on excavations at one profoundly important site in China- Liaoning. Here, told by the leading US researcher who has been to the site, Mark Norrell, the Chair and Curator, Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, is the definitive story of that discovery. Unearthing The Dragonis also a highly personalized account of being in a foreign land with a very different history of science, culture, and everyday social behavior

The Great Feathered Dinosaur Discovery

Unearthing the Dragon

Sarah C. Hood

Chris R. Torres

Julia A. Clarke

Understanding of the Asian early Paleogene avifauna is limited relative to that of North American and European avifauna of the same period. While major patterns of mammalian faunal exchange among these three regions across the Paleocene/Eocene boundary have been described, much less is known about the dynamics of bird diversity over the same time interval. Here, we report bird fossils from the earliest Eocene Bumban Member of the Naranbulag Formation in central Mongolia that add to the known record from Asia from just after this boundary. Most of this material, collected by the joint American Museum of Natural History/Mongolia Academy of Sciences expeditions, is referable to a previously described taxon in Presbyornithidae (Anseriformes). However, five isolated elements are identified as comprising at least four species from at least three other major avian clades. While further inclusive phylogenetic analyses of each of these clades are necessary, the new remains represent possible earliest occurrences in Asia of these clades. The material includes a humerus and a furcula from shorebirds (Pan-Charadriiformes), a quadrate from a stem member of the flamingo-grebe lineage (Pan-Mirandornithes), and a coracoid from a stem galliform (Pangalliformes). We also report a humerus with uncertain phylogenetic affinities but with similarities to core Gruiformes. These new fossils expand our knowledge of the Asian avifauna during this time and have the potential to further inform our understanding of the early biogeography of these clades. The shorebird and flamingo-grebe material indicate that both these lineages were present in Asia by the earliest Eocene. The pan-mirandornithine quadrate provides insight into the early feeding ecology of the flamingo-grebe clade.

New Fossil Birds from the Earliest Eocene of Mongolia

In The World of Dinosaurs, paleontologist Dr Mark Norell takes a detailed look at everything we know about these wondrous creatures, drawing on the very latest research in the field. Produced in association with the American Museum of Natural History and drawing on their archives, Norell examines every facet of the dinosaur mystery, from the scattering of dinosaur fossils after the breakup of Pangea to the different categorisations of these monstrous reptiles. Even subjects you may think you know about - such as the species' extinction - are looked at in a new light. Illustrated with exceptional scientific recreations of key species, as well as documentary photographs, sketches and notes from dino discoveries, this is the ultimate photographic reference book on dinosaurs.

The World of Dinosaurs

Lowell Dingus

Eugene S. Gaffney

Explains the evolutionary relationship of dinosaurs, answers fifty specific questions about them, profiles forty-one specimens, and describes six expeditions of the American Museum of Natural History.

Evolution, Extinction, and the Lessons of Prehistory

Discovering Dinosaurs

"Lowell Dingus and Mark Norell have produced a highly readable, comprehensive account of the life and scientific work of Barnum Brown, arguably the most intrepid and successful collector of dinosaurs and other prehistoric vertebrates ever. Their story goes beyond the sensationalism of earlier accounts to flesh out Brown as not only an intrepid explorer but an important contributor to American science."--Kevin Padian, University of California, Berkeley "In Barnum Brown an engrossing narrative and a treasury of firsthand field notes and letters combine to form a true epic: the life of a great paleontologist and an all-too-human, and therefore fascinating, man. Indispensable reading for anyone interested in fossils and the people who hunt them."--Michael Novacek, author of Terra "'The greatest dinosaur hunter of all time, ' a fitting title for the man who shipped more than 1200 crates of fossilized bones to New York from far flung localities around the globe. In this superb, first-ever biography of Barnum Brown, Dingus and Norell paint a vivid portrait of an intrepid field worker, accomplished researcher, and popularizer of dinosaurs--a larger-than-life character who left a deep and indelible mark on the field of paleontology."--Scott D. Sampson, author of Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life "Without a doubt the most popular and well-known dinosaur in the world, Tyrannosaurus rex has inspired millions of people worldwide through fact and fiction. Similarly, just about every vertebrate palaeontologist has been affected by the amazing career of Barnum Brown. But there has never been a biography written by scientists . . . until now! Here at last is an intimate look at the man who discovered the beast and turned our imaginations loose."--Philip J. Currie, author of Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs

The Man Who Discovered Tyrannosaurus Rex

Barnum Brown

American Museum of Natural History

Denise Patry Leidy

Laura Ross

Spanning the Eurasian continent and thousands of years, the Silk Road was an incredible network of trade routes, but wares were far from the only goods exchanged on its expanses. People from many lands travelled the passages of the Silk Road and with them they brought their religion, culture, art, music, cuisine, technology and way of life. Silk from China was brought to Rome, glass from Baghdad found its way to Mongolia. Buddhism spread from India outward, the Koran travelled thousands of miles. And with each stop, a new variation was made on the object or idea that found itself in a new place. Travelling the Silk Road follows this transition and transmission of wares and culture from Xi'an, China, to Turfan, China, on to Samarkand in Uzbekistan, then Baghdad in Iraq and finally to Istanbul, Turkey and the sea routes around the continent. This truly epic journey is illustrated with amazing artwork, texts and artefacts found in archaeological sites all along the road.

Mark Norell

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