New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs: The Royal Tyrrell Museum Ceratopsian Symposium (Life of the Past)
"[T]his [is] one of the most important horned dinosaur monographs since Richard S. Lull's 1933 overview." —C&RL; News, October 2010"The synthesis of contemporary ceratopsian research and North American paleoenvironmental work makes this book a necessary addition to the library of anyone interested in dinosaur biology and evolution." —The Quarterly Review of Biology"This book captures an explosion of new and exciting research on one of the most fascinating groups of dinosaurs. It will be a landmark in the study of ceratopsians." —David C. Evans, University of Toronto"Triceratops and its kin may hail from the dim and distant past, but this new volume brings them fully into the light of today. An all-star and comprehensive list of authors not only effectively puts horned dinosaurs in the context of their own time and place, but also brings them alive as living, breathing biological organisms. New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs is able proof of the vitality of modern dinosaur science, bringing to bear 21st-century ideas and approaches to ask—and answer—questions that once would have been thought to be out of reach." —Larry Witmer, Ohio University"New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs records a landmark event and makes clear that our understanding of this group is undergoing truly explosive growth. To give just one measure, the number of ceratopsids discussed at this meeting represented a doubling of species compared to a comprehensive review of this clade published just three years earlier. The remarkable abundance of newly discovered forms was augmented by presentation of rigorous studies of stratigraphy, phylogeny, ontogeny, biomechanics, taphonomy, paleogeography, and paleoenvironment. These results, including descriptions of ten new taxa, are captured in this volume, which will be a must-own for dinosaur paleontologists and enthusiasts alike." —Scott Sampson, University of UtahMost people know Ceratopsian dinosaurs by the iconic Triceratops, the large, rhinoceros-like dinosaur of the late Cretaceous (in North America and Asia) with two long brow horns, a nose horn, and an imposing bony frill covering its neck. But Triceratops was only one of many Ceratopsian dinosaur species. Currently, approximately 80 species of Ceratopsians have been described, and information about these unique animals is rapidly growing. This impressive volume includes the work of 66 expert contributors, divided into 36 chapters plus two lengthy contributions on CD-ROM. The book is technical, but anyone well versed in vertebrate anatomy and curious about Ceratopsian dinosaurs should find much to glean. Following an engaging overview by self-described 'ceratophile' Peter Dodson, the book is divided into the following sections: 'Systematics and New Ceratopsians,' 'Anatomy, Functional Biology, and Behavior,' 'Horned Dinosaurs in Time and Space,' and 'History of Horned Dinosaur Collection.' Chapters cover Ceratopsian discoveries and taxonomy, presumed herding behavior, bone beds, use of frills in display and competition, niche segregation, paleoenvironments, and new species. The discussion of the potential limitations of cladistic analysis, especially as applied to immature animals, should prove insightful to evolutionary biology students. This richly illustrated volume will be valuable to anyone with a serious interest in dinosaurs. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. --Choice J. C. Kricher, Wheaton College (MA), December 2010"An examination of the list of contributors reveals a veritable 'who's who' of ceratopsian and dinosaur researchers from around the world, which is indicative of the depth and quality of the work contained in this book." —Palaeontological Association Newsletter"What a book [this] is! It is huge with a massive 624 pages, and the dustcover, with a wnderful Chasmosaurus by Donna Sloan, is stunning.... The book itself is very well put together." —saurian.blogspot.com"This richly illustrated volume will be valuable to anyone with a serious interest in dinosaurs.... Highly recommended." —Choice"New Perspectives on Horned Dinosarus is an essential reference of lasting importance for anyone interested in horned dinosaurs. Indeed, anyone with a serious interest in dinosaurs will want to own a copy of this fine volume." —PalArch's Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, 7(3), 2010"All in all, New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs is arguably the most significant dinosaur book to appear in recent years, and this is against a lot of competition. It demonstrates—just in case there was any doubt—that feathered maniraptorans and tyrannosaurids are not the only sections of the dinosaur tree where exciting research and discoveries are happening." —Scientific American"From Archaeoceratops to Zuniiceratops, from Alaska to Mexico, and from sediments to functional morphology, this book covers much of present-day research on ceratopsians. These horned dinosaurs are rendered as living, behaving, and evolving organisms throughout the 36 chapters of this book. I encourage everyone interested in how a myriad of incredible fossils can inform about life of the past to read it." —David Weishampel, co-editor of The Dinosauria and co-author of Dinosaurs: A Concise Natural History