ダウンロード The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals: The illustrated reference book to dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures of Land, Air and Sea (English Edition) 本

If any proof were needed that the study of prehis­toric life is more than a matter of "old bones," then this book provides it in ample measure. For here is a natural history of times past, featuring real crea­tures that lived, breathed, reproduced - then died forever. That they could be brought back to life in such convincing form is a credit to the painstaking scientific detective work of a team of paleontologists, writers and artists.In embarking on this project, the first decision was which animals to select. The mighty and ever­popular dinosaurs were obvious candidates for inclusion in the portrait gallery of past life, but to recreate a truly comprehensive collection of prehis­toric animals it was vital to add to them not only their reptile relatives but also representatives of all the other major groups of vertebrates, or animals with backbones. The result is a fascinating catalog of creatures, which includes the fishes of the past, many of them heavily armored with bony scales; the first amphibians, pioneers of life on land; the ancient masters of the air, in the form of flying rep­tiles and the first birds and bats; and the mammals that were our predecessors, from mammoths and sabertooths to the early apes and hominids.The reconstructions were then made through a combination of the knowledge of the paleontol­ogists and the skills of the artists. The resulting creatures may look fantastic, but they are by no means the creations of the imagination. All have been drawn and painted according to the strictest of scientific principles. In recreating each animal the artists have held faithfully to the fossil record -which sometimes contains not merely bones and teeth but also impressions of skin, hair, feathers and even footprints millions of years old.From study of fossils and of animal anatomy, plus detailed observations of the appearance and behavior of modern creatures, the artists have been able to "clothe" the skeleton of each animal, and make realistic reconstructions of physical features, posture and coloration. The results are surprising.