A Review of Planet Dinosaur – BBC Books

By | September 25th, 2011|Book Reviews, Main Page|0 Comments

Planet Dinosaur – The Next Generation of Giant Killers

A definite requirement for the Christmas stockings of dinosaur fans this book, published to accompany the six-part BBC documentary series “Planet Dinosaur” is packed full of information and facts about the prehistoric creatures featured in the programmes.

Planet Dinosaur

Broken down into six chapters, although not reflecting the format of the television episodes, this 238-page volume updates readers on the progress made by palaeontologists over the last ten years as they uncover new evidence about dinosaurs and other ancient creatures from the past.

Despite the title, it is not just meat-eaters, or indeed dinosaurs that feature.  For example, there is an in-depth assessment of the fossil evidence to support Argentinosaurus (A. huinculensis), a herbivore, as being the biggest land animal known to science.  This book also features the marine reptiles Kimmerosaurus (k. langhami) and “predator X” – a giant pliosaur, so new it has yet to be formally described.

Pliosaurs Feature in the Book

"Deadly Doris" pliosaur replica.

A close-up view of the pliosaur that is suspended above the ground floor at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (Bristol, England). The life-size replica was nicknamed “Deadly Doris”. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The almost three-dimensional illustrations and the storyboard layout will appeal to dinosaur fans old and young alike.  This publication will also help to inform the curious reader interested in learning more about these long extinct creatures.  “Planet Dinosaur – The Next Generation of Giant Killers” helps to put the flesh on the bones of the animals featured in the television series.

For prehistoric animal models that represent creatures featured in the book: Age of Dinosaurs Prehistoric Animal Models (PNSO).