Fans of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals are eagerly awaiting the first episode of the “Walking with Dinosaurs” sequel. Episode one, telling the tale of an orphaned Triceratops is due to be shown this weekend.  This six-part television series has been made by the BBC Studios Science Unit and is co-produced by ZDF and France Télévisions. A companion book has been published to accompany this exciting television event.

The companion book to the long-awaited “Walking With Dinosaurs” sequel. This new six-part series is made by the BBC Studios Science Unit production for the BBC and PBS, co-produced with ZDF and France Télévisions. Picture credit: DK Penguin Random House.

Picture credit: DK Penguin Random House

Walking with Dinosaurs

This new series made some twenty-six years after the original “Walking with Dinosaurs” first aired takes the viewer on a journey through deep time.  Each episode focuses on an individual dinosaur, whose remains are currently being studied by palaeontologists. A lonely giant Lusotitan (brachiosaurid) roaming the Late Jurassic of Portugal, a Tyrannosaurus rex in North America, the perils faced by an African Spinosaurus raising its young and in the first episode a young Triceratops takes centre stage.

The companion book goes beyond the television series.  It highlights the rich backstories of each dinosaur.  In addition, it explains the extraordinary work undertaken by palaeontologists in their quest to learn more about these amazing prehistoric animals.

Co-author Andrew Cohen (Head of the BBC Studios Science Unit), explained:

“This book will take readers behind the scenes of the series and back 100 million years to meet and understand these dinosaurs in ways never possible before.”

Mark Searle, Managing Director, DK+ added:

“Walking With Dinosaurs set a new ceiling for factual and documentary TV making back in 1999, and its influence on our continued fascination with dinosaurs cannot be underestimated. It’s a huge honour for DK to be working with the BBC Studios Science Unit on this fascinating book and we know dinosaur fans old and new will be amazed by the sheer level of insight Andrew, Helen, Kirsty and their teams have brought to the text.”

This exciting companion book, “Walking With Dinosaurs: Uncovering the Secret Stories of Prehistoric Life” will be released on the 5th of June 2025.

Book Details

Title: “Walking With Dinosaurs: Uncovering the Secret Stories of Prehistoric Life”
Authors: Andrew Cohen, Helen Thomas and Kirsty Wilson
Publisher: DK
Publication Date: June 5th, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780241761533

List Price: £25.00

This remarkable book can be pre-ordered here: “Walking with Dinosaurs” Companion Book.

Exciting news for fans of dinosaurs, palaeontology and fossils.  A new book written by the extremely talented Dr Dean Lomax is due to be published later this year.  The book, entitled “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs: Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals” will be available in September (2025).  Published by Columbia University Press, it will be available from all good booksellers, including Amazon, and it can be pre-ordered from the publisher’s website ninety days prior to the publication date.  However, we at Everything Dinosaur have been given access to the front cover image and a sneak preview.

The “Secret Lives of Dinosaurs” by Dr Dean Lomax and illustrated by Bob Nicholls. This exciting new book will be published in September (2025). Picture credit: Dr Dean Lomax.

Picture credit: Dr Dean Lomax/Bob Nicholls

“The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs”

This amazing new book is illustrated throughout by the world-renowned palaeoartist Bob Nicholls.  It tells the stories behind some incredible fossil discoveries that focus on direct evidence of behaviours.  How remarkable insights into the lives of prehistoric animals have been captured in deep geological time.  With Dr Lomax acting as your guide, the reader is provided with a forensic, behind-the-scenes examination of some astonishing fossils.  From ammonite eggs to the meals of mosasaurs and a pregnant ichthyosaur that ate a bird.  Each chapter sheds new light on the private lives and intimate moments of animals that once inhabited our planet.  Vivid, full-colour illustrations by Bob Nicholls bring these incredible stories and insights to life.

“The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs” builds upon the phenomenally successful and best-seller “Locked in Time”.  This was an earlier collaboration between Dr Lomax and Bob Nicholls (published 2021).  It told the stories of extinct animal’s behaviour perceived from fifty extraordinary fossils.  However, this new book offers an entirely different approach.

To read our review of “Locked in Time”: “Locked in Time” Reviewed.

The front cover of the book “Locked in Time – Animal Behaviour Unearthed in 50 Extraordinary Fossils” by Dean Lomax with illustrations by Bob Nicholls. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Mammals Feeding on Dinosaurs

Dr Lomax takes readers on a journey through the grand cycle of life.  The scientific explanations are given extra authority and relevance as Dr Lomax writes about his own escapades and adventures.  Of course, this highly enjoyable book is imbued with a dash of dinosaur humour too.

The prehistoric animal behaviours described in “The Secret Life of Dinosaurs” include evidence that dinosaurs were not always the predator.  Our mammalian ancestors more than held their own ground against the “terrible lizards”.  For example, one section of the book outlines how a mammal took down a dinosaur!

We were fascinated by the cover of the book! The two-headed animal is a type of aquatic reptile from the time of the dinosaurs. We asked Dr Lomax about the cover choice and he replied:

“I am thrilled that you love the cover! Believe me, Bob and I spent a lot of time working up many ideas with various animals – mostly dinosaurs – on the cover. In the end, we both agreed, as did the team at Columbia University Press, that this book is so different to anything else in the dinosaur/palaeo book world that the cover should represent that. So, we thought, why not go for one of the most extraordinarily rare fossils – a two-headed reptile. Sure, it’s not a dinosaur, but the book is not entirely dedicated to dinosaurs, hence the subtitle. We’re very proud of the cover and know that people will be blown away by some of the remarkable stories that are featured in this book.”

Dr Dean Lomax working on an ichthyosaur cast from the Natural History Museum (Berlin). This new book features marine reptiles too. Picture credit: Dr Dean Lomax/University of Manchester.

Picture credit: Dr Dean Lomax/University of Manchester

Book Details – “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs”

Title: “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs”
Author: Dr Dean Lomax
Illustrator: Bob Nicholls
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication Date: September 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 312
ISBN: 9780231211307

List Price: $38.95/£32.00

Also available as an E-book

Available from Columbia University Press: More Details/Order “The Secret Life of Dinosaurs”.

We have some exciting news!  A new dinosaur book by the extremely talented British palaeontologist and palaeoartist Dr Mark Witton is due to be published in May (2025).  Entitled “Tyrant King A Natural History of Tyrannosaurus rex“, this beautifully illustrated Tyrannosaurus rex book is available to pre-order from Princeton University Press.  Mark skilfully translates complex scientific concepts into an engaging narrative, helping to bridge the gap between academia and the general reader.

Mark is a highly respected palaeoartist. He has an extensive portfolio of prehistoric animal themed artwork. He created the striking front cover illustration.

The fabulous front cover of the new book “King Tyrant A Natural History of Tyrannosaurus rex” by Dr Mark P. Witton. Dr Witton is an accomplished author and palaeoartist as well as a highly respected palaeontologist. Naturally, this stunning T. rex artwork on the front cover was created by the author. Picture credit: Princeton University Press.

Picture credit: Princeton University Press

A New Tyrannosaurus rex Book – “King Tyrant”

T. rex is arguably the world’s favourite dinosaur.  At Everything Dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex models outsell all the other figures that we stock.  Virtually, every range we supply has at least one figure of this iconic Late Cretaceous theropod within it.  However, it is one of those dinosaurs so often depicted in the media, that sometimes the actual science gets overlooked.  Dr Witton sets out to distinguish the hyperbole surrounding this dinosaur from the actual fossil evidence.  The book presents these predators as palaeontologists consider them from the perspective of having interpreted the tyrannosaur fossil record.

With numerous original paintings, illustrations and diagrams by the author, this book focuses on the latest discoveries and provides a modern understanding of the Tyrannosaurus taxon.

The skull of a T. rex on display at Wollaton Hall (Nottinghamshire). This new dinosaur book discloses details about T. rex behaviour such as intraspecific combat and hunting strategies. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Dr Mark Witton has written several other books.  For example, in 2013 he wrote the highly acclaimed “Pterosaurs” which coincidently is also published by Princeton University Press.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s review of “Pterosaurs” by Dr Mark Witton: A Book Review “Pterosaurs” by Dr Mark Witton.

With over one hundred and fifty superb, photographs, illustrations and diagrams, this new Tyrannosaurus rex book is going to delight dinosaur fans.

Book Details

The book reviews the evidence for there being more than one species of Tyrannosaurus.  It examines whether they were solitary hunters or social animals.  How fast could T. rex run?  Was its bite as powerful as depicted in popular culture?   These are just some of the questions examined in the book’s seven chapters.  Some of the chapters have intriguing titles.  For example, chapter six entitled “Life, Food, Love, Death”.

“King Tyrant A Natural History of Tyrannosaurus rex”

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Publish Date: May 13th, 2025 | Price: £35.00/$39.95 | Pages: 320

Illustrations: 150+ colour illustrations

ISBN: 9780691245584

Size: 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 inches)

Visit the Princeton University Press website: Princeton University Press. To find the book search for “King Tyrant” or the author.

Mike from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“I am so excited about this.  I can’t wait to read this new book all about this most iconic of all the non-avian dinosaurs.  After all, who doesn’t love a T. rex!”

The Everything Dinosaur website: Dinosaur Models and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

The beautiful Chesil Beach and the Fleet Lagoon attract over 150,000 visitors each year. The site is managed by Natural England, and it is famed for its stunning views and wildlife especially migratory birds.  However, the Fleet Lagoon (England’s largest lagoon at around 480 hectares), is a great place to visit if you are a fossil collector.   Fossils can be found along almost the entire length of the lagoon. There are exposures of the Oxford Clay, Forest Marble, Kimmeridge Clay formations and Corallian limestones.  It would be great if a visitor to this part of the UNESCO “Jurassic Coast” had a guide to help them navigate this remarkable part of the Dorset coastline.

Such a guide is now available, thanks to authors Steve Snowball and Heather Middleton.  The pair have compiled a comprehensive and informative field guide to the safe and responsible collection of fossils from the Fleet Lagoon area.

The front cover of the new book that explores the remarkable fossils of the Fleet Lagoon of Dorset entitled “A Field Guide to the Jurassic Fossils of the Fleet Lagoon, Dorset” written by Steve Snowball and Heather Middleton.

Picture credit: Steve Snowball

Readers of this blog will be familiar with a series of guidebooks, co-authored by Steve Snowball that help fossil collectors explore various parts of the Dorset coast.  Back in 2022, we wrote about a wonderful collaboration between Steve Snowball and Craig Chivers who imagined an Edwardian gentleman visiting this picturesque part of the world.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s review of the excellent: Jurassic Fossils of the West Dorset Coast – A Time Traveller’s Guide.

Several excellent guides have been published about fossil hunting on the Dorset coast by Steve Snowball and Craig Chivers. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

“A Field Guide to the Jurassic Fossils of the Fleet Lagoon, Dorset”

This is a comprehensive and beautifully crafted field guide.  It is illustrated in full colour throughout, and it focuses on the wide variety of fossils associated with the area and its unique geology. If you thought that Tidmoor Point and its Oxford Clay exposures was the only place to collect fossils in this area, it’s time for a rethink.  This is an up-to-date and definitive guide with superb photographs of fossil specimens and wonderful artwork by the talented palaeoartist Andreas Kurpisz.

A school of curious ichthyosaurs. Fossils of these marine reptiles have been found in the Fleet Lagoon area. Picture credit: Andreas Kurpisz.

Picture credit: Andreas Kurpisz

Helpful Identification Charts

Readers will be able to explore marine reptile bones and teeth from the Kimmeridge Clay as well as Corallian echinoids and stunning ammonites such as Quenstedioceras as well as Kosmoceras from the Oxford Clay.  The book contains helpful identification charts and plenty of advice on making the most of your fossil hunting adventure. All the localities along the thirteen-kilometre length of this picturesque, tidal body of water, which separates Chesil Beach from the mainland, are fully described.

The vivid artwork of Andreas Kurpisz brings to life the ancient landscapes of southern England and the huge variety of prehistoric creatures that once inhabited them.  It is a wonderful guidebook for either the keen walker, casual visitor to the area or dedicated fossil hunter.

A trio of rhamphorhynchid pterosaurs soar over the tropical landscape of the area we now know as Dorset. Picture credit: Andreas Kurpisz.

Picture credit: Andreas Kurpisz

“A Field Guide to the Jurassic Fossils of the Fleet Lagoon, Dorset” has received praise for its informative text and illuminating photographs.  If you intend to visit this part of Dorset, it will prove to be an essential companion on your travels.

Book Details

Here is further information about this new fossil hunting guide:

Title: “A Field Guide to the Jurassic Fossils of the Fleet Lagoon, Dorset”

Authors: Steve Snowball and Heather Middleton

Illustrated by Andreas Kurpisz

ISBN: 978-1-7395570-3-4

Publisher: Siri Scientific Press

It contains 256 pages.

RRP: £24.99 and it is available on Amazon: “A Field Guide to the Jurassic Fossils of the Fleet Lagoon, Dorset”

You might think we know a lot about dinosaurs.  In truth, our knowledge of the Dinosauria has been transformed over the last few decades.  New fossil discoveries and the application of evermore sophisticated research techniques are providing palaeontologists with a wealth of new data.  Some of this data is allowing scientists to get a better understanding of dinosaur behaviour.   How these animals fed, communicated, chose mates, reproduced and formed social groups such as herds.

A new book written by Dr David Hone and illustrated by Gabriel Ugueto provides an up-to-date assessment of some of this research. The author skilfully guides the reader through the fundamentals of dinosaur biology and explains how pioneering research is shedding new light on dinosaurs and how they lived.

The front cover of the newly published dinosaur book “Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior” by Dr David Hone. Book illustrations are provided by Gabriel Ugueto. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

“Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior”

Published by Princeton University Press (hence the Americanisation of the word “behavior”), this is a beautifully crafted book.  The fossil record rarely captures evidence of activity. However, Dr Hone describes a wide range of behaviours and provides helpful scientific explanations.

Understanding dinosaur behaviour has traditionally faced challenges due to the scarcity of evidence preserved in the fossil record.  Dr David Hone sets out what we can learn from remarkable trace fossils and other fossil material. He presents the latest findings on dinosaur behaviour while explaining how researchers interpret the often limited and conflicting data available. Moreover, the author highlights how pioneering research sheds new light on prehistoric life, offering insights like never before. He also discusses future research directions in this exciting and rapidly evolving area of palaeontology.

The book contains lots of photographs of fossils and helpful diagrams.  The wide range of topics covered are beautifully illustrated by the extremely talented Gabriel Ugueto.

Book Details

Here is further information about this new dinosaur book:

Title: “Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior – What They Did and How we Know”

Author: Dr David Hone

Illustrated by Gabriel Ugueto

ISBN: 9780691215914

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published on November 5th, 2024. It contains 248 pages. The book features 12 colour and 70 mono illustrations.

The publisher’s website: Princeton University Press.

Overall, “Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior” is a must-read for anyone interested in the captivating world of dinosaurs. It not only informs but also inspires curiosity about how these ancient animals may have lived.

Highly recommended.

A new book written by English author Andrew Norman entitled “The Dinosaurs and their Mysterious Demise” proposes a new theory to explain the dinosaur extinction.  The K-Pg extinction event remains one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of life on our planet.  Of the five mass extinction events, referred to as the “Big Five”, that have occurred during the Phanerozoic, it is perhaps the end-Cretaceous event that has attracted the most interest.  We suspect that this interest is largely down to the dramatic end of the reign of the non-avian dinosaurs.

We seem to be fascinated with the Dinosauria. Our curiosity prompts us to delve into the scientific theories that attempt to explain their extinction.  It is the dinosaur extinction that reminds us of our own fragility of existence.

Renowned author Andrew Norman puts forward a new hypothesis that explains why some groups of animals survived this extinction event, whilst others such as the non-avian dinosaurs did not.

The front cover of “Dinosaurs and Their Mysterious Demise”. This newly published book looks at the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and provides a new perspective on why some groups of animals died out whilst others survived. Picture credit: Pen and Sword Books Ltd.

Picture credit: Pen and Sword Books Ltd

A New Idea About the Dinosaur Extinction

Published by Pen and Sword Books Limited, this new release has already attracted extremely favourable reviews.  The author’s writing style has been praised.  Team members at Everything Dinosaur were intrigued when they heard about this new publication.  There have been numerous hypotheses put forward to explain the dinosaur extinction.  However, fresh perspectives are always welcome, and we exchanged emails with the publisher, requesting further information.

Whilst it would not be fair to elucidate on the new ideas proposed by the author Andrew Norman, we did receive this statement:

“The question as to why the dinosaurs became extinct is no longer in doubt. However, the question that has not been addressed is, why was it that the dinosaurs, which ranged in size from the largest terrestrial creatures ever known, to ones the size of chickens, were completely eliminated when an asteroid struck the Earth, whereas the mammals and reptiles survived? The likely answer is to be found in my newly published book.”

We welcome, this new addition to a controversial area of vertebrate palaeontology and we are sure that the ideas expressed in this new book will inform and intrigue a whole new generation of readers.

Book Details

Here is further information about this new publication:

Title: “The Dinosaurs and Their Mysterious Demise”

Author: Andrew Norman

ISBN: 9781399041126

Publisher: Pen and Sword Books Ltd

Published on October 16th, 2024. It contains 160 pages and 32 mono illustrations.

The publisher’s website: Pen and Sword Books.