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The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs

Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals
Brief Description
Buried within a lost world, astonishing evidence reveals the behaviour of extinct animals, giving us a glimpse at both everyday and epic events. If we look at these discoveries carefully, the untold stories of these magnificent creatures come into view, breathing new life into the prehistoric... Read More
Format: Hardback
$7399
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The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs tells the remarkable tales of ancient animals through some of the most distinctive and unusual fossils ever found, offering an intimate, behind-the-scenes look into the story of life in deep time.

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Buried within a lost world, astonishing evidence reveals the behaviour of extinct animals, giving us a glimpse at both everyday and epic events. If we look at these discoveries carefully, the untold stories of these magnificent creatures come into view, breathing new life into the prehistoric past.

The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs tells the remarkable tales of ancient animals through some of the most distinctive and unusual fossils ever found, offering an intimate, behind-the-scenes look into the story of life in deep time. Venturing hundreds of millions of years into the past, Dean R. Lomax takes us on a journey through the grand cycle of life, infused with anecdotes from his own adventures and sprinkled with a touch of dinosaur humour.

These fossils tell real-world stories of prehistoric parenting, the quest for survival, and the endless struggle between predator and prey. Unbelievable moments are captured: saber-toothed cats clashing, mega-millipedes mating, dinosaurs swimming. From ammonite eggs to mosasaur mealtimes, and from a pregnant ichthyosaur that chowed down on a bird to the mammal that took down a dinosaur, these behaviours challenge what we thought we knew about the prehistoric world.

This book looks into the private moments of long-extinct creatures as never before, letting us see them not just as fossils in a museum but as living, breathing animals with personalities and emotions. Vivid illustrations by Bob Nicholls bring these incredible stories to life in full colour.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780231211307

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 23 September 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: Columbia University Press

Illustration: 212 color figures

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 360

About the Author

Dean R. Lomax is an internationally recognized paleontologist, author, television presenter, and science communicator. A leading authority on ichthyosaurs, he is an honorary research fellow at the University of Manchester and an 1851 Research Fellow at the University of Bristol. He is the author of more than ten books.

Bob Nicholls is a world-renowned natural history artist who specializes in the reconstruction of prehistoric animals, plants, and environments. His illustrations and models have been published in more than forty books and exhibited in museums, universities, and visitor attractions around the world.

Lomax is the author and Nicholls is the illustrator of Locked in Time: Animal Behavior Unearthed in 50 Extraordinary Fossils (Columbia, 2021).

Also by Dean R. Lomax

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  • My Book of Fossils
    A friendly first guide to the amazing variety of fossils found on Earth. Unearth the treasures from the prehistoric world beneath your feet. From glittering ammonites to razor-sharp dinosaur claws and delicate leaf impressions, uncover our world's primeval past through the incredible fossils left behind. Arranged into plants and animals, there are profiles of 50 key fossils, including well-loved favourites,...
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    Fossils allow us to picture the forms of life that inhabited the earth eons ago. But we long to know more: how did these animals actually behave? We are fascinated by the daily lives of our fellow creaturesβ€”how they reproduce and raise their young, how they hunt their prey or elude their predators, and more. What would it be like...
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