Mark P. Witton – författare

What was life like on our planet long before the early humans emerged?Paleontologist Dr. Mark P. Witton draws on the latest twenty-first century discoveries to re-create the appearances and lifestyles of extinct, fascinating species, the environments they inhabited, and the challenges they faced living on an ever-changing planet. A worthy successor to Charles Knight's beloved 1946 classic, Life through the Ages II takes us on an unforgettable journey through the evolution of life on Earth.Dozens of gorgeous color illustrations and meticulously researched, accompanying commentary showcase the succession of lost worlds, defining events, and ancient creatures that have appeared since the earth was formed, creating an indispensable guide to explore what came before us.

For 150 million years, the skies didn't belong to birds--they belonged to the pterosaurs. These flying reptiles, which include the pterodactyls, shared the world with the nonavian dinosaurs until their extinction 65 million years ago. Some pterosaurs, such as the giant azhdarchids, were the largest flying animals of all time, with wingspans exceeding thirty feet and standing heights comparable to modern giraffes. This richly illustrated book takes an unprecedented look at these astonishing creatures, presenting the latest findings on their anatomy, ecology, and extinction. Pterosaurs features some 200 stunning illustrations, including original paintings by Mark Witton and photos of rarely seen fossils. After decades of mystery, paleontologists have finally begun to understand how pterosaurs are related to other reptiles, how they functioned as living animals, and, despite dwarfing all other flying animals, how they managed to become airborne. Here you can explore the fossil evidence of pterosaur behavior and ecology, learn about the skeletal and soft-tissue anatomy of pterosaurs, and consider the newest theories about their cryptic origins.This one-of-a-kind book covers the discovery history, paleobiogeography, anatomy, and behaviors of more than 130 species of pterosaur, and also discusses their demise at the end of the Mesozoic. * The most comprehensive book on pterosaurs ever published * Features some 200 illustrations, including original paintings by the author * Covers every known species and major group of pterosaurs * Describes pterosaur anatomy, ecology, behaviors, diversity, and more * Encourages further study with 500 references to primary pterosaur literature

A marvelously illustrated look at everything we now know about the fearsome king of the dinosaursContinue the adventure with the dazzling film, T.REX, narrated by Sam Neill, now playing in IMAX and museum cinemas worldwideTyrannosaurus rex is the world’s favorite dinosaur, adored by the public and the subject of intense study and debate by paleontologists. This stunningly illustrated book brings together everything we have learned about T. rex—the “King of the Tyrant Lizards”—since it was first given its famous name in 1905. It presents these creatures as science knows them rather than the version portrayed in movies, revealing them to be dramatically different, and far more amazing, than ever imagined. With numerous original paintings and diagrams by the author, King Tyrant draws on the latest discoveries to offer a modern understanding of Tyrannosaurus, pulling back the curtain of media hype that often obscures these extraordinary extinct animals while cementing their reputation as the most formidable carnivores of the Mesozoic.Features more than 150 breathtaking illustrations, photos, and diagramsCovers everything from the research history of T. rex to their anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, behavior, and extinctionReveals how the Tyrannosaurus known to science is characterized as much by radical changes in body form throughout its growth as its enormous size and powerful jawsDiscloses details about their lifestyles and behavior evidenced from fossils, from violent face-biting between rivals to their capacity to literally pull the heads off Triceratops carcassesGets to the bottom of the many controversies surrounding T. rex, such as: Was there really more than one species of Tyrannosaurus? Did they live and hunt in groups? How fast could they run and how hard could they bite? Can we truly distinguish males from females?Discusses T. rex in popular culture, showing how our love for this dinosaur has both helped and hindered research

A marvelously illustrated look at the fossil evidence of color in extinct life, from dinosaurs and mammoths to ancient insects and plants—revealing the amazing technologies and fossils that allow us to visualize the prehistoric world in more detail than everThe colors of dinosaurs and other extinct organisms are typically considered as being lost to time. Rare fossils, however, contain remnants of ancient pigments or structures that manipulated light to create color, allowing scientists to make predictions about the hues and patterns of species extinct for millions of years. The study of such fossils, first collected centuries ago, has been revolutionized in recent decades as new technology has allowed for increasingly sophisticated assessments of colors in dinosaurs and other ancient reptiles, as well as fish, mammals, invertebrates, and even plants and microbes. This book explores the development of color across billions of years of evolution, explaining how extinct color palettes can be reconstructed as well as what details still elude us. Written and illustrated by one of the world’s leading paleoartists, The Colors of Dinosaurs and the Prehistoric World blends an artist’s eye for nature with a paleontologist’s expertise to present prehistoric life as you have never seen it before.More than 150 illustrations, photographs, and graphics that showcase the amazing array of color and pattern data found in the fossil recordReconstructs extinct species and environments with the hues and tones predicted by paleontological science, showing the appearance of feathered and scaly dinosaurs, flying and swimming reptiles, ancient reefs, Ice Age mammals, the early days of Earth, and moreReveals the diverse means used to predict ancient coloration, from analyses of ancient pigments to mapping the distribution of biological color on evolutionary trees, and even using cave paintings to inform depictions of prehistoric mammalsOutlines the long history and modern science of paleocolor restoration and explores what reconstructing color in ancient organisms tells us about ancient ecology and behaviorTraces the brilliant diversity of color of the modern natural world to its evolutionary roots

The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, a series of thirty-seven incredible sculptures of prehistoric animals and geological displays, were unveiled to the public as part of the famous Crystal Palace Park in 1854. The display, which includes iconic depictions of rhinoceros-like dinosaurs, regal extinct mammals, serpentine marine reptiles and giant, frog-like amphibians, captured a snapshot of palaeontology from a golden era of scientific discovery in the mid-nineteenth century. Today, they are internationally recognized as a milestone in our portrayals of extinct life. This book celebrates these classic scientific artworks and explores: their history, their conception as a wider part of the Crystal Palace project, their execution using unorthodox building materials, their reception by nineteenth century and modern critics, and their enduring mysteries. Hundreds of historic and modern photos and original paintings show modern scientific visions of the extinct animals restored. Written in collaboration with and in support of the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs charity, this superb book gives the most detailed and complete history of these world-famous sculptures yet, reinforcing their status as masterworks of education and palaeoartistry.

Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals have always fascinated people but they pose vast problems for the artist. How do you go about recreating the anatomy and behaviour of a creature we've never seen? How can we restore landscapes long lost to time? And where does the boundary between palaeontology - the science of understanding fossils- and artistic licence lie? In this outstanding book, Mark Witton shares his detailed paintings and great experience of drawing and painting extinct species. The approaches used in rendering these impressive creatures are discussed and demonstrate the problems, as well as the unexpected freedoms, that palaeontological artists are faced with. The book showcases over ninety scientifically credible paintings of some of the most spectacular animals in the Earth's history, as well as many less familiar species.