Dinosaurs of Darkness (Life of the Past)

Dinosaurs of Darkness

Thomas H. Rich and PatriciaVickers-Rich

The discovery of the polar dinosaurs and the world inwhich they lived.

Dinosaurs of Darkness opens a doorway to afascinating former world, which existed in Australia between 100 million and 120million years ago, when Australia was far south of its present location and joinedto Antarctica. Over the past two decades, scientists have determined that dinosaurslived in this polar region.

The way we have come to know aboutthis lost world — so different from any that exists on Earth today — makes for afascinating story. Thomas H. Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich. who played crucialroles in this discovery, describe their efforts to collect the fossils indispensableto our knowledge of this realm and the laboratory work that unlocked the secrets ofthese fossils. And they report on the activities of hundreds of other individualswho helped shaped the outcome. Their journey of scientific adventure is full of theambiguities of life; it begins with one destination in mind and ends at another, arrived at by a most roundabout route, down byways and back from dead ends.Dinosaurs of Darkness is a personal account of the way scientific research isactually conducted and how hard it is to mine the knowledge of this remarkable lifeof the past.

Thomas H. Rich is Curator of Vertebrate Paleontologyat Museum Victoria in Melbourne and coauthor (with Patricia Vickers-Rich) ofWildlife of Gondwana: Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates from the AncientSupercontinent (Indiana University Press).

Patricia Vickers-Richholds a Chair in Paleontology at Monash University, where she lectures in the EarthSciences Department.

Life of the Past — James O. Farlow, editor

Contents

Dinosaur Cove

The Crossing ofthe Rubicon: The Excavation of 1984

Back to DinosaurCove

Interlude

Underground at Dinosaur Cove

NewExplorations

Restoring the Life of the Past

The First LastExcavation of Dinosaur Cove

Other Eggs, Other Baskets

AnUnexpected Surprise

Dinosaurs of Darkness opens a doorway to a fascinating former world, which existed in Australia between 100 million and 120 million years ago, when Australia was far south of its present location and joined to Antarctica. Over the past two decades, scientists have determined that dinosaurs lived in this polar region.<P>The way we have come to know about this lost world — so different from any that exists on Earth today — makes for a fascinating story. Thomas H. Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich, who played crucial roles in this discovery, describe their efforts to collect the fossils indispensable to our knowledge of this realm and the laboratory work that unlocked the secrets of these fossils. And they report on the activities of hundreds of other individuals who helped shape the outcome. Their journey of scientific adventure is full of the ambiguities of life; it begins with one destination in mind and ends at another, arrived at by a most roundabout route, down byways and back from dead ends. Dinosaurs of Darkness is a personal account of the way scientific research is actually conducted and how hard it is to mine the knowledge of this remarkable life of the past.