Synopses & Reviews
A definitive reference to prehistoric life: never-before-seen creatures brought to life with photo-realistic computer graphics. Dinosaurs may fascinate everyone but paleontologists have made huge gains in our knowledge of other prehistoric species. Astounding and diverse creatures have swum, slithered, crawled, ran and flown across the ancient Earth. The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life includes all the inhabitants of the prehistoric world. It offers the complete story of earliest life on our planet and features concise, jargon-free text and 350 full-color illustrations and photo-real computer graphics. The book ranges from very ancient species of the Cambrian Period (c. 500 million years ago) through the dinosaurs' time and into to the 'recent' prehistory of the Pleistocene Epoch (c. 1.8 million to 11,000 years ago). Each creature is profiled in-depth describing its physical characteristics, movement, behavior, what it ate, habitat, and distribution across the prehistoric Earth. Species from environments as distinct as grasslands, wetlands, forests, mountains and oceans are included. The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life accompanies two new BBC prime-time programs: Life Before Dinosaurs and Walking With Life, the latest additions to the award-winning Walking With Dinosaurs series which will appear on Discovery Channel in Fall 2005.
The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life utilizes images by the award-winning Framestore CFC - Digital Special Effects and Computer Animation Studio team based in London and New York. They bring never-before seen creatures to life, such as Meganeuria, a giant carnivorous dragonfly; the sail-backed killer Dimetrodon; and Gorgonopsid, a sabre-toothed desertpredator that looked like a cross between a monitor lizard and a lion.
Synopsis
Dinosaurs get all the press but there are fascinating prehistorical life forms the pre and postdate them. This book covers them all illustrated by new photo-realistic computer graphics and is a companion to a new BBC TV series.
Synopsis
The most exciting view of prehistoric life.
Comprehensive, illustrated encyclopedia to prehistoric animals... lifelike detail... this easily readable book should appeal to dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages.-Science NewsThe Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life. The book's concise, jargon-free text and full color illustrations bring the primordial world to vivid photo-realistic life. In-depth profiles of 112 kinds of beasts cover physical characteristics, lifestyle, habitat and behavior. Throughout, fascinating fact sidebars offer additional bits of dinotrivia. But there is more than dinosaurs here. Readers will find creatures from triobites to early human beings.
At the heart of the book are 350 richly detailed and lifelike color illustrations -- accompanied by comprehensive text -- which are the result of pioneering work by the Emmy award-winning creative team at Framestore CFC. Using animation, graphic effects and filmmaking, they recreated awe-inspiring prehistoric creatures and the world they lived in. These images are now reproduced to thrill readers.
The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life was published to accompany two BBC TV prime-time programs, Life Before Dinosaurs and Walking with Life, both part of the Discovery Channel's award-winning Walking with Dinosaurs series.