C'mon, dinosaurs, it's time to turn into birds and compete with somebody else

July 25, 2009 7:36 AM

I've become very interested in prehistoric non-dinosaur animals lately, specifically archaeocetes and the evolution of aquatic mammals, but also more broadly. What can I read that's up to date? I'm also very interested in artistic reconstructions of fossil animals.

I've always enjoyed Stephen Jay Gould, but unfortunately he's not around to update his work with forewords where necessary, and I understand that he also came to some highly disputed conclusions. I've read Dawkins' Climbing Mount Improbable and enjoyed it very much (The Ancestor's Tale, not so much, because it needed so much editing).

posted by Countess Elena to Science & Nature (10 answers total)

I highly recommend "Your Inner Fish" by Neil Shubin. It's a mighty little fun book to read; it's so good I have read it a couple of times and it has inspired a few artworks. Easy to understand, great pictures, great writing. Bravo Professor Shubin.
posted by effluvia at 8:18 AM on July 25, 2009

Dougal Dixon does a good job of drawing animals based on fossils as well as drawing imaginative but realistic animals of the future.
posted by DU at 8:48 AM on July 25, 2009

Mr. gudrun, who is in the book business, says that Johns Hopkins Press is doing a series that might interest you, for example, The Rise of Animals, The Rise of Amphibians .
posted by gudrun at 8:52 AM on July 25, 2009

Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs.
posted by ellenaim at 9:43 AM on July 25, 2009

On a less intellectual note, watch some Primeval. Some weeks it's a dinosaur, but other weeks it's a mammal - in full BBC-FX-quality glory!
posted by you're a kitty! at 11:22 AM on July 25, 2009

I'll second Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin. I'm reading it now and enjoying it very much.
posted by Quizicalcoatl at 12:19 PM on July 25, 2009

Oceans of Kansas might have some of what you're looking for. It doesn't deal so much with mammals (although the main page currently has a write-up about a touring whale exhibit), but it's a pretty rich source of information and external links on the rise and evolution of aquatic animals. It's a fun site to explore.
posted by amyms at 12:50 PM on July 25, 2009

Darren Naish's blog, Tetrapod Zoology has consistently good articles that would probably interest you.
posted by jonesor at 1:17 PM on July 25, 2009

Re: artistic reconstructions of fossil animals, if you're interested in the history of such things, you might enjoy a book called Scenes from Deep Time.
posted by macinchik at 6:27 PM on July 25, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks, guys. These are great!
posted by Countess Elena at 3:30 PM on July 26, 2009