“Dr. Persons takes us on a safari of paleontological discovery. We meet newly discovered creatures: Hesperonychus, a brainy raptor clothed in furry feathers. Mercuriceratops, a Triceratops-kin with splendid cranial armament. We acquire the field tools to extract bones and teeth, eggs and fossil poo. The very best dinosaur-discovery crew in the world, the University of Alberta’s paleo department, reveals the latest methods in the lab.
Dr. Persons writes with grace and wit. He deftly avoids inelegant jargon. The art is stunning. Julius Csotonyi, the maestro of paleo illustration, provides full color paintings of entire dinosaur habitats. Herds of Pachyrhinosauri, a strange butting platform on each muzzle, rumble across the meadows at Pipestone Creek. Multitudes of Edmontosauri gather at the Danek Bonebed, like the bison migrations of the Canadian prairie. Each Mesozoic scene is informed by science. Fossil pollen and leaves, gator skulls and turtle shells let us read the temperature of ancient deltas and the strength of river currents.
Paleontology, perhaps more than any other science, shows how complicated puzzles can be solved through careful analysis of many trains of evidence. We do have a time-travel machine. It’s our scientific imagination.”
Coming this August, it’s my second book with Harbor Publishing: Mega Rex! Get it here.
“Scotty,” the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the world, was discovered by an elementary school teacher in Saskatchewan’s Frenchman River Valley in 1991. It took twenty-three years to excavate the bones and prepare the skeleton for study. Now the giant T. rex is the star of a new exhibition at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. As the largest and longest-lived T. rex ever discovered, Scotty offers fascinating research possibilities, and I’m the lead paleontologist on an in-depth scientific report on this unique fossil.
In Mega Rex, I’ll share our findings, plus thrilling details about the discovery of Scotty and the lives of tyrannosaurs. The book covers topics ranging from the details of Scotty’s discovery and the process of digging up a fossil, to deciphering the meaning behind Scotty’s unusual features, including its large facial horns and many wounds. Dinosaur-obsessed kids will love learning new facts based on the latest discoveries, including ones that are challenging current ideas about the world’s most famous dinosaur species. What would it feel like to pet a T. rex? How did tyrannosaurs hunt? Were they good parents? Did they have forked tongues like snakes?
Featuring profiles of paleontologists, field crew members, museum artists and other members of “team rex,” and illustrations by award-winning paleoartist Beth Zaiken and over thirty photos, Mega Rex offers an in-depth look at a new superstar of the fossil world and new insight
into tyrannosaurs and the world they inhabited.
Also out this Fall is my durable folding guide to fossils. You can find it here. All photos courtesy of my wife Amanda!
From dinosaur bones to petrified wood and primordial seashells to archaic oddballs, this handy field guide makes identification of fossils a cinch. Learn how to identify a fossil and discover the most up-to-date tips on where and when to hunt for them. Featuring gorgeous full-colored photos and paired with short and informative descriptions, this field guide is suitable for fossil enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. Lightweight and pocket-sized for convenience, A Field Guide to Fossils is easy to grab and toss into any fossil lover’s backpack on their next adventure.
Along with many University of Alberta colleagues, I am pleased to present Dinosaurs 101: What Everyone Should Know about Dinosaur Anatomy, Ecology, Evolution, and More. Recommended for high school level readers and up, you can find it on Amazon
in both paperback and Kindle editions. This tidy manuscript holds the content of an introductory college course on dinosaurs.
I am excited to announce the publication of my first book: Dinosaurs of the Alberta Badlands! More species of dinosaurs have been dug up in Alberta than anywhere else in the world, and you can find Albertan dinosaurs skeletons on display in museums from New York to Tokyo! I have been hunting for dinosaurs in the badlands of Alberta for over eight years. This book tells the stories of my discoveries and those of many other paleontologists. And it’s fully illustrated by the phenomenal paleo-artist Julius Csotonyi.
Dinosaurs of the Alberta Badlands is in stores now, and you can order it on Amazon, Indigo, or straight from the publisher.
Reviews
“Dinosaurs of the Alberta Badlands” is a stunning tribute to one of the World’s greatest fossil regions. Written by one of the paleontologists who has added to the greatness through his collection of and research on the dinosaurs of Alberta, the book is also illustrated one of the greatest paleo-artists of our time! The combined talents of these two experts – Drs. Scott Persons and Julius Csotonyi – have produced an up-to-date, authoritative, lively account worthy of Alberta’s rich paleontological heritage! To understand the significance of the resource, Alberta’s dinosaurs are discussed in the wider context of their position in deep time, of their relationships dead and living, of their ecosystems, and of the high level of research that is in progress today.”
