In this Book
- Bernissart Dinosaurs and Early Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: Indiana University Press
- Series: Life of the Past
In 1878, the first complete dinosaur skeleton was discovered in a coal mine in Bernissart, Belgium. Iguanodon, first described by Gideon Mantell on the basis of fragments discovered in England in 1824, was initially reconstructed as an iguana-like reptile or a heavily built, horned quadruped. However, the Bernissart skeleton changed all that. The animal was displayed in an upright posture similar to a kangaroo, and later with its tail off the ground like the dinosaur we know of today. Focusing on the Bernissant discoveries, this book presents the latest research on Iguanodon and other denizens of the Cretaceous ecosystems of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Pascal Godefroit and contributors consider the Bernissart locality itself and the new research programs that are underway there. The book also presents a systematic revision of Iguanodon; new material from Spain, Romania, China, and Kazakhstan; studies of other Early Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems; and examinations of Cretaceous vertebrate faunas.
Table of Contents
- List of Contributors
- pp. xi-xii
- Acknowledgments
- p. xv
- Part 1. New Investigations into the Iguanodon Sinkhole at Bernissart and Other Early Cretaceous Localities in the Mons Basin (Belgium)
- Part 2. The Bernissart Iguanodons and Their Kin
- Part 3. Early Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems In and Outside Europe
- 24. Danish Dinosaurs: A Review
- pp. 435-452