This page has a list of references including both books, websites and museums that you might like to visit to find out more about Mesozoic life. Don't be afraid to look at the more 'academic' books. Just use a dictionary to help you if there are words that you don't understand. All the books recommended have lists of other books worth reading. Your local library needs all the support it can get, so use it as well. Librarians will be happy to help with obtaining books from other libraries. Libraries will also have magazines like New Scientist and Scientific American which often have easily read articles on the subjects covered by this website. Have fun!
ARCHIBALD, J. D. 1996. Dinosaur extinction and the end of an era: what the fossils say. Columbia University Press, New York.
An accessable technical book that discusses the K-T event in light of the evidence of fossils from famous US localities. Part of a series called 'Critical Moments in Palaeobiology and Earth History'.
BAKKER, R. T. 1986. The dinosaur heresies. Longman Scientific & Technical, London.
A famous (or infamous) book about the dinosaurs. It contains lots of information and ideas about many other Mesozoic vertebrates and includes the theory about dinosaurs inventing flowers. A very enjoyable book to read, with lots of Bakker's own drawings and sketches.
BENTON, M. J. 1996. The Penguin historical atlas of the dinosaurs. Penguin, London.
A book that deals with a lot more than dinosaurs, despite its title. Many geological concepts are explained too. The text is well written and amply illustrated.
BENTON, M. J. 1997. Vertebrate palaeontology. Chapman & Hall, London.
A university textbook, but very useful as it is packed with diagrams, drawings and a very useful glossary. There is the older first edition, which is good too. You may be able to find it in second-hand bookshops as academics replace their old copies with the second edition.
CLARKSON, E. N .K . 1993. Invertebrate palaeontology and evolution. Chapman & Hall, London.
Another textbook, designed for people taking a first course in palaeontology. Deals with invertebrates and has helpful sections on ecology and evolution. Very well written and illustrated and crammed with references, many of which have the author's opinion beside them.
EMILIANI, C. 1992. Planet Earth: cosmology, geology and the evolution of life and environment. Cambrige University Press, Cambridge.
A very useful book that deals with physics, chemistry and biology by using the Earth as an example. Lots of illustrations and many useful tables. If you are interested in science in general this book is worth buying.
HALSTEAD, L. B. 1975. The evolution and ecology of the dinosaurs. Eurobook.
A basic book, full of illustrations. A bit out of date, but a good starting point for younger readers.
LANE, G.L. 1986. Life of the past. Merrill Publishing Company, Columbus, Ohio.
Another good starting book consisiting of the histroy of most of the fossil groups, with plenty of illustrations. Each chapter has a useful summary of key words and a good glossary is included.
NORMAN D. D. 1985. The illustrated encyclopedia of dinosaurs. Salamander Books Ltd, London.
An large format book by one of the best known British dinosaur workers. Sections on many of the groups mentioned on this site. Lots of excellent artwork.
STEARN, C. W & CAROLL, R. L. 1989. Palaeontology: the record of life. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
A book that was designed for elementary university palaeontology courses. The way that the book is laid out means that the reader can focus in on periods in geological time, rather than on groups of organisms. Lots of illustrations and a good general introduction to palaeontology as a whole subject.
WELLNHOFER, P. 1991. The illustrated encyclopedia of pterosaurs. Salamander Books Ltd., London.
A lavishly illustrated popular reference book full of facts about pterosaurs.
1996. Oxford dictionary of biology. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
An example of the many specialist dictionaries on the market that cover a wide range of subjects. Clear definitions, diagrams and several useful appendices.
Only a few links here, but the sites have lots of links from them.
The Natural History Museum Site. A great site with loads of links. To access click here
The Paleontological Society, USA. Click here
Kublan's K-Paleo site has a section dedicated to animals other than dinosaurs of this period. To visit click here
To find out about other UK palaeontology sites visit here
If you'd like to know more about what goes on in the Palaeobiology Research Group at Bristol click here.
I can only vouch for four museums in the UK that I have seen in person in the past year. To find out if there are any museums near you use the Natural History Museum WWW site, which has links to lots of museums world-wide. Remember, if you want to visit the US websites from Europe do it in the morning and in the US visit European websites after lunch.
If you have a university with a geology department near you they may be able to help you, or have a look in the phone book. If you are lucky enough to have a museum with palaeontological exhibits in your home area, visit it and support it as much as you can!
The repository for many of the best fossils in the world, the NHM is part of the British Museum. There is much more to see than dinosaurs here, in particular the new Earth Gallery exhibit. The corridor to the Palaeontology Research area is lined with many fine icthyosaur exhibits. There is also a large collection of modern fauna and many archaeological exhbits. Travelling exhbitions often visit the NHM, for example the 'Dinosaurs of the Gobi' exhibition last year.
The Hunterian is to be found in the main university quadrangle on Gilmourhill. Admission is free. The museum has a host of fine specimens, including plesiosur remains and a fine collection of rocks and minerals. Dr Neil Clarke is a good person to contact to arrange school trips or other educational ventures. His efforts helped to secure the Chinese dinosaur eggs that are on display at the Museum. To visit the website click here
This museum is located on Queen's Road, beside the University of Bristol Wills Building. The museum houses a fine collection of fossils and modern specimens. There are many archaeological exhbits in the museum as well. The museum was very helpful in providing access to various exhibits for some of the images on this site.
Oxford University Museum. Oxford, England The Oxford University Museum has an excellent series of displays, dealing with the evolution of various aspects of life in relation to the different geological time periods and with how the evidence for evolution was gathered. The museum also contains a horde of rocks and minerals. The famous Pitt-Rivers Museum, which is a collection of anthropological material is located in the same building, although its opening hours are restricted.