In the last decade, Italian Mesozoic marine deposits have revealed theunexpected presence of dinosaurs. Dinosaurs of Italy is a faithful report of thosediscoveries. It is a popular but thorough book, written by one of the leadingdinosaur paleontologists in Italy with the collaboration of the science writerGiuseppe Brillante. After an introduction to the world of dinosaurs, each chapterdeals with one finding: from dinosaur footprints (including new sites from southernItaly found in 2000) and the exciting discovery and description of Scipionyx, to theTrieste hadrosaurs and the very recent "saltriosaur." Italian marine andflying reptiles are also described, represented by spectacular specimens such as thelarge shastasaurid ichthyosaur Besanosaurus and the most ancient pterosaurEudimorphodon. Other chapters deal with the K/T boundary of Gubbio and its role inreconstructing the story of dinosaur extinction and offer speculations about futurefindings. The book includes the true story of Scipionyx's discovery, written by itslead researcher.
Life of the Past -- James O. Farlow, editor