The Pterosaurs from Deep Time.

THE PTEROSAURS FROM DEEP TIME

DAVID M. UNWIN

The predator banks hard, its wings flexing under the load. Below, the orange plain gives way to a green marsh and then blue water. A sudden dive, a plunge, and long sharp jaws snag a rainbow-hued fish. The dragon has struck. Thus begins this thorough account of pterosaurs in all their prehistoric forms and glory. Unwin, the curator for fossil reptiles and birds of the Museum of Natural History in Berlin, describes how the first pterosaurs took wing some 220 million years ago. From there, a multitude of these dragons, as Unwin calls them, evolved and filled the skies until they perished about 65 million years ago. The level of detail in the book is reflected by an appendix listing more than 100 "valid pterosaur species" and eight "possibly valid species of uncertain relationships"--all organized according to family relationships. The text itself is remarkably detailed and meticulously referenced. The author includes dozens of illustrations of these bizarre creatures, maps, timelines, taxonomic trees, photos of fossils, and all manner of drawings to make clear how the animals could fly and capture prey. PI Press, 2005, 347 p., color and b&w photos and illus., hardcover, $39.95.