GigaSaurier: die Riesen Argentiniens.
Autoren, Oscar Alcober [and five others]; Übersetzung und Edition, Ilona Hauser, Bernd Herkner. Venedig [Italy]: Cubo Srl; Frankfurt am Main: Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, [2010].
QE861.9.A7 G55 2010x

This book was produced in 2010 by the Frankfurter Schenkenberg Nature Museum as part of an exhibition on ‘Giant Dinosaurs of Argentina’. Although the book’s text is in German, it is easy to navigate for people not familiar with this language. The main attraction to this book would then be its beautiful illustrations. However, the book has much more to offer if you are interested in dinosaurs. By browsing through the book you will notice that the first chapter deals with the history of life on earth, with information on dinosaur classification. The second chapter deals with fossils and rocks, the geological timeline and plate tectonics. The third chapter provides information on Argentinian palaeontology, with information on the museums that have taken part in the Giant Dinosaurs Exhibition. Chapters four to six provide information on the Argentinian fossil finds of respectively the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The most interesting chapter, in my view, is left until last (Chapter 7), giving details and illustrations of 20 ‘Argentinian Giants’. Each depicted dinosaur (with beautifully artistic drawings) has the meaning of its name given, as well as when it occurred, how long and heavy it was and its main diet. For instance, the first dinosaur in this chapter is Lagosuchus talamayensis. Its name means ‘rabbit-crocodile’; it was less than half a metre long and weighted 500 grams. It was a meat-eater and lived in the middle Triassic period. The information also shows where in Argentina its fossil remains were found.
This is a truly beautiful book with lots of interesting information for the junior and senior dinosaur followers amongst us.

Jolanda Keeble