The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs: Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals

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Dean R. Lomax Robert Nicholls

The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs

Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals

Dean R. Lomax, Robert Nicholls

$64.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Columbia University Press
14 October 2025

Mathematics & Sciences; Dinosaurs & the prehistoric world

Buried within a lost world, astonishing evidence reveals the behavior of extinct animals, giving us a glimpse at both everyday and epic events. If we look at these discoveries carefully, the untold stories of these magnificent creatures come into view, breathing new life into the prehistoric past.

The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs tells the remarkable tales of ancient animals through some of the most distinctive and unusual fossils ever found, offering an intimate, behind-the-scenes look into the story of life in deep time. Venturing hundreds of millions of years into the past, Dean R. Lomax takes us on a journey through the grand cycle of life, infused with anecdotes from his own adventures and sprinkled with a touch of dinosaur humor.

These fossils tell real-world stories of prehistoric parenting, the quest for survival, and the endless struggle between predator and prey. Unbelievable moments are captured: saber-toothed cats clashing, mega-millipedes mating, dinosaurs swimming. From ammonite eggs to mosasaur mealtimes, and from a pregnant ichthyosaur that chowed down on a bird to the mammal that took down a dinosaur, these behaviors challenge what we thought we knew about the prehistoric world.

This book looks into the private moments of long-extinct creatures as never before, letting us see them not just as fossils in a museum but as living, breathing animals with personalities and emotions. Vivid illustrations by Bob Nicholls bring these incredible stories to life in full color.

By: Dean R. Lomax, Robert Nicholls
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9780231211307
ISBN 10: 0231211309
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 14 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Dean R. Lomax is an internationally recognized paleontologist, author, television presenter, and science communicator. A leading authority on ichthyosaurs, he is an honorary research fellow at the University of Manchester and an 1851 Research Fellow at the University of Bristol. He is the author of more than ten books. Bob Nicholls is a world-renowned natural history artist who specializes in the reconstruction of prehistoric animals, plants, and environments. His illustrations and models have been published in more than forty books and exhibited in museums, universities, and visitor attractions around the world. Lomax is the author and Nicholls is the illustrator of Locked in Time: Animal Behavior Unearthed in 50 Extraordinary Fossils (Columbia, 2021).

Reviews for The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs: Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals

Dean Lomax uses scientific research and personal experiences to guide readers through the process of discovering details of long-extinct animals’ lives. The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs takes complex paleontological ideas and explains them in an approachable and easy-to-understand way. -- Kallie Moore, co-host of PBS <i>Eons</i> Dean Lomax describes some amazing fossils that show the intimate lives of ancient organisms, from reproduction and birth to feeding, locomotion, and illnesses. There are dinosaurs here, but also other fossil reptiles, mammals, fishes, ammonites, and others. Lomax shows you the fossils, describes the discoveries and the discoverers, while Bob Nicholls provides stunning artwork to reveal some of the amazing lives of our ancestors. -- Michael Benton, Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology, University of Bristol