Whereas at TetZooCon 2024 (the final one ever! Type of), I took the chance to select up the most recent e-book from Dave Hone (for it’s he) – Uncovering Dinosaur Behaviour: What They Did and How We Know, printed by Princeton College Press (in early November for the non-TZC-going public). Dave’s earlier e-book, The Way forward for Dinosaurs (generally known as How Quick Might T. rex Run? within the US for causes finest understood by the publishers) was actually an honest learn, however appeared to lack a few of the confidence of The Tyrannosaur Chronicles; maybe, as an idea, it wasn’t fairly as clearly stable. Fortunately, Uncovering Dinosaur Behaviour is Dave at his finest – it’s a wonderful summation of what we all know, suitably caveated and but by no means weighed down by that, and a surprisingly brisk learn. And there’s art work by Gabriel Ugueto, too, which is all the time good.
Because the title suggests, Uncovering Dinosaur Behaviour is about…the behaviour of dinosaurs, as will be inferred primarily from the fossil file, but additionally from phylogenetic bracketing and observations of dwelling animals. It’s a e-book geared toward “palaeontologists who need to learn about behaviour, and…ethologists who need to know one thing about dinosaurs,” in addition to “hopefully…of curiosity to biologists on the whole”. Dave describes his tone as “extra conversational”, though I believe right here that interprets extra as ‘accessible’. This isn’t a dry textbook, however nor did I really feel as if Dave was within the room with me, which might be factor as he’s fairly loud and I wouldn’t need to upset the neighbours.
Relatively, the writing right here, whereas not essentially being ‘chatty’ in tone, is very succinct and strikes every part alongside at an honest tempo. There’s a talent evident right here in assiduously noting the place scientists could be susceptible to mis- or over-interpretation of proof whereas not getting slowed down in that. Though already accustomed to numerous the fabric, I didn’t as soon as really feel the urge to skip something. It provides lay individuals an honest impression of what the scientific course of is all about in a manner that’s rarer than we’d like in science writing. It’s brief on bombastic claims and private anecdotes concerning the Superior Lifetime of Dave, however very heavy on The Proof and the way we would interpret it, and I actually appreciated that.
Sciurumimus and Dakosaurus by Gabriel Ugueto, as featured beforehand on the weblog.
However by no means thoughts all that – what precisely is on supply right here? The e-book’s chapters are principally devoted to some side of the lives of dinosaurs, overlaying Group Dwelling, Signaling, Copy, Fight, and Feeding, with additional chapters offering vital background info. In every case, Dave critiques what proof has been uncovered, arguments and counter-arguments for particular interpretations, and offers a helpful case research. Probably the most intriguing chapters is on signaling between dinosaurs, inspecting the ontogeny of ceratopsians and the way that helps the usage of frills and horns as sociosexual alerts whereas not essentially supporting the ‘species recognition’ speculation (with Protoceratops as a particular case research), the proof for auditory alerts in hadrosaurs and different dinosaurs, and the way they may have used color – together with the usage of color as an anti-signal to supply camouflage (within the case of Psittacosaurus and Borealopelta).
The chapter on feeding can also be notably attention-grabbing, overlaying the plain wealth of analysis into theropod habits, but additionally that includes a case research on sauropods that succinctly summarises the back-and-forth debates on their feeding habits – whether or not sure animals had been excessive grazers, low grazers, browsers, or some mixture. Every part from their skulls and enamel, to their cervical vertebrae, to their forelimbs, to the kinds of environments they lived in, to attainable extant analogues (and their validity) is mentioned and, as all through, closely referenced. As is so typically the case on this e-book, it offers a extremely helpful summation of the controversy for an lay individual. One couldn’t name Dave unbiased (as a result of it’s primarily not possible to be unbiased, irrespective of how onerous you attempt), however Uncovering Dinosaur Behaviour actually excels at presenting the present scientific state of play.
Majungasaurus and Simosuchus by Gabriel Ugeuto, as additionally featured beforehand on the weblog. Hey, he’s been interviewed twice for our podcast, you recognize. Go and test it out!
One other, maybe shocking however very welcome side of this e-book is how a lot it may train the unsuspecting reader about extant animal behaviour and the evolutionary mechanisms that could be behind it. That is very removed from the kind of e-book that claims ‘dinosaurs present in mass bonebed, due to this fact group dwelling animals’ (one thing that Dave naturally addresses instantly), however discusses the usually shocking and seemingly contradictory behaviours of dwelling animals and considers how they may apply to dinosaurs, based mostly on the direct proof we have now about them. Once more, that’s one thing I actually appreciated.
Uncovering Dinosaur Behaviour, a lot because it’s a critical work, remains to be an incredible learn and one thing I actually suppose you’d all get pleasure from. It’s so complete that I can’t assist however really feel that I’m underselling it right here, and all the time stays compelling. Unrelated as it’s to the standard of this e-book, it does make me surprise what a much less critical, extra autobiographical Dave Hone e-book may appear like. Possibly we’ll see it considered one of lately – right here’s hoping (it could possibly be entitled The Superior Lifetime of Dave). For now, I’m fairly content material to get pleasure from books like this one.
