Beasts from Before the Dinosaurs: Extraordinary Forgotten Creatures from 250 Million Years Ago (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781836009467)

Let's travel back more than a quarter of a billion years, toa time long before the dinosaurs. A time when there was no grass, or birdsong, or flowers. When no Stegosaurus or T. rex had ever walked the Earth, and no Pterodactylus had ever flown through the sky. Sounds quiet, doesn't it? But it wasn't. It was CRAWLING with life. The world looked very, very different then--and the animals did, too. So, grab your binoculars, tread quietly, and let's head back to the dim and distant past...

In Beasts from Before the Dinosaurs, you will meet over 20 strange, forgotten animals that ruled the land and seas dur­ing the Permian Period--an era that ended with the "Great Dying," a massive extinction that wiped out nearly 90% of all life on Earth. Even they though they existed so long ago, these extraordinary creatures were as full of life as you are now--and they were fascinating!

From the fierce, sail-backed Dimetrodon to the spiral-jawed Helicoprion, each of the book's creatures offers a window into a forgotten world. You'll meet Meganeura, a supersized flying insect that was bigger than a hawk, Eryops, a carnivorous frog the size of a gorilla, and Lystrosaurus, a strange tusked creature that wouldn't look out of place in a Star Wars film!

You will learn all about these ear­ly, mammal-like reptiles and explore their habitats, discovering the plants, trees, and strange environments--like purple oceans!--that existed long before dinosaurs walked the Earth. Incredible, full-color illustrations bring this prehistoric world to life--immersing readers in a forgotten landscape.

The perfect gift for a dino-mad child who's already read ALL the dinosaur books, Beasts from Before the Dinosaurs uncovers a hidden chapter in our planet's history, sparking curiosity about Earth's incredi­ble past.