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Saurian - A Field Guide to Hell Creek
A gorgeous, scientifically up-to-date exploration of the prehistoric world, written and illustrated by leading palaeontologists.
An elegant factual guide to the prehistoric world of Hell Creek from the successful indie survival game Saurian. A beautiful, detailed exploration of the creatures and environment of this stunning game, and perfect for all fans of paleoart.
An elegant factual guide to the prehistoric world of Hell Creek from the successful indie survival game Saurian. A beautiful, detailed exploration of the creatures and environment of this stunning game, and perfect for all fans of paleoart.
182 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2019
1 person is currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Tom Parker
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There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 10, 2023
Absolutely beautiful coffee table style book that is about 90% mostly full color illustrations and 10% text that richly details the climate, terrain, flora, and fauna of the Hell Creek Formation of 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. The book depicts in stunning detail the area, a floodplain with some elevated areas, that was located on the northern shores of the Western Interior Seaway, a shallow body of water that once split what would become North America into two continents, Laramidia and Appalachia. Today the particular area detailed in the book is in northwestern South Dakota, but back then it was on the paleo-continent of Laramidia.
Depicting the area as if were a place you could actually visit, the book details the types of terrain you would encounter (fern prairies, hardwood forests, redwood forests, cypress swamps, sandy beaches) with beautiful full color illustrations of what it would be like to experience the terrains. I am tickled that the book devoted so much time to the botany of the area with many full color illustrations, an absolute rarity on popular books on the Mesozoic, depicting and discussing for instance the various fern species (such as the Gleicheniaceae, which grow in open environments and slopes), horsetails (genus Equisetum, the most common ground plant), redwoods, Liriodendrites bradacii (a magnolia, related to and resembling modern tulip trees, genus Liriodendron), various laurels (“the most widespread and diverse group of flowering plants in the Late Cretaceous” though the genera present are no longer extant), and plane trees (with Platanites marginata one of the most common trees in the area).
The star of the book though has to be the fauna, which are depicted at all levels, staring with a brief mention of insects (the book noting that insect fossils are “extremely rare in Hell Creek”), and going on to discuss and depict fish (the garpike Lepisosteus occidentalis has scales that are “comically abundant” in the formation), amphibians (including large salamanders related to modern siren salamanders as well as a number of primitive frogs), mammals (including Didelphodon vorax, “one of the earliest active predator/scavengers in the natural history of mammals”), an extremely rich turtle fauna, large lizards, mosasaurs, several crocodile/crocodylomorphs, the lone pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus, and the true star, the various dinosaurs, including but not limited to two types of ankylosaur, Anatosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus spinifer, Triceratops prorsus, Tyrannosaurus rex, Struthiomimus, several species of feathered dinosaurs, as well what are dinosaurs too, birds, including toothed birds like Avisaurus archibaldi (the largest bird at Hell Creek) and modern birds (including Styginetta lofgreni, a duck-like wading filter feeder that survived the end Cretaceous mass extinction and is part of the “modern waterfowl lineage”).
Though some of the paleontology is discussed as a science, the book focuses on presenting the Hell Creek Formation as it actually existed, not on depicting fossils or people digging for fossils or the history of the study of the site. The end of the book closes with multiple pages of large full color illustrations. It’s a beautiful book. If just read, it could probably be read in under an hour easily, but it will take much longer to appreciate the stunning art. Copyright 2019, it looks like it incorporates the latest discoveries. Most of the fauna and flora get a page or part of a page, but the dinosaurs often get multiple pages, including depictions of the different life stages of the various species as well as at times discussions of mating and feeding.
Depicting the area as if were a place you could actually visit, the book details the types of terrain you would encounter (fern prairies, hardwood forests, redwood forests, cypress swamps, sandy beaches) with beautiful full color illustrations of what it would be like to experience the terrains. I am tickled that the book devoted so much time to the botany of the area with many full color illustrations, an absolute rarity on popular books on the Mesozoic, depicting and discussing for instance the various fern species (such as the Gleicheniaceae, which grow in open environments and slopes), horsetails (genus Equisetum, the most common ground plant), redwoods, Liriodendrites bradacii (a magnolia, related to and resembling modern tulip trees, genus Liriodendron), various laurels (“the most widespread and diverse group of flowering plants in the Late Cretaceous” though the genera present are no longer extant), and plane trees (with Platanites marginata one of the most common trees in the area).
The star of the book though has to be the fauna, which are depicted at all levels, staring with a brief mention of insects (the book noting that insect fossils are “extremely rare in Hell Creek”), and going on to discuss and depict fish (the garpike Lepisosteus occidentalis has scales that are “comically abundant” in the formation), amphibians (including large salamanders related to modern siren salamanders as well as a number of primitive frogs), mammals (including Didelphodon vorax, “one of the earliest active predator/scavengers in the natural history of mammals”), an extremely rich turtle fauna, large lizards, mosasaurs, several crocodile/crocodylomorphs, the lone pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus, and the true star, the various dinosaurs, including but not limited to two types of ankylosaur, Anatosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus spinifer, Triceratops prorsus, Tyrannosaurus rex, Struthiomimus, several species of feathered dinosaurs, as well what are dinosaurs too, birds, including toothed birds like Avisaurus archibaldi (the largest bird at Hell Creek) and modern birds (including Styginetta lofgreni, a duck-like wading filter feeder that survived the end Cretaceous mass extinction and is part of the “modern waterfowl lineage”).
Though some of the paleontology is discussed as a science, the book focuses on presenting the Hell Creek Formation as it actually existed, not on depicting fossils or people digging for fossils or the history of the study of the site. The end of the book closes with multiple pages of large full color illustrations. It’s a beautiful book. If just read, it could probably be read in under an hour easily, but it will take much longer to appreciate the stunning art. Copyright 2019, it looks like it incorporates the latest discoveries. Most of the fauna and flora get a page or part of a page, but the dinosaurs often get multiple pages, including depictions of the different life stages of the various species as well as at times discussions of mating and feeding.
August 27, 2022
Amazing guide to the animals of the hell creek formation.
It includes maps environmental stuff and of course dinosaurs, pterosaurs, turtles, amphibians, lizards, mammals, crocodile like reptiles and crocodiles, it even has a section on aves! Likely the most up to date encyclopedia of prehistoric life to be published. (well i think Dinosaurs: Profiles of the past will be great judging by illustrations, but it hasn't come out yet)
If you are a dinosaur fan who is craving for scientific accuracy (or if your a fan of other prehistoric animals) than this definitely is a must read.
It includes maps environmental stuff and of course dinosaurs, pterosaurs, turtles, amphibians, lizards, mammals, crocodile like reptiles and crocodiles, it even has a section on aves! Likely the most up to date encyclopedia of prehistoric life to be published. (well i think Dinosaurs: Profiles of the past will be great judging by illustrations, but it hasn't come out yet)
If you are a dinosaur fan who is craving for scientific accuracy (or if your a fan of other prehistoric animals) than this definitely is a must read.
December 7, 2021
5 stars /
95%
A really great palaeontological resource for the northern shore line of the Western Interior Seaway during the Late Cretaceous.
Both scientifically accurate and extremely palaeontologically accurate, it gives a really stunning overview for the plant and animal life in this area. Great to read through and for research purposes.
However, I would say, a references section wouldn't go amiss.
95%
A really great palaeontological resource for the northern shore line of the Western Interior Seaway during the Late Cretaceous.
Both scientifically accurate and extremely palaeontologically accurate, it gives a really stunning overview for the plant and animal life in this area. Great to read through and for research purposes.
However, I would say, a references section wouldn't go amiss.
November 13, 2025
Beautiful artwork, love the window onto a vanished ecosystem. I especially loved the guest artwork pages at the end because it gave the feeling of varied artists visiting this extinct ecosystem and creating pictures from their observations.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews