This study examines how prehistoric beasts morphed in the public imagination into mythical creatures, engines of destruction, and harbingers of cataclysm, taking their place in popular culture, film, and literature as symbols of 'lost worlds' where time stands still.

Other than seeing them in popular movies such as Jurassic Park, how do people today know what dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals looked like? Only their fossils remain, but thanks to paleoartists most people have a good idea of what these creatures looked like.