What I hope to do in this booklet is to provide some sense of the current state of knowledge and opinion about dinosaurs in Maryland. I will attempt to present what is known as well as what is yet to be discovered. Throughout, I hope to inject the all-important human element into my presentation. The story of dinosaurs in Maryland is surely as much history (a continuing one at that) as it is science. I further encourage the reader to view this booklet as a jumping-off point, a way to become involved in the processes of science and history as others have done before.

Please contact me at the address given below or in care of the Maryland Geological Survey if you have found some vertebrate fossil remains, would like to look for dinosaurs, or have a question or correction. To the extent that it is possible, I will try to keep this booklet updated and revised. Remember, most fossils are found by amateurs, not professionals.

I have always maintained that my best ideas have come from other people. Therefore, I must first give general and necessarily anonymous recognition to the public, my students, and my colleagues.

Turning now to the specific, I gratefully acknowledge the following particular contributions: Mario, my auto mechanic, who told me I would write a book before I even conceived of this one; Bob Finnie, who gave me the magic feather; Mary Ann Parmley, who helped put together the proposal for this booklet; Marianne Kyriakos and Peggy Blake, whose skilful editing made my prose readable; Marian Flynn, who conceived the cover design, and Sandy Nelson, who executed it; Greg Paul, who drew the magnificent and scientifically accurate renditions of the dinosaurs; Ms. L. Gray and Ms. C. Dove, who typed the original manuscript; and Robbie Scharfe, a great children's librarian, who read the manuscript to make certain that a large part of the intended audience would find the work readable and interesting.

Among my colleagues, Hans-Dieter Sues checked the text for scientific errors, but bears no responsibility for any that remain; Scott Wing did the same for the plants cited and illustrated; and John Ostrom aided in the early research for the project.

And finally, I must thank the Maryland Geological Survey for the faith and interest to see the booklet through to publication. The Survey's financial support, including the publication costs, was indispensable. Also, several of the Survey's geologists critically reviewed the manuscript and made crucial contributions, which included preparation of the tables and most of the figures, final editing, and word-processing.