The Scientific American Book of DinosaursThe Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs is a startling definitive look at the monsters of the Mesozoic era. It provides a complete portrait of their existence, including how they evolved, what they looked like, where they lived, how they behaved, and why they died. Groundbreaking essays by acclaimed paleontologist detail everything from how the first discoveries of dinosaur fossils created a new science, to how modern technology has brought about drastic changes in the way we envision dinosaurs. The most sensational finds and the latest theories are covered, and some of the hottest debates in paleontology are explored such as: · Are birds living descendants of dinosaurs? · Were dinosaurs sluggish cold-blooded reptilians, or radically different? · How did the dinosaurs' world change over time? · How and why did the major dinosaur families become extinct? The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs presents a spectacularly illustrated tour of the 140-million-year existence id the most exotic and interesting group of animals ever to walk the earth. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
PUTTING DINOSAURS TOGETHER | 45 |
Dinosaur Biomechanics | 64 |
A Quick History of Dinosaur | 107 |
RELATIONSHIPS AND EVOLUTION | 127 |
Classification and Evolution of the Dinosaur Groups | 140 |
The Flying Dinosaurs | 169 |
Feathered Dinosaurs | 183 |
Breathing Life into Tryannosaurus | 267 |
DINOSAUR BIOENERGETICS | 295 |
The Thermodynamics of Dinosaurs | 310 |
Australias Polar Dinosaurs | 323 |
WHAT CAUSED THE MASS EXTINCTION? | 345 |
A Volcanic Eruption | 358 |
The Yucatan Impact and Related Matters | 381 |
APPENDIX | 399 |
THE DINOSAURS WORLD | 203 |
DINOSAUR BEHAVIOR | 231 |
Feeding Adaptations in the Dinosauria | 249 |
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES | 415 |
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Common terms and phrases
adult Allosaurus American anatomy ancestor animals ankylosaurs Apatosaurus appear Archaeopteryx armor avian behavior bipedal birdlike body temperature bone Brachiosaurus carnivorous ceratopsians clade claws Coelophysis coelurosaurs crocodilians Deccan dinosaur species dinosaurian discovery Early Cretaceous Earth ectotherms eggs elephants endotherms evidence evolution evolved excavated feathers feet flight forelimbs forms fossil record genus giant Gregory growth hadrosaurs heat herbivores hindlimbs Iguanodon impact iridium Jurassic K/T boundary known Late Cretaceous Late Triassic legs limbs living lizards mammals mass extinction Mesozoic metabolic rates million years ago modern birds muscles Museum neck nest ornithischians ornithopods Oviraptor paleontologists Permian plants predators prey primitive probably prosauropods relatively reptiles respiratory conchae ribs rocks sauropodomorphs sauropods sediments similar Sinosauropteryx skeletal skeleton skull small theropods specimen stegosaurs suggests survived synapsids tail teeth therapsids theropod dinosaurs theropods tion trackways Triceratops Troodon tyrannosaurs University vertebrates volcanic
References to this book
Thunder-Lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs Virginia Tidwell,Kenneth Carpenter Limited preview - 2005 |