In this Book
- The Sauropods: Evolution and Paleobiology
- Book
- 2005
- Published by: University of California Press
summary
Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to walk the earth, and they represent a substantial portion of vertebrate biomass and biodiversity during the Mesozoic Era. The story of sauropod evolution is told in an extensive fossil record of skeletons and footprints that span the globe and 150 million years of earth history. This generously illustrated volume is the first comprehensive scientific summary of sauropod evolution and paleobiology. The contributors explore sauropod anatomy, detail its variations, and question the myth that life at large size led to evolutionary stagnation and eventual replacement by more "advanced" herbivorous dinosaurs. Chapters address topics such as the evolutionary history and diversity of sauropods; methods for creating three-dimensional reconstructions of their skeletons; questions of sauropod herbivory, tracks, gigantism, locomotion, reproduction, growth rates, and more. This book, together with the recent surge in sauropod discoveries around the world and taxonomic revisions of fragmentary genera, will shed new light on "nature's greatest extravagances."
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
- pp. iii-v
- Acknowledgments
- p. ix
- A Conversation with Jack McIntosh
- pp. 327-333
- List of Contributors
- p. 335
Additional Information
ISBN
9780520932333
Related ISBN(s)
9780520246232
MARC Record
OCLC
63813575
Pages
358
Launched on MUSE
2014-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No