Waubonsee Community College

The sauropod dinosaurs, life in the age of giants, Mark Hallett and Mathew J. Wedel

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-304) and index

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

The sauropod dinosaurs

bibliography

947074739

Mark Hallett and Mathew J. Wedel

life in the age of giants

The most massive land animals ever to have lived, sauropods roamed widely across the continents through most of the "Age of Dinosaurs" from about 220 to 65 million years ago. They reached incredible sizes, giving rise to the question: Why were they so big? Early guesses suggested that they gained protection from predators by virtue of their size, which also allowed them to reach the tops of trees in order to eat leaves and conifer needles. More recent hypotheses hold that they needed a long and complicated digestive tract due to their consumption of low-nutrient food sources. Whatever the explanation, there is little doubt that natural selection produced something extraordinary when the Sauropoda diversified into a wide variety of species. The Sauropod Dinosaurs shows how these amazing creatures raised and defended their young, traveled in groups, and interacted with the rich diversity of Mesozoic plants and animals. The book serves as the best reference available on these bygone giants

Preface : out of the mists -- Sizing up sauropods -- Parting of the ways -- A sauropod field guide -- Of bones and bridges -- Brontosaur biology : to immensity and beyond -- Conifer cuisine -- A sauropod in the lab -- The next generation -- Predator and prey : the ancient race -- Around the Mesozoic world -- End of Eden? -- Summing up sauropods