The Armored Dinosaurs (Life of the Past) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0253339642 ISBN 13: 9780253339645

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Armored dinosaurs were some of the earliest dinosaurs named, including the ankylosaur Hylaeosaurus in 1833 and Stegosaurus in 1877. But these armored dinosaurs, or thyreophorans, have been the least studied group because they lack the visceral appeal of Tyrannosaurus and the fossil abundance of ceratopsians and hadrosaurs. The incredible diversity of armored dinosaurs has only recently been appreciated: the discovery of new stegosaurs in the Jurassic of China and the United States, and of new ankylosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous of North America have led to renewed interest in thyreophorans. The Armored Dinosaurs brings together the latest studies by an international group of dinosaur paleontologists and provides descriptions of the original specimens of Hyaleosaurus and Stegosaurus, names new thyreophorans, and redescribes historically important specimens from Europe.

The contributors are Paul M. Barrett, John Bird, William T. Blows, Don Burge, Kenneth Carpenter, H. Trevor Clifford, Karen Cloward, Margery C. Coombs, Rodolfo A. Corio, Philip J. Currie, Tracy L. Ford, Peter M. Galton, Robert W. Gaston, James I. Kirkland, Martin G. Lockley, Richard T. McCrea, Lorrie A. McWhinney, Christian A. Meyer, Clifford A. Miles, Ralph E. Molnar, David B. Norman, Paul Penkalski, Xabier Pereda Suberbiola, Bruce M. Rothschild, A. P. Russell, N. Rybczynski, Leonardo Salgado, Jennifer Schellenbach, and M. K. Vickaryous.

About this title

About the Author:

Kenneth Carpenter is the dinosaur paleontologist for the Denver Museum of Natural History and author of Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs. He is co-editor of Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, Dinosaur Systematics, Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, and The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation.

Review:

"Dinosaurs are divided into several groups, and most will recognize the carnivores, including Tyranosaurus and Velociraptor; herbivores like Apatosaurus (once Brontosaurus); and duckbills and horned dinosaurs, among them Saurolophus and Triceratops. But another group, the armored dinosaurs, is much less familiar, partly because their fossils are not as common as those of other dinosaurs and because they are studied less. The armored dinosaurs, the Ankylosauria, make up at least 30 genera and are widely distributed worldwide. Some 21 papers, all essentially original research on stegosaurs and ankylosaurs, are included; a few provide descriptions of new species as these new fossils are either significant for their primitiveness or location. Most of the papers are anatomical and functional analyses of armored dinosaur anatomy, particularly the peculiar blade-like teeth and jaw movement. Papers discuss endocranial (gross brain structure) anatomy; stegosaur osteomyelitis; the first disarticulated skull of an ankylosaur (particularly useful because most ankylosaur material is represented by large clumps of bone); and a cololite (preserved gut contents) with the most informative material on the diet of any herbivorous dinosaurs. Several papers examine characteristic bony scutes of dinosaurs; one is devoted to their trackways. A final paper provides a phylogenetic analysis of the group. Many photographs and drawings; thorough combined subject and taxonomic index. Professionals." —D. Bardack, emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2002apr CHOICE.

(D. Bardack, emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2002apr CHOICE.)

About this edition

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0253339642
• ISBN 13: 9780253339645
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 512
• Editor: Carpenter Kenneth