Thunder-Lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs

The large, quadrupedal herbivores known as sauropods were widespread around the planet from the Jurassic to the end of the Cretaceous. With the longest necks and tails of all of the dinosaurs, some sauropods were 40 meters in length and weighed upwards of 100,000 kilograms, more than 20 tons. The popular image of these lumbering giants, placidly consuming ferns has been greatly revised in recent years. New discoveries and new theories about behavior and physiology have continued to enrich the study of these remarkable beasts. This book presents 21 new studies of the sauropods. The book is organized into four parts. The first part looks at some sauropods old and new, the second at juvenile and adult specimens and ontogenetic variation within species. Part three concerns morphology and biomechanics, while part four takes up issues of biogeography.

The contributors are Sebasti n Apestegu a, Malcolm W. Bedell, Jr., David S. Berman, Matthew F. Bonnan, Kenneth Carpenter, Sankar Chatterjee, Rodolfo A. Coria, Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia, John Foster, Peter M. Galton, Jacques van Heerden, Takehito Ikejiri, Jean Le Loeuff, D. M. Mohabey, John S. McIntosh, J. Michael Parrish, Bruce M. Rothschild, Leonardo Salgado, Steven W. Salisbury, Allen Shaw, Kenneth Stadtman, Kent A. Stevens, Virginia Tidwell, David Trexler, Ray Wilhite, Adam M. Yates, and Zhong Zheng.

Author: Virginia Tidwell
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 08/10/2005
Pages: 512
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.71lbs
Size: 10.16h x 7.22w x 1.33d
ISBN: 9780253345424

About the Author

As a research associate at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Virginia Tidwell is primarily focused on gaining an understanding of the phylogenic relationship of the Early Cretaceous sauropods of North America.

Kenneth Carpenter is the dinosaur paleontologist for the Denver Museum of Natural History. His books include Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs (IUP, 2000).