Download or read book Ancient Marine Reptiles written by Jack M. Callaway and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 1997-03-12 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vertebrate evolution has led to the convergent appearance of many groups of originally terrestrial animals that now live in the sea. Among these groups are familiar mammals like whales, dolphins, and seals. There are also reptilian lineages (like plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, thalattosaurs, and others) that have become sea creatures. Most of these marine reptiles, often wrongly called "dinosaurs", are extinct. This edited book is devoted to these extinct groups of marine reptiles. These reptilian analogs represent useful models of the myriad adaptations that permit tetrapods to live in the ocean. First book in more than 80 years devoted exclusively to fossil marine reptiles Documents the most current research on extinct marine reptiles Prepared by the world's most prominent experts in the field Well illustrated

Download or read book Ancient Sea Reptiles written by Darren Naish and published by Smithsonian Institution. This book was released on 2023-02-28 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dive into prehistoric waters and discover extraordinary sea monsters who reigned the ocean for 150 million years Ancient Sea Reptiles: Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs, Mosasaurs, and More examines the anatomy, behavior, diversity, lifestyle, and evolutionary rise of creatures who conquered the seas for 150 million years during the Mesozoic era. Expert paleontologist Darren Naish puts these fearsome and mighty creatures under the microscope and transports readers to wild and primeval waters. In this gorgeously illustrated book, amazing creatures leap off the page, including: Mosasaurs, known as “T-Rexes of the deep" Cretaceous sea snakes Long-necked plesiosaurs Crocodile-like thalattosuchians, the earliest sea turtles Ancient Sea Reptiles features fossil photography and artistic reconstructions of ancient creatures, from evolutionary anomalies to apex predators who survived extinction events, with chapters that include: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Evolution Chapter 3: Form and Function Chapter 4: Invading the Mesozic Oceans Chapter 5: Shark-Shaped Reptiles: The Ichthyosaurs Chapter 6: Long Necks, Big Mouths: Plesiosaurs and Their Kin Chapter 7: Sea Crocs: The Thalattosuchians Chapter 8: Mosasaurs: The Great Lizard Lizards Chapter 9: Sea Turtles Chapter 10: After the Mesozoic More than 80 percent of the world’s vast ocean is unmapped and unobserved, prompting the imagination to run wild on what might lurk in its depths. But Ancient Sea Reptiles proves that what stirs the imagination even more are the spectacular prehistoric creatures that have already been discovered. The book is a feast for the eyes and the scientific mind.

Download or read book Ancient Marine Reptiles written by Jack M. Callaway and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 1997-03-14 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vertebrate evolution has led to the convergent appearance of many groups of originally terrestrial animals that now live in the sea. Among these groups are familiar mammals like whales, dolphins, and seals. There are also reptilian lineages (like plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, thalattosaurs, and others) that have become sea creatures. Most of these marine reptiles, often wrongly called "dinosaurs", are extinct. This edited book is devoted to these extinct groups of marine reptiles. These reptilian analogs represent useful models of the myriad adaptations that permit tetrapods to live in the ocean. First book in more than 80 years devoted exclusively to fossil marine reptiles Documents the most current research on extinct marine reptiles Prepared by the world's most prominent experts in the field Well illustrated

Download or read book Giant Sea Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age written by Caroline Arnold and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2007 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides information about enormous reptiles who swam the seas during the dinosaur age.

Download or read book Aquatic Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age written by Giuseppe Brillante and published by . This book was released on 2020-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The plesiosaurus had a long, slender neck that it used to sneak up on prey. The ichthyosaurus was a strange cross between a dolphin and a crocodile. Learn about these amazing creatures as you experience what the dinosaur age was like from the bottom on the ocean. Illustrations on every page bring these creatures to life in all their razor-sharp, long-necked, spiny, scaly glory.

Download or read book Sea Dragons written by Richard Ellis and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the days when dinosaurs dominated the earth, their marine counterparts - every bit as big and ferocious - reigned supreme in prehistoric seas. In this book, Richard Ellis takes us back to the Mesozoic era to resurrect the fascinating lives of these giant seagoing reptiles. fierce predators, speculates on their habits, and tells how they eventually became extinct - or did they? He traces the 200-million-year history of the great ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs who swam the ancient oceans - and who may, according to some, still frequent the likes of Loch Ness. animal that looked like a crocodile crossed with a shark the size of a small yacht. With its impossibly long neck, Plesiosaurus conybeari has been compared to a giant snake threaded through the body of a turtle. At a length of nearly 60 feet, Mosasaurus hoffmanni boasted powerful jaws that could crunch up even the hardest-shelled giant sea turtle. And Kronosaurus queenslandicus, perhaps the most formidable of the lot, had a skull nine feet long - more than twice that of Tyrannosaurus rex - with teeth to match. reconstruct their lives and habitats. Their fossils have been found all over the world - in Europe, Australia, Japan and even Kansas - in lands that once lay on the floors of Jurassic and Triassic seas. Along the way, the book also provides intriguing insights into and entertaining tales about the work, discoveries and competing theories that compose the world of vertebrate paleontology. The text is also accompanied by Ellis' own illustrations of how these creatures probably appeared and, through these likenesses, we are invited to speculate on their locomotion, their predatory habits and their lifestyles.

Download or read book The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles written by Gregory S. Paul and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-18 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An authoritative illustrated guide to the mighty reptiles that dominated the seas of the Mesozoic for 185 million years New discoveries are revealing that many ancient oceangoing reptiles were energetic animals capable of inhabiting an array of watery habitats and climates, including polar winters. The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of the great Mesozoic groups that commanded the seas for tens of millions of years. This incredible field guide covers 435 species and features stunning illustrations of swimming reptiles ranging in size from little lizards to others with great necks longer than their bodies. It discusses the history of sea reptiles through 185 million years of the Mesozoic, their anatomy, physiology, locomotion, reproduction and growth, and extinction, and even gives a taste of what it might be like to travel back to the Mesozoic. This one-of-a-kind guide also challenges the common image of these reptiles as giants of the prehistoric waters, showing how the largest weighed far less than today’s biggest whales. Features detailed species accounts of 435 different kinds of sea reptiles, with the latest size and mass estimatesWritten and illustrated by the acclaimed researcher and artist who helped to redefine our understanding of dinosaur anatomyDescribes placodonts, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, sea snakes, sea turtles, marine crocs, and moreCovers everything from biology to the colorful history of sea reptile paleontologyIncludes dozens of original skeletal drawings and full-color life scenes

Download or read book Reign of the Sea Dragons written by Sneed B. Collard and published by Charlesbridge Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looks at what is known about sea dragons, or underwater reptiles, that lived during the time of the dinosaurs, examining the discovery of the first fossils in the nineteenth century, and discussing the evolution, survival, and extinction of these anc

Download or read book The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles written by Gregory S. Paul and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-18 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An authoritative illustrated guide to the mighty reptiles that dominated the seas of the Mesozoic for 185 million years New discoveries are revealing that many ancient oceangoing reptiles were energetic animals capable of inhabiting an array of watery habitats and climates, including polar winters. The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of the great Mesozoic groups that commanded the seas for tens of millions of years. This incredible field guide covers 435 species and features stunning illustrations of swimming reptiles ranging in size from little lizards to others with great necks longer than their bodies. It discusses the history of sea reptiles through 185 million years of the Mesozoic, their anatomy, physiology, locomotion, reproduction and growth, and extinction, and even gives a taste of what it might be like to travel back to the Mesozoic. This one-of-a-kind guide also challenges the common image of these reptiles as giants of the prehistoric waters, showing how the largest weighed far less than today’s biggest whales. Features detailed species accounts of 435 different kinds of sea reptiles, with the latest size and mass estimates Written and illustrated by the acclaimed researcher and artist who helped to redefine our understanding of dinosaur anatomy Describes placodonts, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, sea snakes, sea turtles, marine crocs, and more Covers everything from biology to the colorful history of sea reptile paleontology Includes dozens of original skeletal drawings and full-color life scenes

Download or read book North American Plesiosaurs Elasmosaurus Cimoliasaurus and Polycotylus written by Samuel Wendell Williston and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2022-01-06 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a detailed study of the Plesiosaurs, a group of giant, long-necked marine reptiles that belong to the order Plesiosauria. These animals emerged in the Late Triassic period and became especially predominant during the Jurassic period.

Download or read book Chased by Sea Monsters written by Nigel Marven and published by DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley). This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Color artwork and detailed captions journey underwater to capture the prehistoric world of an array of extinct animals, in the companion volume to the Discovery Channel special

Download or read book Prehistoric Sea Reptiles written by David West and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2015-12-15 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prehistoric sea reptiles swam the world’s oceans during the time of the dinosaurs. This text presents 10 of the most fascinating sea reptiles, including the Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus. The text’s manageable language and layout present facts about sea reptiles in a way that’s easy for young readers to understand. A simple timeline and glossary help readers further explore the reptiles they’ve read about. A full-color graphic accompanies facts about each creature, which allows readers to fully comprehend creatures from another time.

Download or read book Ancient Animals Plesiosaur written by Sarah L. Thomson and published by Charlesbridge Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-18 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ninety million years ago, giant dinosaurs roamed the earth, pterosaurs flew through the air, and giant reptiles and fish hunted in the oceans. The area that is now Kansas was covered by water and one of its inhabi-tants was the plesiosaur—a reptile with an extremely long neck and a huge body. This early reader about the ancient plesiosaur brings the prehistoric world of this ocean-dwelling animal to life, explain-ing how scientists think these reptiles lived, hunted, and became extinct. Back matter explores other reptiles both ancient and modern and provides additional print, visual, and web resources.

Download or read book Water Reptiles of the Past and Present written by Samuel Wendell Williston and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2022-08-21 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Water Reptiles of the Past and Present" by Samuel Wendell Williston. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Download or read book Sea Dragons written by Richard Ellis and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2003-10-07 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the days when dinosaurs dominated the earth, their marine counterparts—every bit as big and ferocious—reigned supreme in prehistoric seas. In this entrancing book, Richard Ellis, one of the world’s foremost writers on the denizens of the deep, takes us back to the Mesozoic era to resurrect the fascinating lives of these giant seagoing reptiles. Working from the fossil record, Ellis explores the natural history of these fierce predators, speculates on their habits, and tells how they eventually became extinct—or did they? He traces the 200-million-year history of the great ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs who swam the ancient oceans—and who, according to some, may even still frequent the likes of Loch Ness. Picture if you will seventy-foot dragons with foot-long serrated teeth, or an animal that looked like a crocodile crossed with a shark the size of a small yacht. With its impossibly long neck, Plesiosaurus conybeari has been compared to “a giant snake threaded through the body of a turtle.” At a length of nearly sixty feet, Mosasaurus hoffmanni boasted powerful jaws and teeth that could crunch up even the hardest-shelled giant sea turtle. And Kronosaurus queenslandicus, perhaps the most formidable of the lot, had a skull nine feet long—more than twice that of Tyrannosaurus Rex—with teeth to match. The first book about these amazing animals in nearly a century, Sea Dragons draws upon the most recent scientific research to vividly reconstruct their lives and habitats. Their fossils have been found all over the world—in Europe, Australia, Japan, and even Kansas—in lands that once lay on the floors of Jurassic and Triassic seas. Along the way, the book also provides intriguing insights into and entertaining tales about the work, discoveries, and competing theories that compose the fascinating world of vertebrate paleontology. Ellis also graces his text with a set of incomparable illustrations. Widely hailed as our foremost artist of marine natural history, he depicts vividly how these creatures probably appeared and, through these likenesses, invites us to speculate on their locomotion, their predatory habits, their very lifestyles. A genuine book of marvels and wonders, Sea Dragons will certainly stir one’s curiosity about our planet’s prehistoric past.

Download or read book Preservation of Marine Reptile Soft Parts Reconstructing the Life and Death of Ancient Leviathans written by Randolph Glenn De La Garza and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marine reptiles constitute a diverse group of secondarily aquatic tetrapods that have inhabited the world's oceans for the greater part of the last 250 million years. While certain large-scale anatomical changes have been observed through progressive alterations of their skeletal morphology (e.g., the evolution of fin-like limbs), little is known about those changes that have occurred in the integument during their transition from landlubbers to leviathans. This thesis has three main objectives: (1) to obtain novel ultrastructural and chemical information from fossilized marine reptile skin using a combination of cutting-edge analytical tools (e.g., mass spectrometry and spectroscopy); (2) to infer aspects of evolution, paleobiology and paleoecology from the acquired data; and (3) to deduce how skin is retained in the fossil record. To accomplish these aims, four exceptionally preserved soft-tissue fossils representing two major marine reptile clades were used as exemplary animals: a sea turtle from the earliest Eocene (~54 Ma) Fur Formation of Denmark and three ichthyosaurs from the Early Jurassic (~183 Ma) Posidonia Shale of Germany. The fossil sea turtle comprises a partial but semi-articulated skeleton with adhering scutes and dark-colored organic matter that surrounds one of the hind limbs. Comparisons with previously reported Eocene turtles identify the Fur Formation specimen as a stem pan-cheloniid, and more specifically as a close relative of Eochelone. Furthermore, the fossil preserves a mosaic of integumental features not previously documented in any living or extinct turtle: a shell covered in scutes and limbs devoid of scales. Collectively, my findings suggest that the adaptive transition to neritic waters by the ancestral panchelonioids was more complex than hitherto appreciated. Ichthyosaur skeletons with associated body outlines, have been the focus of scientific studies for almost 200 years. The recent discovery of relict blubber and countershading in an exceptionally preserved Stenopterygius indicates that derived ichthyosaurs were warm-blooded and thus even more dolphin-like than previously thought. This new knowledge has been used to create the most scientifically accurate sculptural model of an ichthyosaur to date, and the process on how this was achieved is the focus of my third paper. Ichthyosaurs from the Jurassic Posidonia Shale exhibit a range of preservational modes. An isolated dorsal fin and tail fluke were examined and compared against a previously documented semi-complete individual to determine potential qualitative differences in preservation between the three specimens. Microscopic and molecular examination revealed that the fin fossils comprise mats of densely packed melanosomes sandwiched between layers enriched in calcium phosphate. I interpret this structural arrangement as representing incompletely preserved skin from both sides of the fins. When compared against specimens with higher structural fidelity (such as the semi-complete specimen), it is readily apparent that the fins had reached an advance stage of decay before entering the fossil record. I conclude that differences in preservational modes between Posidonia Shale soft-tissue ichthyosaurs largely are a function of when and how fast mineralization could outpace decomposition.

Download or read book Oceans of Kansas written by Michael J. Everhart and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-11 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Excellent . . . Those who are interested in vertebrate paleontology or in the scientific history of the American midwest should really get a copy.” —PalArch’s Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Revised, updated, and expanded with the latest interpretations and fossil discoveries, the second edition of Oceans of Kansas adds new twists to the fascinating story of the vast inland sea that engulfed central North America during the Age of Dinosaurs. Giant sharks, marine reptiles called mosasaurs, pteranodons, and birds with teeth all flourished in and around these shallow waters. Their abundant and well-preserved remains were sources of great excitement in the scientific community when first discovered in the 1860s and continue to yield exciting discoveries 150 years later. Michael J. Everhart vividly captures the history of these startling finds over the decades and re-creates in unforgettable detail these animals from our distant past and the world in which they lived—above, within, and on the shores of America’s ancient inland sea. “Oceans of Kansas remains the best and only book of its type currently available. Everhart’s treatment of extinct marine reptiles synthesizes source materials far more readably than any other recent, nontechnical book-length study of the subject.” —Copeia “[The book] will be most useful to fossil collectors working in the local region and to historians of vertebrate paleontology . . . Recommended.” —Choice