Download or read book Evolution of Jaw Mechanisms in Ornithopod Dinosaurs written by David B. Weishampel and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ornithopoda, one of five suborders within the Ornithischia, was originally proposed by Marsh in 1881 to include those bipedal dinosaurs possessing a predentary bone fitted over the rostral end of the mandibles. Ornithopods as recognized today can be further characterized by moderately long facial skele tons equipped with well-developed, often toothless premaxillae and moderate to large external nares. Maxillary and dentary dentitions vary but usually consist of at least one replacement series beneath the functional set; some have many rows of successional teeth. Tooth morphology suggests ornithopods were suc cessful herbivores but, as will be discussed, the precise way(s) in which ornitho pods chewed their food, hence lending important information about their tro phic position, has not been settled. Postcranially, ornithopods show specializa tion for bipedality in hindlimb construction and lack well-developed protective structures on their flanks, back, and tail. The Ornithopoda can itself be divided into five families: Fabrosauridae, He terodontosauridae, Hypsilophodontidae, 19uanodontidae, and Hadrosauridae (subdivided into the subfamilies Hadrosaurinae and Lambeosaurinae). Both fabrosaurids and heterodontosaurids, first known from the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic of Argentina and South Africa, were small animals differing in details of cranial, dental, and appendicular anatomy. Fabrosaurids are be lieved to represent the basal ornithopod stock (Galton 1972, 1978; Thulborn 1970a, 1972). During the Jurassic, ornithopods underwent major radiations that included the medium- to large-sized Hypsilophodontidae and the large bodied Iguanodontidae, both of which survived into the Cretaceous.
Download or read book Evolution of Jaw Mechanisms in Ornithopod Dinosaurs written by David B Weishampel and published by . This book was released on 1984-07-01 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Armored Dinosaurs written by Kenneth Carpenter and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brings together the latest studies by an international group of dinosaur palaeontologists and provides descriptions of the original specimens of Hyaleosaurus and Stegosaurus
Download or read book An Illustrated Guide to Dinosaur Feeding Biology written by Ali Nabavizadeh and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2023-06-13 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This beautifully illustrated exploration of the diversity, anatomy, and evolution of dinosaur feeding adaptations is the first and only in-depth look at this crucial aspect of paleoecology. In An Illustrated Guide to Dinosaur Feeding Biology, experts Ali Nabavizadeh and David B. Weishampel bring dinosaurs to life on the page by exploring and illustrating their feeding adaptations. Whether dinosaurs were carnivorous, herbivorous, or omnivorous, their evolution produced a multitude of specialized adaptations that helped shape their ecologies. Dinosaur skulls show a variety of bone and joint specializations ideal for withstanding stresses and strains induced by high bite forces with strong jaw musculature. The bladed, steak-knife dentition of many carnivorous dinosaurs was well-suited for slicing meat and crushing bones, while the leaf-shaped, sometimes tightly packed dentition of many herbivorous dinosaurs was ideal for grinding up a variety of plant material. The first book of its kind, An Illustrated Guide to Dinosaur Feeding Biology is a synthesis of over a century of dinosaur feeding biology research, from the earliest hypotheses in the 1800s to today's studies using advanced techniques. Intended for both researchers and dinosaur enthusiasts alike, this book discusses functional morphological studies highlighting comparative anatomy, tooth wear, muscle reconstruction, and biomechanical analysis using modeling techniques like finite element analysis and multibody dynamics analysis. In addition to the feeding apparatus, Nabavizadeh and Weishampel explore postcranial adaptations and discuss the evolution of dinosaurs and their paleoecology more broadly. Integrating these various factors improves our understanding of dinosaurs as the living beings they were in their ecosystems millions of years ago and ultimately expands our knowledge and perspective of today's ecosystems by framing them in a broader evolutionary context.
Download or read book Dinosaurs written by Spencer G. Lucas and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Geared towards a broad variety of students, Dinosaurs: The Textbook, sixth edition, is a concise and lucid presentation of the biological and geological concepts of dinosaur science. It clarifies the evolution, phylogeny, and classification of the various species while modeling the best approach for navigating new and existing research. Revised to reflect recent fossil discoveries and the current consensus on dinosaur science, this text moves through the major taxonomic groups—including theropods, sauropodomorphs, ornithopods, ceratopsians, pachycephalosaurs, stegosaurs, and ankylosaurs—and concludes with updated chapters on the behavior and extinction of the dinosaurs, their biological relationship to birds, and their representation (or misrepresentation) in art, literature, film, and other forms of popular culture. The sixth edition represents a major revision of the leading text for an introductory course on dinosaurs, including comprehensive updates based on the latest scientific discoveries, research, and literature. With an extensive art program revised by leading paleoartists that features cutting-edge illustrations, it is a complete reader-friendly pedagogical package with extensive end-of-chapter summary tools, review questions, a detailed glossary, a dinosaur dictionary, and a comprehensive index. Please visit our supplemental materials page (https://cup.columbia.edu/extras/supplement/dinosaurs-the-textbook-sixth-edition) to find study and teaching aides for both students and teachers using Dinosaurs: The Textbook, sixth edition in class.
Download or read book Transylvanian Dinosaurs written by David B. Weishampel and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2011-08-31 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the end of the time of the dinosaurs, Transylvania was an island in what was to become southeastern Europe. The island's limited resources affected the size and life histories of its animals, resulting in a local dwarfism. For example, sauropods found on the island measured only six meters long, while their cousins elsewhere grew up to five times larger. Here, David B. Weishampel and Coralia-Maria Jianu present unique evolutionary interpretations of this phenomenon. The authors bring together the latest information on the fauna, flora, geology, and paleogeography of the region, casting these ancient reptiles in their phylogenetic, paleoecological, and evolutionary contexts. What the authors find is that Transylvanian dinosaurs experienced a range of unpredictable successes as they evolved. Woven throughout the detailed history and science of these diminutive dinosaurs is the fascinating story of the man who first discovered them, the mysterious twentieth-century paleontologist Franz Baron Nopcsa, whose name is synonymous with Transylvanian dinosaurs. Hailed by some as the father of paleobiology, it was Nopcsa alone who understood the importance of the dinosaur discoveries in Transylvania; their story cannot be told without recounting his. Transylvanian Dinosaurs strikes an engaging balance between biography and scientific treatise and is sure to capture the imagination of professional paleontologists and amateur dinophiles alike.
Download or read book Bernissart Dinosaurs and Early Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems written by Pascal Godefroit and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-05 with total page 649 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first complete dinosaur skeleton, that of an Iguanodon, was discovered in a coal mine in Bernissart in 1878. This book examines the Bernissart locality, the methodology of the excavation, and the genus Iguanodon.
Download or read book Functional Morphology in Vertebrate Paleontology written by Jeff Thomason and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1997-10-28 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looks at how fossil vertebrates moved, fed and reproduced.
Download or read book The Complete Dinosaur written by M. K. Brett-Surman and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2012-06-27 with total page 1160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new edition of the illustrated compendium that is “a gift to serious dinosaur enthusiasts” (Science). What do we know about dinosaurs, and how do we know it? How did they grow, move, eat, and reproduce? Were they warm-blooded or cold-blooded? How intelligent were they? How are the various groups of dinosaurs related to each other, and to other kinds of living and extinct vertebrates? What can the study of dinosaurs tell us about the process of evolution? And why did typical dinosaurs become extinct? These questions and more are addressed in this new, expanded edition of The Complete Dinosaur. Written by leading experts on the “fearfully great” reptiles, the book covers what we have learned about dinosaurs, from the earliest discoveries to the most recent controversies. Where scientific contention exists, the editors have let the experts agree to disagree. The Complete Dinosaur is a feast for serious dinosaur lovers, from the enthusiastic amateur to the professional paleontologist. Praise for the first edition: “An excellent encyclopedia that serves as a nice bridge between popular and scholarly dinosaur literature.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Stimulating armchair company for cold winter evenings. . . . Best of all, the book treats dinosaurs as intellectual fun.” —New Scientist “Useful both as a reference and as a browse-and-enjoy compendium.” —Natural History “Copiously illustrated and scrupulously up-to-date.” —Publishers Weekly “The amount of information in [these] pages is amazing. This book should be on the shelves of dinosaur freaks as well as those who need to know more about the paleobiology of extinct animals. It will be an invaluable library reference.” —American Reference Books Annual
Download or read book The Beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs written by Kevin Padian and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1988-09-30 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Around 210 million years ago, life on Earth experienced sweeping changes. Many archaic reptiles and mammalian predecessors became extinct and were replaced by dinosaurs, pterosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, mammals, and essentially all of the major modern vertebrate groups except the birds. This period of change, which took place over a period of approximately five to ten million years, ushered in the beginning of the 'Age of Dinosaurs,' a period that lasted 160 million years to the end of the Cretaceous 65 million years ago. In the past decade, paleontologists have come to know a great deal more about this crucial interval of time. New discoveries, ideas, and insights from scientists in many related- disciplines have created new paradigms about the beginning of the 'Age of Dinosaurs.' What were the animals that preceded the dinosaurs like? How did the dinosaurs originate, and what do we know of their early history? Was their ascent tied to evolutionary innovations, global climatic and ecological changes, or just chance factors? How do paleontologists decide about the evidence preserved in the fossil record, and what areas now require major thought and reevaluation? In this book, 31 specialists in the paleontology of this era consider these and other questions related to Late Triassic and Early Jurassic times - the beginning of the 'Age of Dinosaurs,' its fauna, flora, climate, stratigraphic relationships, and major evolutionary changes. The book is divided into sections on background, Late Triassic taxa and faunas, changes across the boundary, Early Jurassic taxa and faunas, and major macroevolutionary patterns. This comprehensive volume is richly illustrated and is intended for students and professionals in the areas of paleontology, evolutionary biology, geology, and vertebrate zoology. Introductory and summary chapters are provided to acquaint the non-specialist with the issues and the setting of this interval of time in which the ancestral components of the modem fauna, as well as the Dinosauria, first appeared to rule the Earth.
Download or read book The Skull Volume 3 written by James Hanken and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1993-06-15 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this authoritative three-volume reference work, leading researchers bring together current work to provide a comprehensive analysis of the comparative morphology, development, evolution, and functional biology of the skull.
Download or read book Dinosaur Paleobiology written by Stephen L. Brusatte and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-04-30 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of dinosaurs has been experiencing a remarkable renaissance over the past few decades. Scientific understanding of dinosaur anatomy, biology, and evolution has advanced to such a degree that paleontologists often know more about 100-million-year-old dinosaurs than many species of living organisms. This book provides a contemporary review of dinosaur science intended for students, researchers, and dinosaur enthusiasts. It reviews the latest knowledge on dinosaur anatomy and phylogeny, how dinosaurs functioned as living animals, and the grand narrative of dinosaur evolution across the Mesozoic. A particular focus is on the fossil evidence and explicit methods that allow paleontologists to study dinosaurs in rigorous detail. Scientific knowledge of dinosaur biology and evolution is shifting fast, and this book aims to summarize current understanding of dinosaur science in a technical, but accessible, style, supplemented with vivid photographs and illustrations. The Topics in Paleobiology Series is published in collaboration with the Palaeontological Association, and is edited by Professor Mike Benton, University of Bristol. Books in the series provide a summary of the current state of knowledge, a trusted route into the primary literature, and will act as pointers for future directions for research. As well as volumes on individual groups, the series will also deal with topics that have a cross-cutting relevance, such as the evolution of significant ecosystems, particular key times and events in the history of life, climate change, and the application of a new techniques such as molecular palaeontology. The books are written by leading international experts and will be pitched at a level suitable for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers in both the paleontological and biological sciences. Additional resources for this book can be found at: http://www.wiley.com/go/brusatte/dinosaurpaleobiology.
Download or read book The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs written by David E. Fastovsky and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-02-07 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This 2005 edition of The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs is a unique, comprehensive treatment of this fascinating group of organisms. It is a detailed survey of dinosaur origins, their diversity, and their eventual extinction. The book can easily be used as a teaching textbook for a class, but it is also written as a series of readable, entertaining essays covering important and timely topics appealing to non-specialists and all dinosaur enthusiasts: birds as 'living dinosaurs', the new feathered dinosaurs from China, 'warm-bloodedness'. Along the way, the reader learns about dinosaur functional morphology, physiology, and systematics using cladistic methodology - in short, how professional paleontologists and dinosaur experts go about their work, and why they find it so rewarding. The book is spectacularly illustrated by John Sibbick, a world-famous illustrator of dinosaurs, commissioned exclusively for this book.
Download or read book The Horned Dinosaurs written by Peter Dodson and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-14 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The horned dinosaurs, a group of rhinoceros-like creatures that lived 100 to 65 million years ago, included one of the greatest and most popular dinosaurs studied today: Triceratops. Noted for his flamboyant appearance--marked by a striking array of horns over the nose and eyes, a long bony frill at the back of the head, and an assortment of lumps and bumps for attracting females--this herbivore displayed remarkable strength in its ability to fight off Tyrannosaurus rex. It was also among the last dinosaurs to walk the earth. In telling us about Triceratops and its relatives, the Ceratopsia, Peter Dodson here re-creates the sense of adventure enjoyed by so many scientists who have studied them since their discovery in the mid-nineteenth century. From the badlands of the Red Deer River in Alberta to the Gobi Desert, Dodson pieces together fossil evidence to describe the ceratopsians themselves--their anatomy, biology, and geography--and he evokes the human dimension of their discovery and interpretation. An authoritative survey filled with many original illustrations, this book is the first comprehensive presentation of horned dinosaurs for the general reader. Dodson explains first the fascinating ways in which the ceratopsians dealt with their dangerous environment. There follows a lesson on ceratopsian bone structure, which enables the reader quickly to grasp the questions that still puzzle scientists, concerning features such as posture, gait, footprints, and diet. Dodson evenhandedly discusses controversies that continue, for example, over sexual dimorphism and the causes of the dinosaurs' disappearance. Throughout his narrative, we are reminded that dinosaur study is a human enterprise. We meet the scientists who charmed New York high society into financing expeditions to Mongolia, home of Triceratops' predecessors, as well as those who used their poker winnings to sustain paleontology expeditions. Rich in fossil lore and in tales of adventure, the world of the Ceratopsia is presented here for specialists and general readers alike. Originally published in 1996. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Download or read book Taxonomy Morphology Masticatory Function and Phylogeny of Heterodontosaurid Dinosaurs written by Paul C. Sereno and published by PenSoft Publishers LTD. This book was released on 2012-10-03 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This major study on heterodontosaurid dinosaurs is the first to review the taxonomy, morphology, functional anatomy, and phylogeny of this important early radiation of small-bodied herbivores. Heterodontosaurids persisted for approximately 100 My, from Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous time, during which they evolved some of the most sophisticated dentitions for processing plant materials. Some species required reevaluation to establish unequivocally their status as heterodontosaurids, such as Echinodon from rocks in southern England, one of the first and smallest dinosaurs ever described. Tianyulong from northern China is described in more detail in the study and is shown to have unusual skeletal proportions, including a relatively large skull and very short forelimb. A new taxon, Pegomastax africanus gen. n. sp. n., is described from southern Africa with a short parrot-shaped bill. Tooth replacement and tooth-to-tooth wear is more common than previously thought among heterodontosaurids, which the author argues are herbivores despite their prominent caniniform teeth. Heterodontosaurds appear to have split early in their history into a northern group with primitive, subtriangular crowns and a southern group with deeper crown proportions.
Download or read book Alaska Dinosaurs written by Anthony R. Fiorillo and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2018-01-02 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anthony Fiorillo has been exploring the Arctic since 1998. For him, like many others, the Arctic holds the romance of uncharted territory, extreme conditions, and the inevitable epic challenges that arise. For Fiorillo, however, the Arctic also holds the secrets of the history of life on Earth, and its fossils bring him back field season after field season in pursuit of improving human understanding of ancient history. His studies of the rocks and fossils of the Arctic shed light on a world that once was, and provide insight into what might be.
Download or read book Dinosaurs Spitfires and Sea Dragons written by Christopher McGowan and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: McGowan attempts to solve some of the enduring mysteries about dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles, making fascinating comparisons between living and extinct animals, and drawing on science and engineering concepts to explain the similarities between the aerodynamics of pteradons and Spitfire planes. Illustrations.