Tyrannosaurus rex, the Tyrant King (Life of the Past)

Tyrannosaurus rex, the Tyrant King (Life of the Past)

With its massive head, enormous jaws, and formidable teeth, Tyrannosaurus rex has long been the young person's favorite creepy carnivore in the Mesozoic zoo. Nor has T. rex been ignored by the scientific community, as this new collection amply demonstrates. Scientists explore such questions as why T. rex had such small forelimbs; how the dinosaur moved; what bone pathologies tell us about life in the Cretaceous; and whether T. rex was a predator, a scavenger, or both. There are reports on newly discovered skeletons, on variation and sexual dimorphism, and how the big beasts chewed. The methods used by the contributors to unlock the mysteries of T. rex range from "old fashioned" stratigraphy to contemporary computer modeling. Together they yield a wealth of new information about one of the dinosaur world's most famous carnivores. An enclosed CD-ROM presents additional photographic and filmed reconstructions of the mighty beast. "Though the chapters are somewhat technical, most interested readers will find them fascinating and of great interest. This volume is a major contribution to dinosaur research. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic and public libraries, all levels.January 2009"― Choice "In all, 'Tyrannosaurus rex, the Tyrant King' is an interesting read. It provides food for thought about a number of controversial topics in dinosaurian biology, and definitive evidence in support of even more hypotheses.6(3) (2009)"― Palarch's Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology "Tyrannosaurus rex is unquestionably the most charismatic dinosaur, the star of countless Hollywood monster movies. In reality this dinosaur was no monster, but an animal trying to meet the same survival challenges faced by other species, both living and extinct. The contributors to this book shed considerable light on what life was like for one of the most spectacular predators of all time."―James O. Farlow, co-editor, The Complete Dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex is unquestionably the most charismatic dinosaur, the star of countless Hollywood monster movies. In reality this dinosaur was no monster, but an animal trying to meet the same survival challenges faced by other species, both living and extinct. The contributors to this book shed considerable light on what life was like for one of the most spectacular predators of all time. -- James O. Farlow ― co-editor, The Complete Dinosaur " Tyrannosaurus rex is unquestionably the most charismatic dinosaur, the star of countless Hollywood monster movies. In reality this dinosaur was no monster, but an animal trying to meet the same survival challenges faced by other species, both living and extinct. The contributors to this book shed considerable light on what life was like for one of the most spectacular predators of all time." --James O. Farlow, co-editor, The Complete Dinosaur Peter Larson is founder and president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in Hill City, South Dakota, whose staff was responsible for excavating the T. rex known as "Stan." He lives in Hill City, South Dakota. Kenneth Carpenter is the dinosaur paleontologist for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He is author of Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs (IUP, 2000) and editor of The Carnivorous Dinosaurs (IUP, 2005) and The Armored Dinosaurs (IUP, 2001). He lives in Aurora, Colorado.