The Tyrannosaur Chronicles
The Biology of the Tyrant Dinosaurs
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
'Gripping and wonderfully informative' Tom Holland, New Statesman
Adored by children and adults alike, Tyrannosaurus is the most famous dinosaur in the world, one that pops up again and again in pop culture, often battling other beasts such as King Kong, Triceratops or velociraptors in Jurassic Park. But despite the hype, Tyrannosaurus and the other tyrannosaurs are fascinating animals in their own right, and are among the best-studied of all dinosaurs.
Tyrannosaurs started small, but over the course of 100 million years evolved into the giant carnivorous bone-crushers that continue to inspire awe in palaeontologists, screenplay writers, sci-fi novelists and the general public alike. Tyrannosaurus itself was truly impressive; it topped six tons, was more than 12m (40 feet) long, and had the largest head and most powerful bite of any land animal in history.
The Tyrannosaur Chronicles tracks the rise of these dinosaurs, and presents the latest research into their biology, showing off more than just their impressive statistics – tyrannosaurs had feathers and fought and even ate each other. This book presents the science behind this research; it tells the story of the group through their anatomy, ecology and behaviour, exploring how they came to be the dominant terrestrial predators of the Mesozoic and, in more recent times, one of the great icons of biology.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hone, a lecturer in ecology at Queen Mary University of London, lets his dinosaur-obsessed inner child run wild in this well-organized, up-to-date fact book about Tyrannosaurus rex and its 25 or so near relatives. He first offers necessary background, such as information about modern changes in naming and organizing conventions, as well as brief explanations of cladistics, morphology, and phylogenetics. Next he dives into the physical evidence, dividing the material into the kind of topics any children would recognize while giving the level of detail an adult reader requires. Hone runs through what bones and tracks tell researchers about how tyrannosauroid bodies looked, moved, grew, and functioned; how tyrannosaurs hunted their prey; and which other large carnivores existed alongside them in their Mesozoic environment. He uses current research but conservatively keeps his narrative clear by focusing on ideas that match established consensus. Similarly, illustrator Scott Hartman meticulously renders a traditional view of bones covered in skin rather than the scales and feathers described by some recent analyses. Hone provides a solid meal to feed the popular fascination with these tyrant lizards, easily digestible but made from ingredients that, at least in paleontological terms, are quite fresh. Illus.
