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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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Habit of the Tyrant Kings
The arms may have had
another function, though. In modern flightless birds, the wings are
still useful in signaling to other members of the species. It might be
that tyrannosaurids also
 used
these little arms to signal. (In fact, I wonder if even the largest
tyrannosaurids may have retained some protofeathers on their arms to
make them more "showy.")
How social were the tyrant
dinosaurs? Did they hunt alone or in packs? Fossil discoveries show that
groups of different individuals of various ages (little young ones,
half-grown "teenagers," and full-grown adults) of Albertosaurus
and of Tyrannosaurus at least sometimes lived together, because
they were buried together. It may be that these tyrant dinosaurs, and
maybe some of their relatives, hunted in family packs like modern wolves
and lions. Some scientists suggest that the faster young tyrants could
chase their prey toward the waiting jaws of their powerful parents, but
without a time machine such ideas are just speculation.
Even if they did live
together, it's clear that tyrannosaurids didn't always get along. Many
skulls show bite marks on their snouts where one tyrant snapped at
another. These bites weren't fatal, but they were deep enough to scar
the bone. In fact, some of these bites got infected. We can't tell for
sure what provoked those attacks, but it's easy to imagine a couple of
tyrants squabbling over a fresh kill until one drives the other away
with a well-placed snap. (Such fights and wounds are found in many
modern carnivores, from lions to vultures to Komodo dragons.)
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Synopsis |
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Dinosaurs is toted as being the most
complete, up-to-date encyclopedia for dinosaur lovers of all ages. This
massive book was written by professional paleontologist, Dr. Thomas R.
Holtz, Jr. and is designed to appeal to young readers.
This book
contains 42 chapters on things like Carnosaurus (Giant Meat-Eating
Dinosaurs) and Extinction: The World of the Dinosaurs Ends. This book is
vividly brought to life with the pictures beautifully created by Luis V.
Rey, a full-time paleoartist from Spain. This book covers the discovery,
diversity, anatomy, and lifestyles of all known Mesozoic dinosaurs,
which is over 800 of them.
There are also sidebars by 33 of the world's
leading paleontologists. This book also includes dozens of dinosaurs
never written about or previously seen in any other trade book. And the
nicest thing of all is that it is written in a way that it is
understandable by readers in sixth grade and older.
Dinosaurs is a non-fiction book about dinosaurs from the Mesozoic
Era. The book was written by Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. and illustrated by
Luis V. Rey. The book is intended for readers 12 and up.
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Review |
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When I
first got my hands on Dinosaurs and cracked it open, I was blown
away by the pictures. They are all absolutely gorgeous. I know that the
colors of the skin of the dinosaurs is pure speculation, but that
doesn't stop me from loving it. Once I calmed down a little, I was able
to start reading and found the way that the book was written makes it
easy for a layman like me to understand. After all, who wants to read a
book about dinosaurs and not have a clue as to what the author is
talking about? Not me. I thinks both young readers and adults will be
blown away by this book.
If you are a dinosaur lover, this book is a
must have. Dinosaurs are extremely intriguing to me. After all, they
were on Earth a lot longer than humans have been. They ruled the land
with brute strength and ferociousness. I sure am glad that humans
weren't around when dinosaurs ruled the Earth because we would not have
survived long. But when you read this book, you feel like the dinosaurs
could leap off the page right into your room. The information available
in this book will keep you reading for weeks and weeks, heck, maybe even
years.
Dinosaurs is a book that you can never tire of going through. It is
extremely beautiful and packed with a ton of useful information. |
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