How can paleontologists know what a living dinosaur was like more
than a hundred million years ago, particularly when only partial
skeletons remain? Focusing on one large carnivorous dinosaur,
Acrocanthosaurus (“high-spined lizard”), paleontologist Kenneth
Carpenter explains the process, pairing scholarly findings with
more than 75 color illustrations to reconstruct “Acro” before
readers’ eyes. In Acrocanthosaurus Inside and Out, he offers the
most complete portrait possible of this fascinating dinosaur’s
appearance, biology, and behavior. Acrocanthosaurus—similar in
size to its later cousin Tyrannosaurus rex, but studded with large
spines—roamed what is now the south-central United States 110 to
115 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous. Carpenter
worked on the most complete of the Acrocanthosaurus skeletons
(nicknamed “Fran”) that has been found. Here he describes the
techniques that tell us about Acro’s biological makeup,
movements, and habits. Studies of joints reveal the range of
possible motion, while bumps, ridges, and scars on the bones show
where muscles, ligaments, and tendons attached. CT scans allow us
to peer into the braincase, while microscopes afford a
cross-sectional view of bones. These findings in turn offer an idea
of how Acro stalked and ate its prey. Scientific evidence beyond
the fossils provides avenues for further inquiry: What does the
sedimentary rock encasing Fran’s bones tell us about Acro’s
environment? What does our knowledge of Acro’s distant relatives,
such as crocodilians and birds, imply about its heart and other
soft tissues? Can our understanding of other animals explain
Acro’s huge spines? Carpenter distills all this information into
a clear, accessible, engaging account that will appeal to general
readers and scholars alike. As the first book-length work on
Acrocanthosaurus, this volume introduces a prehistoric giant that
once stalked Texas and Oklahoma and offers a rare, firsthand
glimpse into the trials and triumphs of paleontology.
General
Imprint: |
University of Oklahoma Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
July 2022 |
Authors: |
Kenneth Carpenter
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 156 x 15mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
152 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8061-9154-6 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-8061-9154-6 |
Barcode: |
9780806191546 |
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