The Carnivorous Dinosaurs

Kenneth Carpenter

Indiana University Press, Jul 7, 2005 - Juvenile Nonfiction - 371 pages

The meat-eating dinosaurs, or Theropoda, include some of the fiercest predators that ever lived. Some of the group's members survive to this day—as birds. The theropod/bird connection has been explored in several recent works, but this book presents 17 papers on a variety of other topics. It is organized into three parts. Part I explores morphological details that are important for understanding theropod systematics. Part II focuses on specific regions of theropod anatomy and biomechanics. Part III examines various lines of evidence that reveal something about theropods as living creatures.

The contributors are Ronan Allain, Rinchen Barsbold, Kenneth Carpenter, Karen Cloward, Rodolfo A. Coria, Philip J. Currie, Peter M. Galton, Robert Gay, Donald M. Henderson, Dong Huang, James I. Kirkland, Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Eva B. Koppelhus, Peter Larson, Junchang Lü, Lorrie A. McWhinney, Clifford Miles, Ralph E. Molnar, N. Murphy, John H. Ostrom, Gregory S. Paul, Licheng Qiu,J. Keith Rigby, Jr., Bruce Rothschild, Christopher B. Ruff, Leonardo Salgado, Frank Sanders, Julia T. Sankey, Judith A. Schiebout, David K. Smith, Barbara R. Standhardt, Kathy Stokosa, Darren H. Tanke, François Therrien, David Trexler, Kelly Wicks, Douglas G. Wolfe, and Lowell Wood.

Contents

• Enamel Microstructure Variation within the Theropoda KATHY STOKOSA: 163
• Biomechanical Models of Theropod Mandibles and Implications for Feeding: 179
• Body and Tail Posture in Theropod Dinosaurs GREGORY S PAUL: 238
• Furcula of Tyrannosaurus rex PETER LARSON AND J KEITH RIGBY JR: 247
• Oviraptorosauria: 256
• Sexual Dimorphism in the Early Jurassic Theropod Dinosaur Dilophosaurus and: 277
• Sexual Selection and Sexual Dimorphism in Theropods RALPH E MOLNAR: 284
• An Unusual MultiIndividual Tyrannosaurid Bonebed in the Two Medicine: 313
• StateoftheArt Review: 351
• Index: 367

About the author

Kenneth Carpenter is the dinosaur paleontologist for the Denver Museum of Natural History. He is author of Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs (IUP, 2000), editor of The Armored Dinosaurs (IUP, 2001), and co-editor of Mesozoic Vertebrate Life (with Darren H. Tanke, IUP, 2001). He is also co-editor of Dinosaur Systematics; Dinosaur Eggs and Babies; and The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Carnivorous Dinosaurs; Life of the Past
• Editor: Kenneth Carpenter
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Indiana University Press, 2005
• ISBN: 0253345391, 9780253345394
• Length: 371 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Nonfiction / Animals / Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures; Nature / Animals / Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures; Science / Paleontology