{"product_id":"the-sauropod-dinosaurs-life-in-the-age-of-giants-9781421420288","title":"The Sauropod Dinosaurs: Life in the Age of Giants","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe best illustrated and most comprehensive book ever published on the largest land animals the world has ever known.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom \u003ci\u003eThe Land Before Time \u003c\/i\u003eto \u003ci\u003eJurassic Park, \u003c\/i\u003e images of fantastically large, long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs have captured our imaginations. These are the sauropods: centerpieces of museums and gentle giants of the distant past. Imagine what it must have been like to crest a hill and see in the valley below not just one sauropod, but an entire herd, feeding its way across the landscape. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe most massive land animals ever to have lived, sauropods roamed widely across the continents through most of the \"Age of Dinosaurs\" from about 220 to 65 million years ago. They reached incredible sizes, giving rise to the question: Why were they so big? Early guesses suggested that they gained protection from predators by virtue of their size, which also allowed them to reach the tops of trees in order to eat leaves and conifer needles. More recent hypotheses hold that they needed a long and complicated digestive tract due to their consumption of low-nutrient food sources: size was an offshoot of that need. Whatever the explanation, there is little doubt that natural selection produced something extraordinary when the Sauropoda diversified into a wide variety of species.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book combines majestic artwork and the best of paleontological research to resurrect the lives of sauropods. \u003ci\u003eThe Sauropod Dinosaurs \u003c\/i\u003eshows how these amazing creatures raised and defended their young, traveled in groups, and interacted with the rich diversity of Mesozoic plants and animals. Beautiful enough to sit on the coffee table, the book also serves as the best reference available on these bygone giants. Anyone with a passion for dinosaurs or prehistoric life will cherish this once-in-a-generation masterpiece.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book includes the following features: \u003cbr\u003e Over 200 full-color illustrations\u003cbr\u003e More than 100 color photographs from museums, field sites, and collections around the world\u003cbr\u003e Thoughtfully placed drawings and charts\u003cbr\u003e Clearly written text reviewed by major sauropod researchers\u003cbr\u003e Descriptions of the latest sauropod concepts and discoveries\u003cbr\u003e A field guide to major groups of sauropods\u003cbr\u003e Detailed skeletal reconstructions and anatomical restorations\u003cbr\u003e A comprehensive glossary\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eNaturalist \u003cb\u003eMark Hallett\u003c\/b\u003e's art and writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eLife, Smithsonian Magazine, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNational Geographic\u003c\/i\u003e. An artistic consultant for \u003ci\u003eJurassic Park \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eDinosaur\u003c\/i\u003e, he has created dinosaur art and models for the Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios. \u003cb\u003eMathew J. Wedel\u003c\/b\u003e is a well-recognized sauropod expert and an associate professor of anatomy at Western University of Health Sciences. He has coauthored papers naming the sauropods \u003ci\u003eSauroposeidon\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBrontomerus\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Johns Hopkins University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50566478856466,"sku":"9781421420288","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f17e393b-d8ba-4bab-8735-8011c81307e6.jpg?v=1731899976","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-sauropod-dinosaurs-life-in-the-age-of-giants-9781421420288","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}