The Armored Dinosaurs (Life of the Past)
"Dinosaurs are divided into several groups, and most will recognize the carnivores, including Tyranosaurus and Velociraptor; herbivores like Apatosaurus (once Brontosaurus); and duckbills and horned dinosaurs, among them Saurolophus and Triceratops. But another group, the armored dinosaurs, is much less familiar, partly because their fossils are not as common as those of other dinosaurs and because they are studied less. The armored dinosaurs, the Ankylosauria, make up at least 30 genera and are widely distributed worldwide. Some 21 papers, all essentially original research on stegosaurs and ankylosaurs, are included; a few provide descriptions of new species as these new fossils are either significant for their primitiveness or location. Most of the papers are anatomical and functional analyses of armored dinosaur anatomy, particularly the peculiar blade-like teeth and jaw movement. Papers discuss endocranial (gross brain structure) anatomy; stegosaur osteomyelitis; the first disarticulated skull of an ankylosaur (particularly useful because most ankylosaur material is represented by large clumps of bone); and a cololite (preserved gut contents) with the most informative material on the diet of any herbivorous dinosaurs. Several papers examine characteristic bony scutes of dinosaurs; one is devoted to their trackways. A final paper provides a phylogenetic analysis of the group. Many photographs and drawings; thorough combined subject and taxonomic index. Professionals." —D. Bardack, emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2002apr CHOICE.