The Dinosaur Heresies: New Theories Unlocking the Mystery of the Dinosaurs and Their Extinction

Robert T. Bakker

480 pages, Paperback

ISBN: 0140100555

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Publish: January 1, 1988

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This study of dinosaur habits covers how they ate, reproduced & moved. Bakker’s illustrations are based on 1st-hand studies of dinosaur exhibits in museums throughout the world. This book supports the view that dinosaurs were warm-blooded, intelligent & agile creatures bearing little resemblance to existing reptiles. More than 12 years ago, Bakker provoked a controversy on this subject, opposing the widely held belief that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, lumbering & of low intelligence.
Preface
1 The conquering cold-bloods: a conundrum: Brontosaurus in the Great Hall at Yale; Wyoming reverie: meditation on the geological text; Mesozoic class warfare: cold-bloods versus the fabulous furballs; Dinosaurs score where Komodo dragons fail
2 The habitat of the dinosaurs: The case of the brontosaurus: finding the body; Gizzard stones & brontosaur menus; The case of the duckbill’s hand; Dinosaurs at table; When dinosaurs invented flowers
3 Defense, locomotion & the case for warm-blooded dinosaurs: The Teutonic diplodocus: a lesson in gait & carriage; Mesozoic arms race; Defense without armor; Dinosaurs take to the air; Archaeopteryx paternity suit: the dinosaur-bird connection
4 The warm-blooded metronome of evolution: Sex & intimidation: the body language of dinosaurs; The warm-blooded tempo of the dinosaurs’ growth; Strong hearts, stout lungs & big brains; Eaters & eaten as the test of warm-bloodedness
5 Dynastic frailty & the pulses of animal history: Punctuated equilibrium: the evolutionary timekeeper; The Kazanian revolution: setting the stage for the Dinosauria; The twilight of the dinosaurs; Dinosaurs have class
Notes & References
Index
A Note About the Author

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