Hardback
March 30, 2004
9780253343741
English
232
47 b&w photos, 46 figures
10.00 Inches (US)
7.00 Inches (US)
1.49 Pounds (US)
$35.00 USD, £27.00 GBP
v2.1 Reference

Dragons in the Dust

The Paleobiology of the Giant Monitor Lizard Megalania

Just 50,000 years ago the world was filled with fabulous creatures that are now forever gone. Australia's giant lizard, Megalania, was one of those. These frightful beasts could reach 19 feet in length and weigh as much as a polar bear. On their home turf they were top dog, and it was the rare animal that dared to challenge them. Dragons in the Dust tells the story of these amazing lizards and the world in which they lived. The book explores the Pleistocene, the time of the ice ages. While mammals ruled elsewhere, in Australia reptiles held their dominance. Large monitor lizards survive to this day, but the discovery of fossil remains of Megalania revealed that their ancestors were true giants and formidable predators. How scientists have reconstructed the way these animals lived and what factors encouraged their evolution make up part of the story. What caused their extinction remains a mystery, and one that makes an intriguing conclusion to this portrait of a true dragon of the past.

About the Author

Ralph E. Molnar was for many years Section Leader for Vertebrate and Invertebrate Palaeontology and Geology and Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at Queensland Museum in Australia. Now retired, he lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Indiana University Press
Life of the Past

9780253343741 : dragons-in-the-dust-molnar
Hardback
232 Pages
$35.00 USD

Other Titles by Ralph E. Molnar

Tyrannosaurid Paleobiology

edited by J. Michael Parrish, Ralph E. Molnar, Philip J. Currie, Eva B. Koppelhus, with contributions by Bruce M. Rothschild, Tyler Keillor, Peter L. Larson, Ralph E. Chapman, James O. Farlow, Kenneth Carpenter, Nate Murphy, William L....
Jul 2013 - Indiana University Press
$60.00 USD - Hardback

The Complete Dinosaur, Second Edition

edited by Michael K. Brett-Surman, Thomas R. Holtz, James O. Farlow, illustrated by Bob Walters, with contributions by David A.E. Spalding, William A. S. Sarjeant, Hugh Torrens, Edwin H. Colbert, Corwin Sullivan, David W. E. Hone, Xing...
Jun 2012 - Indiana University Press
$85.00 USD - Hardback

Thunder-Lizards

edited by Virginia Tidwell, Kenneth Carpenter, with contributions by Ralph E. Molnar, Leonardo Salgado, Sebastián Apesteguiá, Malcolm W. Bedell, jr., David S Berman, Matthew F. Bonnan, Sankar Chatterjee, Rodolfo A. Coria, Fabio M. Dalla...
Aug 2005 - Indiana University Press
$59.95 USD - Hardback

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From Siberian Prisoner to Dinosaur Egg Detective

Martin Lockley. With Bernard Spilka.
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Beast Companions

John Foster
Jun 2024 - Indiana University Press
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Functional Inference in Paleoanthropology

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