Overview

"Dive into prehistoric waters and discover extraordinary sea monsters who reigned the ocean for 150 million years Ancient Sea Reptiles: Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs, Mosasaurs, and More examines the anatomy, behavior, diversity, lifestyle, and evolutionary rise of creatures who conquered the seas for 150 million years during the Mesozoic era. Expert paleontologist Darren Naish puts these fearsome and mighty creatures under the microscope and transports readers to wild and primeval waters. In this gorgeously illustrated book, amazing creatures leap off the page, including:  Mosasaurs, known as “T-Rexes of the deep"" Cretaceous sea snakes Long-necked plesiosaurs Crocodile-like thalattosuchians, the earliest sea turtles Ancient Sea Reptiles features fossil photography and artistic reconstructions of ancient creatures, from evolutionary anomalies to apex predators who survived extinction events, with chapters that include:  Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Evolution Chapter 3: Anatomy Chapter 4: The lesser-known groups: mesosaurs, Triassicsauropterygians, Cretaceous sea snakes and more Chapter 5: Shark-shaped reptiles: the ichthyosaurs and their kin Chapter 6: Long necks, big mouths: the plesiosaurs Chapter 7: Sea crocs: the thalattosuchians Chapter 8: Mosasaurs: the great sea lizards Chapter 9: Sea Turtles More than 80 percent of the world’s vast ocean is unmapped and unobserved, prompting the imagination to run wild on what might lurk in its depths. But Ancient Sea Reptiles proves that what stirs the imagination even more are the spectacular prehistoric creatures that have already been discovered. The book is a feast for the eyes and the scientific mind."

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9781588347275

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Reviews

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Paleontologist Naish (Dinopedia) delivers an entertaining survey of prehistoric marine reptiles. [...] Readers will appreciate Naish's evenhanded treatment of scientific disputes, such as when he explains disagreements around whether rocks swallowed by plesiosaurs helped with buoyancy or digestion, and discusses divergent perspectives on how closely thalattosuchians are related to the ancestors of modern crocodiles. Vivid illustrations, diagrams, and photos of fossils provide further detail. The result is an invigorating blast from the past.

"PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ""Paleontologist Naish (Dinopedia) delivers an entertaining survey of prehistoric marine reptiles. [...] Readers will appreciate Naish’s evenhanded treatment of scientific disputes, such as when he explains disagreements around whether rocks swallowed by plesiosaurs helped with buoyancy or digestion, and discusses divergent perspectives on how closely thalattosuchians are related to the ancestors of modern crocodiles. Vivid illustrations, diagrams, and photos of fossils provide further detail. The result is an invigorating blast from the past."" PREHISTORIC TIMES MAGAZINE ""Certainly a book to be celebrated [...] On top of up-to-date information, most every page includes amazing artwork or fossil photography. A great book to sit down and read and then keep close by for reference."" EVERYTHING DINOSAUR “This is an extensively researched and most informative volume written in an easy to understand language that will please the academic and general reader alike. Ancient Sea Reptiles is highly recommended.”"

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Paleontologist Naish (Dinopedia) delivers an entertaining survey of prehistoric marine reptiles. [...] Readers will appreciate Naish's evenhanded treatment of scientific disputes, such as when he explains disagreements around whether rocks swallowed by plesiosaurs helped with buoyancy or digestion, and discusses divergent perspectives on how closely thalattosuchians are related to the ancestors of modern crocodiles. Vivid illustrations, diagrams, and photos of fossils provide further detail. The result is an invigorating blast from the past. EVERYTHING DINOSAUR This is an extensively researched and most informative volume written in an easy to understand language that will please the academic and general reader alike. Ancient Sea Reptiles is highly recommended.

Author Information

DARREN NAISH is a vertebrate paleontologist and research associate at the University of Southampton. He is the coauthor of Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved.

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