The Biology of the Tyrant Dinosaurs
Ratings5
Average rating4
'Gripping and wonderfully informative' Tom Holland, New StatesmanAdored by children and adults alike, Tyrannosaurus is the most famous dinosaur in the world, one that pops up again and again in pop culture, often battling other beasts such as King Kong, Triceratops or velociraptors in Jurassic Park. But despite the hype, Tyrannosaurus and the other tyrannosaurs are fascinating animals in their own right, and are among the best-studied of all dinosaurs.Tyrannosaurs started small, but over the course of 100 million years evolved into the giant carnivorous bone-crushers that continue to inspire awe in palaeontologists, screenplay writers, sci-fi novelists and the general public alike. Tyrannosaurus itself was truly impressive; it topped six tons, was more than 12m (40 feet) long, and had the largest head and most powerful bite of any land animal in history.The Tyrannosaur Chronicles tracks the rise of these dinosaurs, and presents the latest research into their biology, showing off more than just their impressive statistics - tyrannosaurs had feathers and fought and even ate each other. This book presents the science behind this research; it tells the story of the group through their anatomy, ecology and behaviour, exploring how they came to be the dominant terrestrial predators of the Mesozoic and, in more recent times, one of the great icons of biology.
Reviews with the most likes.
A great book on the Tyrannosauroidea, not just T. rex! Very accessible to the layman.
The Tyrannosaur Chronicles is indeed a decent read, worthy of a five star review. The fact that becomes painfully obvious after reading other reviews on this site is that many of the people who reviewed it have indeed little to no knowledge of dinosaurs, save for the usual depictions in popular culture. Reviews like these sadly have lowered the score of this book unjustly, as it's definitely not just a 3.9 🌟 book (rating at the time of writing).
David Hone's books are so interesting and accessible (The Future of Dinosaurs, released this year, is great). This one, focusing solely on Tyrannosaurs, is also very good. I always find it particularly interesting to learn about the Tyrannosaurs that were in the UK. It's hard to imagine.
If you have an interest in dinosaurs the podcast he co-hosts, ‘Terrible Lizards' is also super accessible and fun!