My Beloved Brontosaurus

by Brian Switek

  While writing this book, I was inspired by the time I spent volunteering with field crews led by the paleontologists Jason Schein, Thomas Carr, Scott Williams, and Louis Chiappe. Additionally, this project wouldn’t have been the same without discussions and input from Andrew Farke, Sterling Nesbitt, Heinrich Mallison, Tony Martin, Alan Turner, Jerry Harris, Sarah Werning, Bill Parker, Thomas Holtz, Jakob Vinther, Kirk Johnson, David Fastovsky, Anne Weil, Adrienne Mayor, Joe Sertich, Scott Sampson, Kevin Padian, Mark Goodwin, Jack Horner, Alan Turner, Mark Norrell, Adam Pritchard, David Varrichio, Matt Wedel, Darren Naish, Shaena Montanari, Colleen Farmer, Don Prothero, Carl Mehling, and Ken Lacovara.

  I am fortunate to have received guidance from the science writing community, including Carl Zimmer, Bora Zivkovic, Deborah Blum, Thomas Levenson, Maryn McKenna, David Dobbs, Steve Silberman, Jennifer Ouellette, Alok Jha, Adam Rutherford, Mark Henderson, Dave Mosher, Betsy Mason, Virginia Hughes, Brian Wolly, and Kate Wong. I owe a great deal to Laura Helmuth, who edited my blog Dinosaur Tracking for Smithsonian for almost four years. I worked with Laura on a near-daily basis, and she is the warmest, most positive editor I have worked with. Under her careful eye, I went from an amateur blogger to a professional science writer, and I feel incredibly fortunate that we worked so closely together for so long—especially since she took such great joy in letting me geek out about dinosaurs each day.

  For art, I am thankful for the generosity of Jeff Martz, Niroot Himmapan, Mike Keesey, Robert Walters, Tess Kissinger, Scott Hartman, and Mike Jacobsen. Working with Mark Stutzman on the cover design was an absolute pleasure.

  Of course, I will always remember my parents’ support of my early dinomania. This book is a tribute to the dreams they encouraged me to develop during my childhood.

  Many friends cheered me on during the writing process, but two deserve special mention. Since we met at a ScienceOnline conference several years ago, Scicurious has been an indefatigable friend who has never let me get away with my habit of belittling my own work. She has constantly urged me on, and a writer could not ask for a better confidante. The ever-expanding science writing ecosystem also let me foster a close friendship with Miriam Goldstein, a kindred scientist–science writer hybrid who has encouraged me during especially difficult stretches in this book’s composition, not to mention participating in music exchanges that kept my work sound track livelier than usual.

  But most of all, I am thankful to my wife, Tracey. She has maintained faith in my abilities even on days when I feel defeated and demoralized, and she has always pushed me to pursue my dreams, even when I took the risk of quitting my job to become a professional freelancer. I could not ask for a better partner and companion as we explore our new home among Utah’s wondrous badlands. Every article pitch and book proposal is a struggle, and I value Tracey’s insight and support above all others. I am exceptionally lucky to be with such a brilliant and warm spouse. If you enjoyed this book, you have her to thank.

  Index

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  A. altus

  A. latus

  abelisaurids

  Acrocanthosaurus

  advertising

  aetosaurs

  Africa

  African antelope

  Age of Dinosaurs

  Age of Mammals

  Ager, Derek

  aging. See growth and aging

  air sacs

  Alamosaurus

  Alberta, Canada

  Albertosaurus

  Aldiss, Brian, “Poor Little Warrior!”

  Alexander, R. McNeill

  Alf (Raymond M.) Museum of Paleontology, Claremont, California

  alien extermination

  alligators

  Allosauroids

  Allosaurus; attack and defense; Big Al; Cleveland-Lloyd; injured

  Allosaurus maximus

  Alvarez, Luis

  Alvarez, Walter

  alvarezsaurs

  Amargasaurus

  American Museum of Natural History, New York; Mongolia expedition; World’s Largest Dinosaurs exhibition

  ammonites

  Amphicoelias fragillimus

  Anatotitan

  Anchiornis

  ankles

  ankylosaurs

  Ankylosaurus

  Apatosaurus; cultural identity; feathers; name; neck; sex; skeleton; skull. See also Brontosaurus

  Apatosaurus ajax

  Apatosaurus excelsus

  Archaeopteryx; Archaeopteryx lithographica; Berlin specimen; London specimen; Thermopolis

  Arches National Park

  archosaurs; evolution of

  Argentina

  Argentinosaurus

  Arizona

  Arizonasaurus

  armadillodile

  arms

  Asia

  Asilisaurus

  asteroids

  astralagus

  astronomy

  attack and defense

  Australia

  Australopithecus afarensis

  B. rex

  Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (film)

  baby dinosaurs; birth

  bacteria

  Bakker, Bob

  Bambiraptor

  Barosaurus

  Beijing Museum of Natural History

  Beipiaosaurus inexpectus

  Belgium

  Bell, Phil

  Benton, Michael

  Berlin specimen

  biodiversity

  bipedalism

  Bird, Roland T.

  birds; as dinosaur descendants; nests; origins; sex

  birth

  bison; Bison alticornis

  bite wounds

  body temperature

  bonebeds

  Bone Wars

  Boucot, Arthur

  Brachiosaurus; skeleton; skull

  “Brachyceratops”

  Bradbury, Ray, “The Foghorn”

  brain

  Brandvold, Marion

  Brazil

  Brennan, Patricia

  Bringing Up Baby (film)

  Brinkman, Daniel

  Brochu, Chris

  Brontomerus

  Brontosaurus; color; Brontosaurus excelsus; cultural identity; films; name controversy; size; skeleton; skull. See also Apatosaurus

  Broom, Robert

  Brown, Barnum

  Brown, Mike

  Brown University

  Brusatte, Stephen

  Buckland, William

  Burpee Museum of Natural History

  burrows

  calamites

  California

  Camarasaurus

  Campione, Nicolás

  Canada

  cancer

  cannibalism

  Cannon, George

  caribou

  Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh

  Carney, Ryan

  carnivores

  Carnosauria

  Carpenter, John, The Thing

  Carpenter, Kenneth

  Carr, Thomas

  Carrano, Matthew

  Carthage College

  caterpillars

  Caudipteryx

  CBS News

  Centrosaurus

  cephalopods

  ceratopsians

  Ceratosaurus

  change. See growth and aging

  Charig, Alan

  Chatterjea

  cheekbone

  Chicago

  Chicxulub Crater

  children, as dinosaur fans

  China

  Chindesaurus

  Chinese Academy of Sciences

  Chinle Formation

  Cinderella Syndrome

  clams

  Claremont, California

  clavicles

  claws

  clay layer />
  Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, Utah

  climate change

  clitoris

  cloacae

  Coelophysis

  Coelurosauria

  Colbert, Edwin; The Year of the Dinosaur

  Cold War

  cololites

  color

  Colorado

  comets

  Como Bluff, Wyoming

  comparative anatomy

  Compsognathus

  Connecticut

  Cope, Edward Drinker

  coprolites

  Corythosaurus

  Corythosaurus casuarius

  crest; hearing and; juvenile; Parasaurolophus

  Cretaceous; mass extinction

  Crichton, Michael; Jurassic Park

  crocodiles

  crocodylians

  crumhorn

  Crystal Palace Exhibition, London

  Ctenosauriscus

  Currie, Philip

  Currie (Philip J.) Dinosaur Museum

  Cuvier, Georges

  cynodonts

  Darwin, Charles; on extinction; On the Origin of Species

  Daspletosaurus

  death; bonebeds; end-Cretaceous. See also extinction

  Deccan Traps

  defense

  Deinodon

  deinonychosaurs

  Deinonychus; Deinonychus antirrhopus

  Deinosuchus

  Denmark

  Denver Museum of Nature and Science

  Desmatosuchus

  dicynodonts

  Dilong

  Dino Fest conference (1994)

  Dinosaur! (documentary)

  Dinosauria

  Dinosaur National Monument, Utah

  Dinosaur Provincial Park, Canada

  Dinosaur Renaissance

  Dinosaur Revolution (miniseries)

  dinosaurs; birds as descendants of; color; disease and injury; extinction; feathers; growth and aging; largest; in pop culture; senses; sex; size; society; sounds; success; terminology. See also specific dinosaurs

  Dinosaurs!, The (TV show)

  Dinosaur Train

  Dinosores: An Annotated Bibliography of Dinosaur Paleopathology and Related Topics – 1838–2001

  Diplodocus; skeleton; skull

  Diplodocus carnegii

  Diplodocus hallorum

  Discovery

  disease and injury; limping dinosaurs; parasites; pathologies; Tyrannosaurus rex

  Disney

  Diying Huang

  Dodson, Peter

  dome

  Douglass, Earl

  Dracorex

  drought

  drowning

  Dry Mesa, Colorado

  “duck-billed” dinosaurs

  ducks

  Early Cretaceous

  Early Triassic

  ears

  ectotherms

  Edmontosaurus

  Effigia

  Egg Mountain, Montana

  eggs; extinction theories; fossil; hatching; nests

  Ekalaka, Montana

  elephants

  embryos

  Entamoeba

  Eoraptor

  Epidexipteryx

  erosion

  Euparkeria

  Europe

  Evans, David

  Everglades National Park

  evolution; of archosaurs; bird; feathers; largest dinosaurs

  extinction; alien; climate change; Darwinian view on; end-Cretaceous; impact hypothesis; Permian; sea level change; volcanoes

  eyes

  Facebook

  Falconer, Hugh

  fans, dinosaur

  Fantasia (film)

  Farke, Andrew; “Evidence of Combat in Triceratops”

  Fastovsky, David

  Fayetteville State University

  feathers; Apatosaurus; Archaeopteryx; color; evolution; fossils; lice; Microraptor; Tyrannosaurus rex

  feces

  feet; trackways

  female dinosaurs; mating behavior; pregnancy and birth; Sue

  femur

  Field Museum, Chicago

  films

  fish

  Fisher, Paul

  Flanders, Stanley

  fleas

  Florida

  flying dinosaurs

  footprints

  Forster, Catherine

  fossils; Archaeopteryx; bands and rings; Cleveland–Lloyd; color and; Como Bluff; Dinosaur National Monument; disease and injury; Egg Mountain; eggs; extinction; feathers; feces; footprints; Ghost Ranch; Gobi Desert; growth and change; Hell Creek Formation; largest dinosaurs; mammal; Mongolian; Paluxy River; Parasaurolophus; pathologies; Petrified Forest National Park; protection; sex. See also specific dinosaurs, sites, and museums

  frill; Triceratops

  frogs

  furcula

  Gallagher, William

  gender; mating behavior and

  genera

  genitals

  Geological Society of London

  Germany

  Gertie the Dinosaur (film)

  gharials

  Ghost Ranch, New Mexico

  gigantothermy

  Gillette, David

  Gilmore, Charles

  Giraffatitan

  giraffes

  Gleich, Otto

  Glen Rose, Texas

  Gobi Desert

  Godzilla

  Golden Gate Highlands National Park, South Africa

  Goodwin, Mark

  gorgonopsians

  Gorgosaurus

  Gorgosaurus lancensis

  Gould, Stephen Jay

  Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

  gravity

  Great Britain

  Greeks, ancient

  Greeley, Horace

  Griebeler, Eva-Maria

  growth and aging; juveniles; largest dinosaurs; nesting; Triceratops debate; Tyrannosaurus rex

  Haarlem specimen

  hadrosaurines

  hadrosaurs

  Hadrosaurus

  Haeckel, Ernst

  Halstead, Beverly

  hand

  Hanna, Rebecca

  Harmon, Bob

  Harryhausen, Ray

  Hatcher, John Bell

  Hawkins, Benjamin Waterhouse

  head-butting

  hearing

  heart

  Heilmann, Gerhard; The Origin of Birds

  Hell Creek Formation, Montana

  herbivores

  herds

  Hermann, Adam

  Herrerasaurus

  Hildebrand, Alan

  hips

  Hitchcock, Edward

  Holland, William

  Holtz, Thomas

  Homo sapiens

  Hone, Dave

  Hopson, James

  Horner, Jack

  horns

  hot springs

  Howe Quarry, Wyoming

  Hunt, Adrian

  Huxley, Thomas Henry

  Hylaeosaurus

  Hypacrosaurus

  Hypsilophodon

  ice age

  ichthyosaurs

  Idaho

  identity; archosaur evolution and

  iguanas

  Iguanodon

  Illinois

  impact hypothesis

  Incisoscutum ritchiei

  India

  infections

  Infinite Voyage, The (TV series)

  injury. See disease and injury

  insects

  iridium

  Irmis, Randall

  Italy

  Jackson, Peter

  Jane

  Janis, Christine

  jaw; infections

  Jensen, Jim

  Johns Hopkins University

  Jurassic

  Jurassic Park (film)

  juvenile dinosaurs; Triceratops; Tyrannosaurus rex

  Kaiparowits Formation

  Kentrosaurus

  King Kong (film)

  Kitching, James

  Komodo dragons
/>
  Kosmoceratops

  K/Pg samples

  Kurtén, Björn

  La Brea asphalt seeps

  Lakes, Arthur

  Lambe, Lawrence

  lambeosaurines

  Lambeosaurus

  Lambeosaurus lambei

  Lambeosaurus magnicristatus

  Land Before Time, The

  Larson, Gary, The Far Side

  Larson, Peter

  larynx

  Las Vegas

  Late Cretaceous

  Late Jurassic

  Late Triassic

  Lee, Andrew

  legs; posture

  Leidy, Joseph

  Leshyk, Victor

  Lesothosaurus

  Levick, George Murray

  lice

  limping dinosaurs

  lines of arrested growth (LAGs)

  Little Clint

  liver

  lizards

  Loch Ness Monster

  Lockley, Martin

  London

  London specimen

  Los Angeles

  Lost World, The (film)

  Lucy

  Lull, Richard Swann

  lungfish

  Lyell, Charles

  Madsen, James

  Maiasaura

  Makela, Bob

  male dinosaurs; mating behavior

  Mallison, Heinrich

  Mamenchisaurus

  mammals; fossils

  mammoth

  Mantell, Gideon

  Marsh, Othniel Charles; The Dinosaurs of North America

  Marshosaurus

  Martin, John

  Massospondylus

  mating; behavior; neck and; ornamentation and

  Matthew, William Diller

  McCracken, Kevin

  McIntosh, John

  medullary bone

  Megalosaurus

  Megapnosaurus

  Mehling, Carl

  melanosomes

  Mellow, Glendon

  Mesozoic

  metabolism

  meteorites

  Microraptor

  Middle Triassic

  Miller, Ian

  models

  Mongolia

  Monolophosaurus

  Montana

  Montana State University

  Moodie, Roy L.; Paleopathology

  Mook, Charles

  Morris Museum, New Jersey

  Morrison Formation

  Morschhauser, Eric

  mosasaurs

  Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin

  Museum of Ancient Life, Lehi, Utah

  Museum of Idaho

  Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana

  museums. See also specific museums

  music

  Naish, Darren

  Nanotyrannus

  NASA

  Native Americans

  Natural History Museum, London

  Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

  Natural History Museum of Utah

  natural selection

  Nature

  neck; mating and; sauropods

  Nedoceratops

  nerves

  Nesbitt, Sterling

  nests