Cretaceous Dawn
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Purgatorius: (mammal) The earliest known primate-like animal, a rat-sized placental mammal about which little is known. Incomplete fossils are mainly from the Paleocene, although it is possible the animal evolved during the very Late Cretaceous.
Quaternary: the Period from 1.8 million years ago to the present.
Quetzalcoatlus: (reptile) The largest pterosaur, or flying reptile, with a wingspan up to 39 feet, and a neck 9 feet long. Named for the Aztec feathered god Quetzalcoatl.
Sauropods: (dinosaur) “Lizard-footed.” A suborder of the saurischians, sauropods were quadruped herbivores and included the titanisaurids, the largest of all land animals.
Saurischian: (dinosaur) “Lizard-hipped.” Despite the name it is the saurischians rather than the ornithischians (“bird-hipped”) that evolved into birds. Saurischians were divided into the sauropods and the theropods.
Tertiary: The Period of the Cenozoic Era from 65 to 26 million years ago, between the Cretaceous and Quaternary Periods.
Theropod: (dinosaur) “Beast-footed.” A suborder of the saurischians, theropods were fast, bipedal carnivores. They generally had long back legs, short forelegs for grasping prey, excellent stereoscopic vision, and long tails for balancing. It is this group that likely evolved into birds.
Titanosaur, titanosauridae: (dinosaur) The largest of the sauropods.
Triceratops horridus: (dinosaur) “Horrible three-horned face.” A Late Cretaceous herbivore about 30 feet long and weighing 6 to 12 tons, probably living in large herds. A slow mover with a bony frill and large horns, Triceratops may have been similar to the modern rhinoceros, charging at its enemies rather than fleeing. Triceratops is noted for having one of the largest skulls of any animal; at 10 feet long, the skull was almost a third as long as the body.
Troodon: (dinosaur) “Wounding tooth.” A Late Cretaceous, human-sized, bipedal carnivore (theropod), weighing about 100 pounds. Troodon was probably a fast runner, with excellent vision and hearing, and may have been among the most intelligent of dinosaurs. It was named for its distinctly serrated teeth.
Tyrannosaurus rex: (dinosaur) “Tyrant lizard king.” One of the largest of the theropods, T. rex lived between 85 million and 65 million years ago. Fossils have been found in western North America and Mongolia.
Velociraptor: (dinosaur) “Speedy-thief.” Theropod (carnivorous); one of the dromaeosaurids, found in Mongolia. Had a sickle-shaped, retractable claw on each foot.
About the Authors
Lisa M. Graziano, Ph.D., is a freelance editor and writer. A former professor of Oceanography at Sea Education Association in Woods Hole, Mass., she divides her time between editing, research at sea, and writing. Lisa lives on Cape Cod with her family.
Michael S. A. Graziano, Ph.D., is a professor of Neuroscience at Princeton University. When not doing research Michael spends his time with music and writing. He lives in Princeton, N.J., with his family.
Cretaceous Dawn © 2008 by L. M. Graziano and M. S. A. Graziano
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Published in 2008 in the United States by
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Graziano, Lisa M.
Cretaceous dawn : a novel / L.M. Graziano and M.S.A. Graziano.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-0-981-51486-4
1. Time travel--Fiction. 2. Dinosaurs--Fiction. I.
Graziano, Michael S. A., 1967- II. Title.
PS3607.R39934C74 2008
813’.6--dc22
2008013975