The dinosaur book - the ruling reptiles and their relatives (1951) (20212371220)

Title: The dinosaur book : the ruling reptiles and their relatives

Identifier: bookruli00colb (find matches)

Year: 1951 (1950s)

Authors: Colbert, Edwin H. (Edwin Harris), 1905-2001; Knight, Charles Robert, 1874-1953; American Museum of Natural History

Subjects: Dinosaurs; Reptiles, Fossil

Publisher: New York : Published for the American Museum of Natural History by McGraw-Hill

Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library

Digitizing Sponsor: IMLS / LSTA / METRO

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diles had not yet evolved. Perhaps it might be more accurate for this reason to say that the crocodiles are like phytosaurs; the phy- tosaurs came first and then died out—the crocodiles then appeared and evolved in a fashion that imitated to a remarkable de- gree the development of the phytosaurs. This parallelism between the phytosaurs and the crocodiles was due to the fact that both groups of reptiles occupied the same "ecologic niche," both groups played the same role in life history at the time in which they lived. In each case these were highly predaceous, water-loving reptiles that made their way in life by hunting. The phytosaurs, like the crocodiles of to- day, were the scourge of their environment. They feared nothing; they were the stealthy foes of whom all other animals of that day had to beware. THE PHYTOSAURS resembled crocodiles but were not their an- cestors. They lived the same kind of life as crocodiles but did not survive beyond the end of the Triassic period, about 155 million years ago, before the crocodiles evolved in a parallel direction. Notice the nostrils immediately in front of the eyes. (Genus Machaeroprosopus, from Arizona) Restoration by John C. Germann , -t.i frf

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the dinosaur book the ruling reptiles and their relatives 1951 book illustrations arizona natural history fossils paleontology animals dinosaurs 1950s fashion 1950 s images from internet archive

1951

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