With its massive head, enormous jaws, and formidable teeth, Tyrannosaurus rex has long been the young person's favorite creepy carnivore in the Mesozoic zoo. This collection explores such questions as why T rexhad such small forelimbs; how the dinosaur moved; and, what bone pathologies tell us about life in the Cretaceous.

ContentsSupplemental CD-Rom ContentsContributorsPrefaceInstitutional Abbreviations1. One Hundred Years of Tyrannosaurus rex: The Skeletons Neal L. Larson2. Wyoming's Dynamosaurus imperiosus and Other Early Discoveries of Tyrannosaurus rex in the Rocky Mountain West Brent H. Breithaupt, Elizabeth H. Southwell, and Neffra A. Matthews3. How Old Is T. rex? Challenges with the Dating of Terrestrial Strata Deposited during the Maastrichtian Stage of the Cretaceous Period Kirk Johnson4. Preliminary Account of the Tyrannosaurid Pete from the Lance Formation of Wyoming Kraig Derstler and John M. Myers5. Taphonomy of the Tyrannosaurus rex Peck's Rex from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana Kraig Derstler and John M. Myers6. Taphonomy and Environment of Deposition of a Juvenile Tyrannosaurid Skeleton from the Hell Creek Formation (Latest Maastrichtian) of Southeastern Montana Michael D. Henderson and William H. Harrison7. One Pretty Amazing T. rex Mary Higby Schweitzer, Jennifer L. Wittmeyer, and John R. Horner8. Variation and Sexual Dimorphism in Tyrannosaurus rex Peter Larson9. Why Tyrannosaurus rex Had Puny Arms: An Integral Morphodynamic Solution to a Simple Puzzle in Theropod Paleobiology Martin Lockley, Reiji Kukihara, and Laura Mitchell10. Looking Again at the Forelimb of Tyrannosaurus rex Christine Lipkin and Kenneth Carpenter11. Rex, Sit: Digital Modeling of Tyrannosaurus rex at Rest Kent A. Stevens, Peter Larson, Eric D. Wills, and Art Anderson12. T. rex Speed Trap Phillip L. Manning13. Atlas of the Skull Bones of Tyrannosaurus rex Peter Larson14. Palatal Kinesis of Tyrannosaurus rex Hans C. E. Larsson15. Reconstruction of the Jaw Musculature of Tyrannosaurus rex Ralph E. Molnar16. Vestigialism in a Dinosaur William L. Abler17. Tyrannosaurid Pathologies as Clues to Nature and Nurture in the Cretaceous Bruce M. Rothschild and Ralph E. Molnar18. The Extreme Lifestyles and Habits of the Gigantic Tyrannosaurid Superpredators of the Late Cretaceous of North America and Asia Gregory S. Paul19. An Analysis of Predator-Prey Behavior in a Head-to-Head Encounter between Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops John Happ20. A Critical Reappraisal of the Obligate Scavenging Hypothesis for Tyrannosaurus rex and Other Tyrant Dinosaurs Thomas R. Holtz Jr.21. Tyrannosaurus rex: A Century of Celebrity Donald F. GlutIndex

Though the chapters are somewhat technical, most interested readers will find them fascinating and of great interest. This volume is a major contribution to dinosaur research. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic and public libraries, all levels.January 2009

Tyrannosaurus rex is unquestionably the most charismatic dinosaur, the star of countless Hollywood monster movies. In reality this dinosaur was no monster, but an animal trying to meet the same survival challenges faced by other species, both living and extinct. The contributors to this book shed considerable light on what life was like for one of the most spectacular predators of all time.