Biology of the sauropod dinosaurs: understanding the life of giants

List of Contributors Preface List of Institutional Abbreviations Introduction 1. Sauropod Biology and the Evolution of Gigantism: What Do We Know? / Marcus Clauss Part 1. Nutrition 2. Sauropod Feeding and Digestive Physiology / Jurgen Hummel and Marcus Clauss 3. Dietary Options for the Sauropod Dinosaurs from an Integrated Botanical and Paleobotanical Perspective / Carole T. Gee 4. The Diet of Sauropod Dinosaurs: Implications of Carbon Isotope Analysis on Teeth, Bones, and Plants / Thomas Tutken Part 2. Physiology 5. Structure and Function of the Sauropod Respiratory System / Steven F. Perry, Thomas Breuer, and Nadine Pajor 6. Reconstructing Body Volume and Surface Area of Dinosaurs Using Laser Scanning and Photogrammetry / Stefan Stoinski, Tim Suthau, and Hanns-Christian Gunga 7. Body Mass Estimation, Thermoregulation, and Cardiovascular Physiology of Large Sauropods / Bergita Ganse, Alexander Stahn, Stefan Stoinski, Tim Suthau, and Hanns-Christian Gunga Part 3. Construction 8. How to Get Big in the Mesozoic: The Evolution of the Sauropodomorph Body Plan / Oliver W. M. Rauhut, Regina Fechner, Kristian Remes, and Katrin Reis 9. Characterization of Sauropod Bone Structure / Maitena Dumont, Anke Pyzalla, Aleksander Kostka, and Andras Borbely 10. Finite Element Analyses and Virtual Syntheses of Biological Structures and Their Application to Sauropod Skulls / Ulrich Witzel, Julia Mannhardt, Rainer Goessling, Pascal de Micheli, and Holger Preuschoft 11. Walking with the Shoulder of Giants: Biomechanical Conditions in the Tetrapod Shoulder Girdle as a Basis for Sauropod Shoulder Reconstruction / Bianca Hohn 12. Why So Huge? Biomechanical Reasons for the Acquisition of Large Size in Sauropod and Theropod Dinosaurs / Holger Preuschoft, Bianca Hohn, Stefan Stoinski, and Ulrich Witzel 13. Plateosaurus in 3D: How CAD Models and Kinetic-Dynamic Modeling Bring an Extinct Animal to Life / Heinrich Mallison 14. Rearing Giants: Kinetic-Dynamic Modeling of Sauropod Bipedal and Tripodal Poses / Heinrich Mallison 15. Neck Posture in Sauropods / Andreas Christian and Gordon Dzemski Part 4. Growth 16. The Life Cycle of Sauropod Dinosaurs / Eva-Maria Griebeler and Jan Werner 17. Sauropod Bone Histology and Its Implications for Sauropod Biology / P. Martin Sander, Nicole Klein, Koen Stein, and Oliver Wings Part 5. Epilogue 18. Skeletal Reconstruction of Brachiosaurus brancai in the Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin: Summarizing 70 Years of Sauropod Research / Kristian Remes, David M. Unwin, Nicole Klein, Wolf-Dieter Heinrich, and Oliver Hampe Appendix: Compilation of Published Body Mass Data for a Variety of Basal Sauropodomorphs and Sauropods Index