King of the Crocodylians

David R. Schwimmer, Professor of Paleontology at Columbus State University in Georgia, is an expert on the Late Cretaceous paleontology of the southeastern United States. Author of many papers on Cretaceous vertebrates, he is co-author (with W. J. Frazier) of Regional Stratigraphy of North America, which won the award for "Best Reference Book of the Year" from the Geoscience Information Society.

• Preliminary Table of Contents:IntroductionChapter 1. The Life and Times of a Giant CrocodylianChapter 2. The Early Paleontology of DeinosuchusChapter 3. On the Size of DeinosuchusChapter 4. The Age of DeinosuchusChapter 5. Deinosuchus Localities and their Ancient EnvironmentsChapter 6. How Many Deinosuchus Species ExistedChapter 7. A Genealogy of DeinosuchusChapter 8. The Prey of GiantsBibliographyAppendicesIndex

"Schwimmer offers a study of the paleoautecology of a Cretaceous crocodylian, Deinosuchus. Thoughtfully organized, the book's chapter headings reflect answers to some basic questions: How big was it? How old was it? Where was it found? What did it eat? How many species existed? Astute readers will gain insight into the thinking of a practicing vertebrate paleontologist as the author probes these questions. But the target audience for this trade book is not obvious—technical jargon is sometimes explained in the text (and thoroughly covered in the appendixes), but its usage in the text requires an advanced level of understanding. The author complains about the requirements of the zoological rules of nomenclature, which seems counterproductive in such a work. The book will be most useful for paleoecologists hoping to gain a deeper understanding of life in the Cretaceous. Upper—division undergraduates through professionals."—P. K. Strother, Boston College , Choice, December 2002"Schwimmer offers a study of the paleoautecology of a Cretaceous crocodylian, Deinosuchus. Thoughtfully organized, the book's chapter headings reflect answers to some basic questions: How big was it? How old was it? Where was it found? What did it eat? How many species existed? Astute readers will gain insight into the thinking of a practicing vertebrate paleontologist as the author probes these questions. . . . December 2002"—Choice