Dinosaurs Take Flight
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SPECIAL ISSUE: DINOSAURS TAKE FLIGHT Terrible Lizards: A New Family Portrait nside the U.S. and Russian Space Programs - , _aunches September 17 October 1 2005 US Destinations ' Russian Destinations Rose Center for Earth and Sp Baykonur Cosmodrome *" New York City Kazakhstan ' Goddard Space Center , Mission Control Greenbelt, MD ;. Moscow, Russia Smithsonian Institution, Yuri Gagarin # | Cosmonaut National Air & Space Musetil Training Center Washington D.C. - 1, (GCTC) Moscow Kennedy Space Cente*"^* 'ptional Cosmonaut Training Cape Canaveral, FL 1 Star City Johnson Space Cent Houston, TX An around-the-world, red-carpet seminar examining humankind's ongoing efforts in planetary science and space travel i^ERiCAN Museum S Natural History ^ • Discovery Tours Central Park yVest^t 79th Street, New York, New York 1 0024-5 I 92 ::^|Ei|462.-8687 or 2 1 2-769-5toB^??^P?TI 2-769-5755 E-mail: [email protected] www.discoverytours.org MAY 2005 VOLUME 114 NUMBER SPECIAL ISSUE: DINOSAURS TAKE FLIGHT FEATURES 40 ALL IN THE FAMILY A dadogmm shows how dinosaurs are related to one another—and where the birds fit in. 42 BIRD'S-EYE VIEW 34 THE VARIETIES OF TYRANNOSAURS Because modern dinosaurs are flying all around us, examining Knowledge about the most 48 BUTTING HEADS them closely can ofler new fearsome dinosaurs and their relatives Thefour greatest controversies insights into the lives is finally measuring up in dinosaur science of theirfossilized ancestors. to the animals' fame. J. DAVID ARCHIBALD MATTHEW T. CARRANO MARK A. NORELL AND XU XING SANKAR CHATTERJEE LUIS M. CHIAPPE AND PATRICK M. O'CONNOR ANDREW A. FARKE DAVID E. FASTOVSKY CATHERINE A. FORSTER MARK B. GOODWIN WILLEM J. HILLENIUS JOHN A. RUBEN MARY HIGBY SCHWEITZER '^^ R. JACK TEMPLIN 56 TALES FROM THE BADLANDS In art and oral legends, Native Americans recorded their encounters unth dinosaur fossils. ON THE cover: ADRIENNE MAYOR 65 Million Years of Tyraiiiiosaurs by Frank DeNota SPECIAL ISSUE: DINOSAURS TAKE FLIGHT DEPARTMENTS *SK- -^ 4 THE NATURAL MOMENT Preparing for Takeoff? Pliotogmpli by Mick Ellison 6 UP FRONT Editor's Notebook 8 CONTRIBUTORS T' ^ 9 LETTERS m^."/* 10 SAMPLINGS Time Probes 25 UNIVERSE Knock 'Em Dead ^^^j^^^^n^ -iM Neil deGrasse Tyson M 30 NATURALIST AT LARGE 1 Bringing Up Baby David J. Varricchio i 62 REVIEWS W^p4 A Dinosaur Lover's Bookshelf Tlwiiias R. Holtzjr. 67 nature.net Jisifi» ^^^^^^^O ^[I^^HI 25 Dino Web Digs Robert Anderson 68 OUT THERE Loading tlie Cannon Charles Liu 69 THE SKY IN MAY Joe Rao 74 AT THE MUSEUM 78 ENDPAPER The Past Recaptured, Again Carl Melding PICTURE CREDITS: Page 9 Visit our Web site ar www.naturalhistorymag.com 68 OYSTER PERPETUAL SUBMARINER DATE VyVVW/fBpEX.COIVI. ROLEX NEW YORK For an Official Rolex Jeweler call 1-800-367-6539. Rolex * Oyster i?erpetual„a'nd Submariner Date are trademarks. 4 NATURAL HISTORY Mav 2005 THE NATURAL MOMENT Preparing for Takeoff? Photograph by Mick Ellison THE NATURAL MOMENT UP FRONT Sec preceding two pages Dinosaurs: Why We Care Come one! Come all! Come children of all ages—the dinosaurs are back in town! That's right, kids, the world's most captivating crea- tures, those marvelous megafauna from the Mesozoic, the greatest attractions in all of natural history, are returning to the spotlight. This month, on May 14, a new exhibition, "Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New In his April 1998 column Discoveries," opens at the American Museum of Natural History in New for Natural History, the late York City. And in honor of that special event. Natural Histoij is presenting its favorite Stephen J. Gould warned his first issue in ten years devoted entirely to eveiyone's monsters. readers that fossil forgeries were So why do people care so much about dinosaurs? First, of course, many flooding out of JVIorocco. Now of them really were fearsome, scary, and terrifying. Tyrannosaurus rex, the the hotbed of fakery seems to mother of all monsters, weighed in at nrore than six tons and featured a have shifted to China, where jaw four feet long studded with six-inch-long teeth. Mark A. Norell and the black market demand for Xu Xing tell the story of T. rex and its extended family in "The Varieties dinosaur bones is thriving. The of Tyrannosaurs" (page 34). The popularity of T rex and the other 128-million-year-old fossil of dinosaurs has created such a publishing phenomenon that the discerning Microraptor gui, pictured here, was book buyer needs a knowledgeable guide. Fortunately, Thomas R. Holtz originally modified—a false beak Jr. has assembled a convenient list "for the dinosaur fan, and no less for was glued on—before luck land- the parents thereof" ("A Dinosaur Lover's Bookshelf," page 62). ed it in 2002 on the desk of Xu Another reason dinosaurs are so fascinating is that they pose so many Xing, a paleontologist at the In- puzzles. Dinosaurs flourished from the Late Triassic until the end of the stitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Bei- MESOZOIC jing (and a co-author of "The TRIASSIC JURASSIC CRETACEOt| i_ HiPH Varieties of Tyrannosaurs," on ^mi page 34). 1 MIDDLE LATE EARLY MIDDLE LATE EARLY Microraptors seem to have a tradition of being improperly MILLIONS OF YEARS BEFORE PRESENT pieced together. The Arclmeorap- tor— a forged fossil that was hailed Cretaceous, and they left tantahzing clues about their lost world (for a in 1999 as the Unk between dino- plot of their interrelations, see "AJl in the Fanuly," also by Thomas Holtz, relates saurs and birds—was really a page 40). hi "Bringing Up Baby" (page 30), David J. Varricchio composite of an ancient bird how new fossil evidence is shedding light on parental care among species, Yanomis martini, and a mi- dinosaurs. Yet, to the delight of its practitioners, plenty of questions in croraptors tail. The irony is that, dinosaur science remain (see "Butting Heads," page 48). with feathers covering its body, The third attraction about dinosaurs is their link with modern birds. As M. gui doesn't really need embel- Matthew T. Carrano and Patrick M. O'Connor explain in their article lishment; it is quite birdhke on its "Bird's-eye View" (page 42), that link has opened up an extraordinary own. Some paleontologists have window on the world of dinosaurs. A fourth appeal is the great mystery of suggested that the creature—-just what caused the nonbird dinosaurs to disappear so suddenly . The leading Uvo and a half feet long—could suspect is an asteroid that slammed into Earth (see "Loading the Cannon," glide fi-om treetop to treetop. by Charles Liu, page 68). But more generally, the dinosaurs' demise has AH microraptors in the known highlighted a sobering truth: planet Earth is part of a very dangerous fossil record, including M. gui, universe (see "Knock 'Em Dead," by Neil deGrasse Tyson, pageage 25).^5j. have been discovered embedded Throughout the magazine, you'U see the icon at right, in the shale of Liaoning Province, based on the fossilized footprint of a theropod dinosaur. As northeast of Beijing. Photograph- Adrienne Mayor points out in her article "Tales from the er Mick EUison captured this Badlands" (page 56), to Native Americans the fossil looked specimen in Xu's laboratory, but like the footprint of a giant, prehistoric bird. That's what it only after all questionable pieces looks like to paleontologists today, too. It's a reminder that dinosaurs are had been removed. —Erin Espelie still flying, all around us. -Peter Brown 6 NATURAL HISTORY May 2005 GENUINE 2005 AMERICAN EAGLE SILVER PROOF COIN GIVE A GIFT THAT REMEMBERS THE PERFECT GIFT FOR A SPECIAL OCCASION United States Mint 2005 American Eagle Silver Proof Coin -Z55 This year, give a gift that remembers. The United States Mint 2005 American THERE ARE TWO Eagle Silver Proof Coin is the perfect gift to mark special occasions, from EASY WAYS TO ORDER: birthdays to graduations. This beautifully crafted, finely detailed coin is a 1) Shop our online catalog miniature work of art and a unique collectible of lasting value. Order today at wvi/w.usnnint.gov directly from the United States Mint. 2) Call 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) For genuine United States Mint products visit ^^ www.usmint.gov or call 1-800-USA-MINT ^ UNITED STATES MINT ^2005 United States f^int CONT RIBUTORS MICK ELLISON ("The Natural Moment," page 4) studied art at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and the Ed- mm Peter Brown Editor-in-Chief inburgh College of Art in Scotland. He is a staff artist and pho- Mary Beth Aberlin Steven R. Black tographer in the division of paleontology at the American Mu- Executive Editor Art Director seum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City. Board of Editors Ellison T.J. Kelleher, Mary Knight, Avis Lang, Vittorio Maestro Early years spent on a farm, reading Sherlock Holmes stories and Michel DeMatteis Associate Managiiiii Editor watching bad sci-fi movies, may have launched DAVID J. VAR- Thomas Rosinski Associate Art Director Hannah Black, Assistant Art Director RICCHIO ("Bringing Up Baby," page 30) on his career of pale- Erin M. Espelie Special Projects Editor ontological detective work. His research interests include taphon- Graciela Flores Editorial Associate Liz Donohue, Rebecca Kessier Interns omy, as well as reproduction in theropod dinosaurs. Varricchio is an assistant professor of paleontology at Montana State Uni- Contributing Editors Varricchio Robert Anderson, Charles Liu. Laurence A. Marschall, versity—Bozeman. Richard Milner, Robert H. Mohlenbrock. Joe Rao, Stephan Reebs, Adam Summers, Neil deGrasse Tyson No stranger to the pages of Natural History, MARK A. NORELL ("The Varieties of Tyrannosaurs," Charles E. Harris Publisber page 34) is chairman and curator of the division Edgar L.