Dragons in the Dust: The Paleobiology of the Giant Monitor Lizard Megalania

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Just 50, 000 years ago the world was filled with fabulous creatures thatare now forever gone. Australia's giant lizard, Megalania, was one of those. Thesefrightful beasts could reach 19 feet in length and weigh as much as a polar bear. Ontheir home turf they were top dog, and it was the rare animal that dared tochallenge them. Dragons in the Dust tells the story of these amazing lizards and theworld in which they lived. The book explores the Pleistocene, the time of the iceages. While mammals ruled elsewhere, in Australia reptiles held their dominance.Large monitor lizards survive to this day, but the discovery of fossil remains ofMegalania revealed that their ancestors were true giants and formidable predators.How scientists have reconstructed the way these animals lived and what factorsencouraged their evolution make up part of the story. What caused their extinctionremains a mystery, and one that makes an intriguing conclusion to this portrait of atrue dragon of the past.