Geoscience Reference
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CHAPTER 1
Sleuthing Dinosaurs
Vestiges of a Cretaceous Hour
The Triceratops was vexed. As the largest adult male in this part of the river valley,
thechallenge comingfromayoungermalestrollingthroughhislong-established ter-
ritory was intolerable. Appropriately, then, it provoked a prompt and assertive re-
sponse. From a stationary start, feet planted firmly on the damp muddy sand of the
floodplain, hestared athisrival, started walking, andpicked upspeed. Ashemoved,
he lowered his huge, broad head while pointing his three-horned face directly at the
other Triceratops ,communicatinghisintentionsunambiguously.Whileaccelerating,
his rear feet registered directly on top of where his front feet had just pressed, and
then exceeded them, leaving a varied pattern of tracks behind him.
From a distance, the other male seemed to stand his ground. Yet his feet
shuffled, blurring their outlines in the underlying sand, as he tried to decide whether
to stand his ground or turn and flee. Regardless, he was in big trouble.
In between the two Triceratops , a group of small feathered theropod dinosaurs
with stubby forearms—similar to the Asian alvarezsaur Mononykus —and a nearby
bunch of slightly larger ornithopod dinosaurs ( Thescelosaurus ) looked on warily.
Each of these groups of dinosaurs had been striding unhurriedly across the flood-
plain, tolerating one another's presence, spurred on by intriguing scents wafting
down the sunlit valley. Nevertheless, a charging Triceratops provided a good reason
to temporarily abandon their long-term goals and deal with this more immediate
problem.
Inunison,theyalllookedupattheadvancing Triceratops ,itsprofileandrapidly
increasing pace causing it to appear ever larger as it neared. Next to them, a mixed
flockoftoothedbirdsandpterosaursallturnedandalignedthemselveswiththewind
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