More than a century ago, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote The Lost World, a novel based on the thrilling premise that dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts still dominated South America. Little did Conan Doyle know, however, that there were once terrifying monsters in South America -- they just happen to be extince. In fact, the continent has an astonishing history as a land where many fantastic and fascinating animals have evolved, thrived, and died out.
In Giants of the Lost World, Donald R. Prothero presents the rich, engaging history of the dinosaurs and other intriguing animals that once roamed South America. From their evolution to their biology to their eventual discovery by naturalists and paleontologists, Prothero introduces you to colossal dinosaurs such as Giganotosaurus -- the 15-ton carnivorous predator that, at more than 47 feet long, would have dwarfed a T. rex -- and the 130-foot-long, 100-ton sauropod Argentinosaurus. Here, too, other wonders roamed: gigantic Titanoboas broke reptile records; possums evolved into huge saber-toothed predators; and ground sloths grew larger than elephants. Ten-foot "terror birds" chased down their prey, and colossal caimans pursued creatures on land and in the water.
Prothero presents the latest scientific research on the continent's famed prehistoric beasts, providing a picture of the ancient landscapes they once roamed and relating the intriguing tales of the explorers and scientists who first realized the incredible diversity of South America's prehistoric animals. This is a captivating account of a lost world that was, in truth, far stranger than any novel could be.