Sea Dragons: Predators of the Prehistoric Oceans.

Land-loving dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex, brontosaurus, and stegosaurus are world-renowned. Ellis profiles some of the dinosaurs that moviemaker Steven Spielberg didn't bring to life-those that swam the ancient oceans, including ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs, and mosasaurs. The author has written several volumes about modern-day marine life. His odes to the seas and their creatures have been books such as The Empty Ocean and The Search for the Giant Squid. Ellis' style is to eloquently detail ocean life and illustrate it with drawings by his own hand. Here, he documents some of the fiercest predators known to have navigated the prehistoric oceans during the Mesozoic era. Included are the 60-foot-long Mosasaurus hoffmanni, whose powerful jaws and teeth could crunch through the body of a giant sea turtle, and the Kronosaurus queenslandicus, which had a skull more than twice as long as that of T. rex. Working from the fossil record, Ellis explores the natural history of these intimidating creatures and speculates on their habits and why they disappeared. U Pr of KS, 2003, 313 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $29.95.