Studying the mineralized remains of prehistoric beasts from the comfortable distance of a few eons, scientists have learned a great deal about how these awesome creatures stalked and swam through the long-ago world. This special edition from Scientific American presents articles about some of the most exciting recent discoveries in the field of paleontology. We invite you to take an armchair safari into prehistory, to spend some quality time with the terrors of Earth's distant past. --The Editors