John Ostrom

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John Harold Ostrom (born February 18, 1928 in New York City , † July 16, 2005 in Litchfield , Connecticut ) was an American paleontologist .

Ostrom is one of the most important vertebrate paleontologists of the second half of the 20th century and has had a decisive influence on dinosaur research . His greatest accomplishments include the theory of dinosaur warm bloodedness and the revival of the theory that birds descended from dinosaurs.

resume

  • 1951: Bachelor of Science, Union College

Scientific merit

Ostrom has dealt with numerous groups of dinosaurs in the course of his scientific career and has decisively influenced the field in many areas.

In his doctorate and subsequent work, Ostrom dealt with the anatomy and ecology of the duck-billed hadrosaurs ( Hadrosauridae ). He contradicted the then common opinion that these animals were semi- aquatic swamp inhabitants and for the first time provided detailed considerations on the diet of the hadrosaurs. Ostrom's hadrosaur work inspired further research in this area, which eventually led to today's knowledge of the amazing anatomical and ecological complexity of these animals.

The next group of dinosaurs Ostrom turned to were the horned Ceratopsia . Here, too, he published important, detailed analyzes of the anatomy and ecology of this group, which contributed decisively to further advances in the study of these animals.

In 1969, Ostrom published one of his best-known papers, the first detailed description of a tiny theropod , a predatory dinosaur he named Deinonychus . Working on this remarkable new predatory dinosaur led Ostrom to two new theories that would revolutionize dinosaur research. Deinonychus was an animal that was obviously geared towards agility, but this contradicted the ideas of dinosaurs as slow, rather clumsy reptiles. Influenced by work by JE Heath, who linked the evolution of warm-bloodedness in mammal-like reptiles to a change in posture, this led Ostrom to the daring thesis that at least some dinosaurs were probably warm-blooded. He published this revolutionary idea in 1970 in a work with the rather inconspicuous title Terrestrial vertebrates as indicators of Mesozoic climates .

The other aspect that Ostrom became aware of through his work on Deinonychus was the close resemblance of this theropod to the oldest known bird, Archeopteryx . This led to the revival of the predatory dinosaur theory of birds that Ostrom elaborated in several influential papers during the 1970s. These two theories, which have been extremely controversial and sometimes bitterly discussed since then, have probably changed the view of dinosaurs, their evolution and biology, more than any development since the times of the classic dinosaur researchers of the 19th century such as Richard Owen , Othniel Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope . They ushered in the renaissance of dinosaur paleontology, which has continued since then and has advanced the field faster than ever before.

In addition to his activity as a researcher, Ostrom was also active as a university lecturer. Well-known palaeontologists such as Robert Bakker , Peter Dodson, James Farlow and Thomas Holtz were among his students .

In 1994 Ostrom was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Publications

(incomplete list of John Ostrom's publications)

  • Ostrom, JH 1961. "Cranial morphology of the hadrosaurian dinosaurs of North America." Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 122: 37-186.
  • Ostrom, JH 1962. "The cranial crests of hadrosaurian dinosaurs." Postilla 62: 1-29.
  • Ostrom, JH 1964a. "A functional analysis of jaw mechanics in the dinosaur" Triceratops . Postilla 88: 1-35.
  • Ostrom, JH 1964b. "A reconsideration of the paleoecology of hadrosaurian dinosaurs." American Journal of Science 262: 975-997.
  • Ostrom, JH 1966. "Functional morphology and evolution of the ceratopsian dinosaurs." Evolution 20: 290-308.
  • Ostrom, JH 1969. "Osteology of Deinonychus antirrhopus , an unusual theropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Montana." Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 30: 1-165.
  • Ostrom, JH 1970a. "Terrestrial vertebrates as indicators of Mesozoic climates." North American Paleontological Convention , Proceedings D: 347-376.
  • Ostrom, JH 1970b. " Archeopteryx : notice of a" new "specimen." Science 170: 537-538.
  • Ostrom, JH 1972a. "Carnivorous dinosaurs." McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology for 1971 1971: 176-179.
  • Ostrom, JH 1972b. “Were some dinosaurs gregarious?” Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 11: 287-301.
  • Ostrom, JH 1973. "The ancestry of birds." Nature 242: 136.
  • Ostrom, JH 1974. " Archeopteryx and the origin of flight." Quarterly Review of Biology 49: 27-47.
  • Ostrom, JH 1976a. " Archeopteryx and the origin of birds." Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 8: 91-182.
  • Ostrom, JH 1976b. "Some hypothetical anatomical stages in the evolution of avian flight." Smithsonion Contributions in Paleobiology 27: 1-21.
  • Ostrom, JH 1978. “The osteology of Compsognathus longipes ” Wagner. Zitteliana 4: 73-118.
  • Ostrom, JH 1980. “The evidence for endothermy in dinosaurs.” Pp. 15-54. In RDK Thomas, and EC Olson, eds. A cold look at the warm-blooded dinosaurs . AAAS Selected Symposium, Boulder.
  • Ostrom, JH 1985. "The meaning of Archeopteryx ." Pp. 161-176. In MK Hecht, JH Ostrom, G. Viohl, and P. Wellnhofer , eds. The beginning of birds . Friends of the Jura Museum, Eichstätt.
  • Ostrom, JH 1990. "Dromaeosauridae." Pp. 269-279. In DB Weishampel, P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska, eds. The Dinosauria . University of California Press, Berkeley.
  • Ostrom, JH, and P. Wellnhofer. 1986. The Munich specimen of Triceratops with a revision of the genus. Zitteliana 14: 111-158.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ostrom, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ostrom, John Harold (full name); Ostrom, John H.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American paleontologist
DATE OF BIRTH February 18, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH July 16, 2005
Place of death Litchfield , Connecticut