John H. Ostrom (February 18, 1928 – July 16, 2005) was an American paleontologist who revolutionized modern understanding of dinosaurs in the 1960s, when he demonstrated that dinosaurs are more like big non-flying birds than they are like lizards (or "saurians"), an idea first proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in the 1860s, but which had garnered few supporters. The first of Ostrom's broad-based reviews of the osteology and phylogeny of the primitive bird Archaeopteryx appeared in 1976. His reaction to the eventual discovery of feathered dinosaurs in China, after years of acrimonious debate, was bittersweet (Gentile, 2000). Image File history File links John_Ostrom. ... is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... who cares though]] island species, have also lost the ability to fly. ... Families Many, see text. ... Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley F.R.S. (May 4, 1825 – June 29, 1895) was a British biologist, known as Darwins Bulldog for his defence of Charles Darwins theory of evolution. ... Osteology is the scientific study of bones. ... In biology, phylogenetics (Greek: phylon = tribe, race and genetikos = relative to birth, from genesis = birth) is the study of evolutionary relatedness among various groups of organisms (e. ... Binomial name Meyer, 1861 Synonyms See below Archaeopteryx (from Ancient Greek archaios meaning ancient and pteryx meaning feather or wing; pronounced ) is the earliest and most primitive known bird to date. ... Sinornithosaurus by Jim Robins Feathered dinosaurs are regarded by many paleontologists as transitional fossils between birds and dinosaurs (see Dinosaur-bird connection). ...

Early life and career

He was born in New York City and studied at Union College. He planned to be a physician like his father, but changed his mind after reading George Gaylord Simpson's book The Meaning of Evolution. He enrolled at Columbia University and studied with Edwin H. Colbert. New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... The architectural centerpiece of the Union campus, the Nott Memorial, is named after the colleges president from 1804-1866, Eliphalet Nott. ... George Gaylord Simpson (June 16, 1902 - October 6, 1984) was an American paleontologist. ... Columbia University is a private research university in the United States and a member of the prestigious Ivy League. ... Edwin H. Colbert (1905 – 2001) was a distinguished vertebrate paleontologist and prolific researcher and author. ...

In 1952 he married Nancy Grace Hartman (d. 2003) and had two daughters: Karen and Alicia.

Ostrom taught for one year at Brooklyn College and then spent five years at Beloit College before going to Yale. Ostrom was a professor at Yale University where he was the Curator Emeritus of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, which has an impressive fossil collection originally started by Othniel Charles Marsh. He died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 77 in Litchfield, Connecticut. Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York. ... Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin and a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. ... “Yale” redirects here. ... Vertebrate paleontology seeks to discover the behavior, reproduction and appearance of extinct spined animals, through the study of their fossilized remains. ... The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Othniel Charles Marsh, the early paleontologist. ... Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 - March 18, 1899) was one of the pre-eminent paleontologists of the 19th century, who discovered and named many fossils found in the American West. ... Litchfield is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut and is known as a affluent summer resort. ...

Warm-blooded Deinonychus

His 1964 discovery of Deinonychus is considered one of the most important fossil finds in history [1]. Deinonychus, the first "raptor", was an active predator that clearly killed its prey by leaping and slashing or stabbing with its "terrible claw". Evidence of a truly active lifestyle included long strings of muscle running along the tail, making it a stiff counterbalance for jumping and running. The conclusion that at least some dinosaurs had a high metabolism, and thus were at least partially warm-blooded, was popularized by his student Robert T. Bakker, and changed the impression of dinosaurs as cold-blooded, sluggish and slow lizards which had prevailed since the turn of the century. Binomial name Deinonychus antirrhopus Ostrom, 1969 Deinonychus (IPA ) meaning terrible claw (Greek δεινος meaning terrible and ονυξ/ονυχος meaning claw) was a jaguar-sized, carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous Period. ... A top-down view of skeletal muscle Muscle (from Latin musculus little mouse [1]) is contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. ... A warm-blooded (homeothermic) animal is one that can keep its core body temperature at a nearly constant level regardless of the temperature of the surrounding environment (that is, to maintain thermal homeostasis) . This can involve not only the ability to generate heat, but also the ability to cool down... Robert T. Bakker Dr. Robert T. Bakker (Bob Bakker), born March 24, 1945, in Bergen County, New Jersey, is an American paleontologist who has helped re-shape modern theories about dinosaurs, particularly by adding support to the theory that some dinosaurs were homeothermic (warm-blooded). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

This changed how dinosaurs are depicted by both professional dinosaur illustrators, and in the public eye. The find is also credited with triggering the "dinosaur renaissance", a term coined in a 1975 issue of Scientific American by Bakker to describe the renewed debates causing an influx of interest in paleontology, which has lasted from the 1970s to the present and has doubled recorded dinosaur diversity. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Scientific American is a popular-science magazine, published (first weekly and later monthly) since August 28, 1845, making it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ...

Archaeopteryx and the origin of flight, and hadrosaur herds

Ostrom's interest in the dinosaur-bird connection started with his study of what is now known as the Haarlem Archaeopteryx. Discovered in 1855, it was actually the first specimen recovered but, incorrectly labeled as Pterodactylus crassipes, it languished in the Teylers Museum in the Netherlands until Ostrom's 1970 paper (and 1972 description) correctly identified it as one of only eight "first birds" (counting the solitary feather). Coordinates: Country Netherlands Province North Holland Area (2006)  - Municipality 32. ... Year 1855 (MDCCCLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Species (Holotype) Pterodactylus (TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) was a pterosaur or flying reptile, with a wingspan of about 50–75 cm (20–30 inches), that lived on lake shores during the late Jurassic era. ... Categories: Stub | Haarlem | Museums in the Netherlands | Natural history museums ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ostrom's reading of fossilized Hadrosaurus trackways also led him to the conclusion that these duckbilled dinosaurs traveled in herds. Binomial name Leidy, 1858 Hadrosaurus (Greek: ἁδρος, hadros + σαυρος, sauros = sturdy lizard) is a dubious genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur. ...

References

• "At Last, His Theory Flies". May 5, 2000. Olivia F. Gentile. Hartford Courant.
• "Archaeopteryx". May 1975. John H. Ostrom. Discovery, volume 11, number 1, pages 15 to 23.
• Obituary Los Angeles Times July 21, 2005

External links

• Dinosaurs in Your Garden