|
John R. "Jack" Horner (born June 15, 1946) is a non-degree holding American paleontologist who discovered and named ''Maiasaura'', providing the first clear evidence that some dinosaurs cared for their young. He is one of the best-known paleontologists in the United States. In addition to his many paleontological discoveries, Horner served as the technical advisor for all of the ''Jurassic Park'' films, and even served as partial inspiration for one of the lead characters, Dr. Alan Grant.〔 He studied at the University of Montana and was awarded an Doctorate in Science honoris causa. ==Life and career== Horner was born and raised in Shelby, Montana. He was only eight years old when he found his very first dinosaur bone. He attended the University of Montana for seven years, majoring in geology and zoology. He also spent two years in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving during the Vietnam War in the Special Forces. Horner did not complete his bachelor's degree, due to his inability to pass required foreign language courses (he is somewhat dyslexic and due to this he could not read adequately). However, he did complete a formidable senior thesis on the fauna of the Bear Gulch Limestone in Montana, which is one of the most famous Mississippian lagerstätten (or exceptionally preserved fossil site) in the world. The University of Montana awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Science in 1986. In 1986, he was also awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. In Montana during the mid-1970s, Horner and his research partner Bob Makela discovered a colonial nesting site of a new dinosaur genus which they named ''Maiasaura'', or "Good Mother Lizard". It contained the first dinosaur eggs in the Western hemisphere, the first dinosaur embryos, and settled questions of whether some dinosaurs were sociable, built nests and cared for their young. The discovery established his career. Horner has named several other species of dinosaur (including ''Orodromeus makelai'' in memory of his late friend Bob Makela) and has had two named after him: ''Achelousaurus horneri'' and ''Anasazisaurus horneri.'' Within the paleontological community, Horner is best known for his work on the cutting edge of dinosaur growth research. He has published numerous articles in collaboration with Berkeley paleontologist Kevin Padian, and French dinosaur histologist Armand de Ricqlès, on the growth of dinosaurs using growth series. This usually involves leg bones in graduated sizes from different individuals ranging in age from embryos to adults. He also revitalized the contested theory that ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' was an obligate scavenger, rather than a predatory killer. While this theory has been widely discussed by the popular press, it has never been a major research focus for Dr. Horner. Horner himself has claimed that he never published the scavenger hypothesis in the peer reviewed scientific literature, and that he used it mainly as a tool to teach a popular audience, particularly children, the dangers of making assumptions in science (such as assuming ''T. rex'' was a hunter) without using evidence.〔Novella, S. "Interview with Jack Horner." The Skeptics Guide to the Universe. 14-OCT-2011. Accessed 24-OCT-2011, http://media.libsyn.com/media/skepticsguide/skepticast2009-10-14.mp3〕 In 2000, Horner's crews discovered five specimens of ''T. rex'' and three more the following summer, including one even larger than the specimen nicknamed "Sue". The specimen was 10–13 tons in weight and was 10% larger than other specimens. The Museum of the Rockies, as the result of continuing fieldwork, now boasts the largest ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' collection in the world. Currently, he is working on the developmental biology of dinosaurs. Horner has published more than 100 professional papers, six popular books including ''Dinosaurs Under the Big Sky''; a children's book, ''Maia: A Dinosaur Grows Up''; a non-fiction book on dinosaurs from Montana, ''Dinosaur Lives''; and numerous published articles. He was also a part of the 2005 discovery of soft tissue inside of a ''T. rex'' fossil. Currently, he is the Curator of Paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies, the Regent's Professor of Paleontology, adjunct curator at the National Museum of Natural History, and teaches with the Honors Program at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Over the years he has advised those who have gone on to be the leading paleontologists of a new generation such as Greg Erickson, Scott Sampson, Kristi Curry-Rogers, and David J. Varricchio. Horner was awarded an honorary doctorate by Pennsylvania State University in 2006 in recognition of his work. In 2003, Horner discovered a fossilized tyrannosaur leg bone from which paleontologist Mary Higby Schweitzer was able to retrieve proteins in 2007. In 2009, National Geographic released a documentary entitled "Dinosaurs Decoded" which reviews Horner's research into juvenile dinosaurs. He suggests that juvenile dinosaurs looked sufficiently different from adults, and that they have sometimes been mistaken for a separate species. The program examines specific changes that occurred as dinosaurs aged and speculates on why the changes were necessary. Horner's research on the topic has gone as far as eliminating several "sub-species" of Triceratops, Pachycephalosaurus, and Tyrannosaurs. Horner also believes that if his research were to continue as much as a third of known dinosaurs would be classified under an existing species.〔Levitt, Dan. ''Dinosaurs Decoded''. National Geographic. 11 Oct. 2009. Television.〕 In January 2012, Horner married nineteen-year-old Vanessa Shiann Weaver while in Las Vegas, Nevada. Horner was 65 at the time. Weaver is an undergraduate student in the Montana State University Paleontology department and a volunteer in Horner's research lab at the Museum of the Rockies. On November 2, 2013, Horner was awarded the Romer-Simpson Prize; the highest honor a paleontologist can receive from the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jack Horner (paleontologist)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|