Jul 19 2009
Triceratops for Lunch
By David Finnigan
Like a lot of young children, I was dinosaur-obsessed. I struggled through Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park in Year Four and the more sophisticated Jurassic Park: The Junior Novelization in Year Eight* and, upon becoming an adult, I hunted for still more dinosaur-related literature.
There is very little.
Dinosaur literature for adults in the last quarter of the 20th century is scarce. The message seems to be that dinosaurs are fodder for kids and action movies, but not a topic any adult would be interested in. Meanwhile, the last 25 years have been incredibly active ones in the timeline of dinosaur paleontology, with more “new” species named than in all prior history. So I am righteously excited about the publication of Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life, a new overview of the world of dinosaurs by Scott Sampson.
Scott Sampson
Sampson is a leading palaeontologist, specialising in vertebrate palaeontology, dinosaurs, mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems and evolutionary theory. Since graduating with a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Toronto, Sampson has explored the world’s fossils and uncovered a great number of well-preserved dinosaur specimens, including several new species. His current research efforts are focused on a large scale project in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, southern Utah, which has yielded abundant remains of a previously unknown dinosaur fauna.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Sampson is one of the four National Tour Guests visiting Australia in August for National Science Week 2009, along with Theoretical Physicist Lawrence Krauss, NASA Astronaut Megan McArthur and Australia’s own Tanya Ha, a leading Environmentalist. See more information about the Tour Guests at the Science Week website.
Buddy the T-Rex is the star of Dinosaur Train
Speaking as a mature adult with an interest in the history of life on Earth, I am excited about seeing Sampson speaking at various Science Week events. Speaking as a 10-year old who adored the Muppets, I’m excited about seeing Sampson in Dinosaur Train, the U.S. PBS children’s series produced by the Jim Henson Company for which Sampson is scientific consultant and on-air host. If you need a little joy added to your day, I recommend you check out one of the online episodes of Dinosaur Train, preferably Triceratops for Lunch.
* In case you’re wondering, the Junior Novelization is the superior work. Why? Less sexism and incoherent rambling about Chaos Theory; more photos of Velociraptors chasing Jeff Goldblum.
