Anthony Fiorillo

Last updated
Anthony R. Fiorillo
Citizenship American
Alma mater University of Connecticut, University of Nebraska, University of Pennsylvania
Scientific career
Fields Paleontology
Institutions New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
Author abbrev. (zoology) Tony Fiorillo

Anthony Ricardo Fiorillo is Executive Director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, as well as a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at Southern Methodist University. For many years he was vice president of research & collections and chief curator at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science. [1] [2] A native of Connecticut, he received his bachelor's at the University of Connecticut, his master's at the University of Nebraska and a Ph.D. in Vertebrate Paleontology from the University of Pennsylvania. [3]

Contents

Career

Dr. Fiorillo worked on his Rea Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and later as a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1995 he became a curator at the Dallas Museum of Natural History (now the Perot Museum of Nature and Science). He is currently the Executive Director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science [4] and works as an adjunct associate professor of Paleontology at Southern Methodist University. [2] He has worked with the National Park Service in several national park units including Big Bend National Park, Denali National Park, Aniakchak National Monument, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park to identify, study and preserve dinosaur fossils found. In 2008, he was honored with a fellowship in the Geological Society of America. [2] [5] , as well as becoming a Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2013. For his long-time commitment to dinosaur paleontology within the National Park units in Alaska, he was recognized by the international George Wright Society in 2019 with the prestigious Natural Resource Achievement Award.

Since 1998 the primary focus of his work has been on polar dinosaurs, and more specifically the ancient Arctic dinosaurs of Alaska. [6] [7] Of the four Alaskan dinosaurs that have names, Fiorillo has named two of them: Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum and Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, which he named in honor of major supporters of his former museum. [8] [9] P. perotorum is christened after the billionaire Ross Perot and his family. [8] [10] Although Perot is not necessarily connected to Alaska or paleontology, he has given generously to the Perot Museum, which also bears his name. [11] N. hoglundi is named for Forrest Hoglund, [9] a Texas oil millionaire [12] who has also donated generously. Fiorillo and his colleagues have unearthed new polar dinosaurs as well as obtained insights into the ancient polar climate during one of Earth's greenhouse modes. [13] [14] In addition to Alaska, his work has taken him to Japan, Mongolia, and South Korea to explore the ancient land bridge connection between Asia and North America during the Cretaceous, a geographic connection often referred to as Beringia. His travels also include Australia, Italy, Peru, and Bolivia in order to further his research. [1] He has published approximately 140 technical papers.

Published work

Books

Anthony Fiorillo has collaborated on these books and volumes:

He has also written the following book:

Sample of other publications

Personal life

Dr. Fiorillo currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Related Research Articles

<i>Troodon</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Troodon is a former wastebasket taxon and a potentially dubious genus of relatively small, bird-like theropod dinosaurs definitively known from the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period. It includes at least one species, Troodon formosus, known from Montana. Discovered in October 1855, T. formosus was among the first dinosaurs found in North America, although it was thought to be a lizard until 1877. Several well-known troodontid specimens from the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta were once believed to be members of this genus. However, recent analyses in 2017 have found this genus to be undiagnostic and referred some of these specimens to the genus Stenonychosaurus some to the genus Latenivenatrix, and some to the genus Pectinodon. The genus name is Ancient Greek for "wounding tooth", referring to the teeth, which were different from those of most other theropods known at the time of their discovery. The teeth bear prominent, apically oriented serrations. These "wounding" serrations, however, are morphometrically more similar to those of herbivorous reptiles, and suggest a possibly omnivorous diet.

<i>Placerias</i> Extinct genus of dicynodonts

Placerias is an extinct genus of dicynodonts that lived during the Carnian to the Norian age of the Triassic Period. Placerias belongs to a group of dicynodonts called Kannemeyeriiformes, which was the last known group of dicynodonts before the taxon became extinct at the end of the Triassic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bone bed</span> Geological stratum or deposit containing bones

A bone bed is any geological stratum or deposit that contains bones of whatever kind. Inevitably, such deposits are sedimentary in nature. Not a formal term, it tends to be used more to describe especially dense collections such as Lagerstätte. It is also applied to brecciated and stalagmitic deposits on the floor of caves, which frequently contain osseous remains.

<i>Pachyrhinosaurus</i> Ceratopsid dinosaur genus from Late Cretaceous US and Canada

Pachyrhinosaurus is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of North America. The first examples were discovered by Charles M. Sternberg in Alberta, Canada, in 1946, and named in 1950. Over a dozen partial skulls and a large assortment of other fossils from various species have been found in Alberta and Alaska. A great number were not available for study until the 1980s, resulting in a relatively recent increase of interest in Pachyrhinosaurus.

<i>Amurosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Amurosaurus is a genus of lambeosaurine hadrosaurid dinosaur found in the latest Cretaceous period of eastern Asia. Fossil bones of adults are rare, but an adult would most likely have been at least 6 metres (20 ft) long. According to Gregory S. Paul, it was about 8 metres (26 ft) long and weighed about 3,000 kilograms (6,600 lb).

<i>Alaskacephale</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Alaskacephale is an extinct genus of pachycephalosaurid, a group of dome-headed, herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs, that lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now northern Alaska. The genus is one of the few known Arctic dinosaurs and was found in the Prince Creek Formation, which preserves a menagerie of fossils. The only known specimen, a squamosal bone, was found in 1999 and later described in 2005. However, Alaskacephale was not formally named until the next year.

<i>Mecochirus</i> Extinct genus of crustaceans

Mecochirus is an extinct genus of lobster-like decapod crustaceans, containing 17 species. The Maxberg Specimen of Archaeopteryx was initially assigned to the type species, Mechocirus longimanatus before it was realised that it belonged to Archaeopteryx lithographica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tugulu Group</span>

The Tugulu Group is a geological Group in Xinjiang, China whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur skeletal remains and footprints are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Creek Formation</span> Geological formation

The Prince Creek Formation is a geological formation in Alaska with strata dating to the Early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laramidia</span> Island continent that existed until the end of the Late Cretaceous period

Laramidia was an island continent that existed during the Late Cretaceous period, when the Western Interior Seaway split the continent of North America in two. In the Mesozoic era, Laramidia was an island land mass separated from Appalachia to the east by the Western Interior Seaway. The seaway eventually shrank, split across the Dakotas, and retreated toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Hudson Bay. The masses joined, forming the continent of North America.

Nematasketum is a nematophyte with internally thickened tubes. It is thought to be terrestrial or freshwater, and seems to be aligned with the fungi.

Deltapodus is an ichnogenus of footprint produced by a stegosaurian dinosaur According to the main Stegosauria article:

<i>Saurexallopus</i> Dinosaur footprint

Saurexallopus is an ichnogenus of four-toed theropod footprints from the Late Cretaceous period. The type ichnospecies is S. lovei, named and described in 1996 from the Harebell Formation. The taxon was originally named Exallopus, but later renamed as Saurexallopus as the former was preoccupied by a polychaete. A second species, S.zerbsti, was named and described in 2004 from the Lance Formation. In 2012 a four-toed track from the Cantwell Formation was referred to Saurexallopus indet. It was also suggested that Saurexallopus was produced by a therizinosaur taxon. In 2013 based on skeletal proportions it was suggested that the ichnotaxon was instead produced by an oviraptorosaur taxon. In 2014 a third species was named, S.cordata, from the Wapiti Formation. In 2018 several tracks from the Blackhawk Formation were referred to Saurexallopus indet.

<i>Nanuqsaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Nanuqsaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurine theropod dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous period Prince Creek Formation of the North Slope of Alaska, having lived roughly 70-68 million years ago. It contains a single species, Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, known only from a partial skull and multiple undescribed postcranial and teeth elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cantwell Formation</span> Geologic formation in Alaska, United States

The Cantwell Formation is a geologic formation in Alaska. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cretaceous period, it has also yielded numerous dinosaur tracks at Denali National Park. Contemporary therizinosaurid and hadrosaurid trackways in the formation indicate that the area was once a major point of immigration between Asia and North America during the Late Cretaceous for many families of dinosaur. Fossil plants similar to water lilies found in the same area suggest the area was a wetland or marsh, with ponds and other large standing bodies of water.

Wendy Sloboda is a Canadian fossil hunter from Warner, Alberta. She has made fossil discoveries of dinosaurs and other extinct animals on several continents, with finds in Canada, Argentina, Mongolia, France, and Greenland. She is commemorated in name of the horned dinosaur Wendiceratops, remains of which she discovered in 2010, as well as the fossil footprint Barrosopus slobodai which she discovered in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Druckenmiller</span> American paleontologist

Patrick S. Druckenmiller is a Mesozoic paleontologist, taxonomist, associate professor of geology, Earth Sciences curator, and museum director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North, where he oversees the largest single collection of Alaskan invertebrate and vertebrate fossils. He has published work on plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mastodons, and dinosaurs in the United States, Svalbard, and Canada. He has co-authored papers on discussions of mass extinctions and biogeography. Much of his work has focused on Arctic species. He is a member of the Spitsbergen Jurassic Research group, which focuses on marine reptiles. Druckenmiller has named many new genera and species, including Edgarosaurus muddi, Nichollsia borealis, Athabascasaurus bitumineus, Cryopterygius kristiansenae, Spitrasaurus larseni, and Spitrasauruswensaasi.

The Mother's Day Quarry (MDQ) is a Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) fossil site in the Morrison Formation that is located at the base of the Pryor Mountains in Carbon County, Montana. The site was first discovered by the Museum of the Rockies in 1994 and has produced over 2,500 elements since its discovery. Apart from approximately 12 theropod teeth, stegosaur limb material, and two conchostracans found at the site, these elements almost exclusively belong to specimens of the sauropod dinosaur Diplodocus sp. This deposit of fossils is thought to be the result of an age-segregated herd of these dinosaurs congregating at a limited water source and eventually succumbing to drought conditions.

Celina A. Suarez is an American geologist. She is known for her research on using trace element and stable isotope geochemistry of fossil vertebrates and invertebrates to understand paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and taphonomy of ancient terrestrial ecosystems. She is an associate profession in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas. The dinosaur Geminiraptor suarezarum is named after Suarez and her twin sister, Marnia Suarez, co-discovers of the site on which it was found.

References

  1. 1 2 Marino, Katharina (December 31, 2012). "Paleontologist puts passion for fossils to use as curator at Perot Museum". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Scientists". The Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "Anthony Fiorello - Dedman College - SMU". Southern Methodist University. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Anthony R. Fiorillo, Ph. D. named executive director of New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science in Albuquerque :: Department of Cultural Affairs Media Center :: Press Releases". media.newmexicoculture.org. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  5. ↑ The Geological Society of America. "All Active and Current GSA Fellows". Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  6. ↑ Dunham, Mike (August 25, 2012). "Alaskans - extinct and not - included in new Dallas museum". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ Wheeler, Jason (July 22, 2014). "Museum team races to make Alaska dinosaur discoveries". USA Today. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Tykoski, Ronald S. (September 2012). "A New Maastrichtian Species of the Centrosaurine CeratopsidPachyrhinosaurusfrom the North Slope of Alaska". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 57 (3): 561–573. doi: 10.4202/app.2011.0033 . ISSN   0567-7920.
  9. 1 2 Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Tykoski, Ronald S. (2014-03-12). "A Diminutive New Tyrannosaur from the Top of the World". PLOS ONE. 9 (3): e91287. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...991287F. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091287 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   3951350 . PMID   24621577.
  10. ↑ "Perot Museum of Nature and Science". Perot Museum Paleontologists Discover New Dinosaur Species | Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  11. ↑ "New Dallas science museum named for Ross Perot". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  12. ↑ "Forrest E. Hoglund". Reasoning Mind. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  13. ↑ Townsend, Lori (September 3, 2012). "Footprint Sheds More Light On Prehistoric Alaska;". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  14. ↑ Martin, Justin (August 7, 2014). "Footprints Suggest Duck-Billed Dinosaurs Thrived In Polar Ecosystem". KERA News. Retrieved January 12, 2016.

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