John Ostrom

Author: Leandro Alegsa Creation date: November 14, 2022

John Harold Ostrom (February 18, 1928 – July 16, 2005) was an American paleontologist.

In the 1960s, he showed that dinosaurs are more like big non-flying birds than they are like lizards (or "saurians"). Thomas Henry Huxley in the 1860s had thought birds evolved from dinosaurs, based on a comparison of Archaeopteryx with Compsognathus. Huxley's idea was later discarded, mainly because Heilmann, in 1926, had different views.

The first of Ostrom's reviews of the osteology and phylogeny of the primitive bird Archaeopteryx appeared in 1976. After the modern discoveries of fossil dinobirds in China, the Huxley–Ostrom theory was accepted by almost all palaeontologists.

Ostrom was a professor at Yale University. He was the Curator Emeritus of vertebrate paleontology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, which has an impressive fossil collection started by Othniel Charles Marsh. He died from complications of Alzheimer's disease.

Questions and Answers

Q: Who was John Harold Ostrom?

A: John Harold Ostrom was an American Paleontologist.

Q: What did Ostrom discover about dinosaurs in the 1960s?

A: In the 1960s, Ostrom showed that dinosaurs are more like big non-flying birds than they are like lizards or "saurians".

Q: Who had the idea that birds evolved from dinosaurs, and when?

A: Thomas Henry Huxley had the idea that birds evolved from dinosaurs in the 1860s.

Q: Why was Huxley's idea discarded?

A: Huxley's idea was later discarded mainly because Heilmann, in 1926, had different views.

Q: What did Ostrom review in 1976?

A: In 1976, Ostrom reviewed the osteology and phylogeny of the primitive bird Archaeopteryx.

Q: What happened when dinobirds were discovered in China?

A: After the modern discoveries of fossil dinobirds in China, the Huxley-Ostrom theory was accepted by almost all paleontologists.

Q: Which institution did Ostrom work for, and what was his role there?

A: Ostrom was a professor at Yale University, and he was the Curator Emeritus of vertebrate paleontology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, which has an impressive fossil collection started by Othniel Charles Marsh.