Favorite Paleontologist

[Cloud the Dinosaur King]

Who is your favorite paleontologist? Mine is Paul Sereno.

[BlueKrono]

My favorite is Dr. Adam Smith of England. He specializes in plesiosaurs and is a pretty cool cat. 

[laticauda]

My favorite is Dr. Adam Smith of England. He specializes in plesiosaurs and is a pretty cool cat. 

What I'd really like to do, is put the greatness of this Paleontologist in perspective. I think that there 's only 3 names...Luis Alverez ah, Robert Bakker, probably, and...Dr. Adam Smith.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

My favorites would be E. D. Cope, O. C. Marsh, and John Ostrom. In this context I'd rather stick to historical paleontologists myself.

[DinoToyForum]

Come on, guys, be serious.   

[suspsy]

Franz Nopcsa was the first paleontologist to be interested in what dinosaurs were like in life as opposed to just putting their bones back together. He was also the first to propose that birds evolved from dinosaurs. I don't think he gets nearly the recognition he deserves.

[Libraraptor]

David Norman
Robert T.Bakker
John Ostrom
Adam Smith
Jack Horner
Peter Wellnhofer
Hartmut Haubold

[Loon]

Darren Naish, hands down

[laticauda]

There are many important paleontologist, so in reality I don't know if I truly have a favorite.  I guess  I would start with Robert Bakker, just because he is an interesting oversized personality. Not to mention the Dinosaur Heresies and Raptor Red.   Another interesting person was Franz Nopcsa, here is a guy who deserves some notice but has largely been forgotten.  He was interested in the living behavior of the dinosaurs well before many others took notice of paleobiology.  I guess I would also add Dr. Jack McIntosh.  An expert in sauropods.  An amazing guy and Paleontologist.

Oh I just thought of one more:  Scott Sampson.  Yes he's on Dinosaur Train, but he also inspired PBS to broadcast more nature shows (cartoon). Get outside and get into nature and make your own discoveries! 

[Cloud the Dinosaur King]

There are many important paleontologist, so in reality I don't know if I truly have a favorite.  I guess  I would start with Robert Bakker, just because he is an interesting oversized personality. Not to mention the Dinosaur Heresies and Raptor Red.   Another interesting person was Franz Nopcsa, here is a guy who deserves some notice but has largely been forgotten.  He was interested in the living behavior of the dinosaurs well before many others took notice of paleobiology.  I guess I would also add Dr. Jack McIntosh.  An expert in sauropods.  An amazing guy and Paleontologist.

Oh I just thought of one more:  Scott Sampson.  Yes he's on Dinosaur Train, but he also inspired PBS to broadcast more nature shows (cartoon). Get outside and get into nature and make your own discoveries!

Scott Sampson was also in Dinosaur Revolution and Dinosaur Planet.

[Takama]

Robert Bakker
Thomas Holtz
Scott Hartman
Jim Kirkland
John Conway(he is one Right?)


Of course we have to thank one Paleontologist for the ability to participate in this thread. (you know  who you are )

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Fond of a few from the distant past.....Stromer, Roy Chapman Andrews, Walter Granger, for a few examples

[Cloud the Dinosaur King]

Robert Bakker
Thomas Holtz
Scott Hartman
Jim Kirkland
John Conway(he is one Right?)


Of course we have to thank one Paleontologist for the ability to participate in this thread. (you know  who you are )

I think that John Conway is a Paleo Artist but that technically counts as a Paleontologist.

[Tylosaurus]

Doctor Adam S. Smith
This young man is a good friend of mine that runs the best Dino collecting community named Dinosaur Toy Forum and blog site named Dinosaur Toy Blog
All the latest info Dino Collecting & Paleontology wise can be find there, toys models, books arts new fins old memories everything, you name it the works.
Also his knowledge for Prehistoric Marine Reptiles is extremely wide based, great guy <3

Doctor Thomas Holtz
One of the best Tyrannosaurid Paleontologists out there if not the best, he  discovered many awesome things when it came to this class of dinosaur.
Also a Major Doctor Who fan, Doctor Thomas is also a kind guy to talk to, just cool to know such a legendary man.

Cam Muskely
Cam is a good friend of mine also Admin of my Dino & Mineral Collecting community @ Facebook:
Info & Collections of Dinosaurs & Minerals
And he is also studying to become a Paleontologist! That too I really admire from him
He has Autism like me, but he proves that people with an Autism can do things they dream of wanting to be
So this is why Ia dd him in my most faved Paleontologist list, because he has proven me he will make it

Timothy "Skippy" Miller
Probably the funniest Paleontologist out there hunting and digging up Ammonites, his videos always bring a smile to my face!
His knowledge for Ammonites is very large and his also has interesting yet friendly ways of explaining things
When I feel sad I watch his videos, they always tend to cheer me up

[The Atroxious]

I really had to think about this one, since I pay far more attention to the animals themselves than to the people researching them, but today it occurred to me that without a doubt it has to be Xu Xing. The guy's an absolute legend. His discoveries were what really got me interested in the science behind nonavian dinosaurs again as an adult.

I agree with some of the folks above that Franz Nopsca deserves far more recognition than he gets, considering how much he posthumously influenced the direction of palaeontology. Mad respect to him.

[Neosodon]

I finally decided Robert Bakker is my favorite paleontologist. He has been in paleontology so long he is like a legend. He was the first one to really push the idea that dinosaurs were advanced, warm blooded, smart, active and adaptable rather than fat dumb slow moving monsters that lived in swamps. He also belived that T Rex was a hunter and fought Jack Horner on the idea. I've seen him many times in documentaries and like his personality too. He also said that there is no real conflict between religion and science which I strongly agree with.

[CrypticPrism]

Favorite: Robert Bakker, Mark Witton, and lastly Darren Naish in that order because some of Darren's ideas are a little strange

Least favorite: Jack Horner. He's become a literal paleontological whisk in the sense of the controversy he's caused.

[Neosodon]

Favorite: Robert Bakker, Mark Witton, and lastly Darren Naish in that order because some of Darren's ideas are a little strange

Least favorite: Jack Horner. He's become a literal paleontological whisk in the sense of the controversy he's caused.

Jack Horner really bothered me with some of his not so well founded or false theories but he did inspire me to do some research and he made some significant discoveries. Definitely not my favorite ether but for some reason I kind of like the guy but I don't really know why.

[Simon]

Robert Bakker has been my favorite paleontologist since I got his book "The Dinosaur Heresies" in 1988.  At that point I had not paid much attention to paleontology for probably a dozen years, and his book amazed me with the discussion - and detailed drawings - of warm blodded, active, dinosaurs.

10 years later it was Paul Sereno's announced discovery of the weird Suchomimus that launched my current dino-philia in earnest.

So I would say Bakker, followed by Sereno.  But I also like Tom Holtz, with whom I corresponded a couple of times via the DML....

[Cloud the Dinosaur King]

I really had to think about this one, since I pay far more attention to the animals themselves than to the people researching them, but today it occurred to me that without a doubt it has to be Xu Xing. The guy's an absolute legend. His discoveries were what really got me interested in the science behind nonavian dinosaurs again as an adult.

I agree with some of the folks above that Franz Nopsca deserves far more recognition than he gets, considering how much he posthumously influenced the direction of palaeontology. Mad respect to him.

He got one of the weirdest dinosaurs named after him(Epidexipteryx hui).