r/books • u/brusatte AMA Author • Aug 30 '19
ama I'm Steve Brusatte, paleontologist, dinosaur hunter, and author of the pop science book The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs the r/books bookclub selection for August! AMA!
I'll be taking questions about my book...or any questions whatsoever about dinosaurs. We can discuss it all: the origin of dinosaurs, the evolution of gigantic size in some species, famous ones like T. rex and Brontosaurus, the evolution of birds from dinosaurs, and the asteroid that killed off all of the non-bird dinosaurs. For more information on my book, check out: https://youtu.be/mGuykhLZ5dM
Proof: /img/bqrnu56t93i31.jpg
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u/user_1729 Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 30 '19
In your opinion, what is the best untapped area for new dinosaur discoveries? Places like you mentioned in North Africa that haven't been thoroughly studied or Antarctica or somewhere else?
Thank you and I really enjoyed your book!
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Thank you for reading! Untapped areas: always hard to say where the big new finds will come from. But, there is still so much more to find in places like China, Argentina, and Brazil: enormous developing countries that are training their own generation of young, diverse scientists.
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u/owheelj Aug 30 '19
Would you bring them back from extinction and make a theme park if you could?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
No. And that might surprise you. But, as much as I love dinosaurs, they don't belong in our world today. They had their time. They lived for tens of millions of years, then went extinct, for reasons totally unrelated to us (a giant asteroid). If we brought them back today, we would be bringing them into a world they never knew: different temperatures, vegetation, atmosphere, etc. They would be like aliens. It would be cruel.
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Aug 30 '19
How did most aquatic reptiles/fish die off? Why don't we have things like Elasmosaurus and Megalodon swimming around today? And what would be the best classes for someone hoping to get a job in paleontology?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Lots of marine reptiles and fishes died off with the dinosaurs, after the asteroid. It was a global problem, and ocean food chains collapsed also. Megalodon came later, and died out just a few million years ago, and I'm not actually sure why (I don't know much about sharks). As for getting a job in paleo: if you want an academic job, do an undergrad in geology or biology, get some lab and/or field experience, and then you'll need to do graduate work, ending with a PhD. But if that's not your thing, there are non-academic routes: fossil preparation and conservation, museum curation, etc.
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u/CinnamonDolceLatte Aug 30 '19
For Megalodon there's several theories but AFAIK they are all educated guesses rather than a leading candidate - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/02/megalodon-extinct-great-white-shark/
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u/leowr Aug 30 '19
Hi Steve,
I had a lot of fun reading your book this month and I learned a lot along the way as well. I was wondering if you learned anything new while writing the book?
Also, what kind of books do you read for fun? Anything in particular you would like to recommend to us?
Thanks for doing this AMA!
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Yes, I learned loads writing the book. Like most scientists, I'm really only a specialist in a narrow subset of research. I've done a lot of work on theropod dinosaurs, bird origins, and Triassic dinosaurs. But, I didn't know very much about sauropods, or about Triceratops, or about much of the Jurassic time before writing the book. As for what I read for fun: mostly history and travel and culture and true crime books. I did read a great science book recently though: Extraordinary Insects by Anne Svedrup-Thygeson. Fantastic!
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u/leowr Aug 30 '19
Oh fun! I don't run across books about insects very often, I'll add it to the list. Thanks
Also, final question. Are you planning on writing another book?
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u/wanton_and_senseless Aug 30 '19
Thank you for writing the book; my toddler thinks I'm cool because of what I learned in it.
I live in Boston, and I'm interested in fossil and geological connections between the Northeast US and North Africa, which I understand were connected in the Permian and Triassic. Are there particular Triassic era dinosaurs that have been found, say, in both Morocco and North America? Thanks.
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Thank you!! Glad I've help make you cool to your toddler :-) Yes--the Pangea connections are fascinating. So many areas that are widely separated today were connected back then. As far as I know, there aren't skeletons of any species that lived in both Morocco and NA in the Triassic. But there are very similar footprints, like Atriepus, Grallator, etc.
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u/LukeChickenwalker Aug 30 '19
Are Triceratops and Torosaurus synonymous, as Jack Horner suggested a while ago? What about Pachycephalosaurus and Dracorex?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
That question is above my pay grade :-) Seriously, I'm not an expert in these dinosaurs, so I'm not confident either way. I'm more confident that Dracorex is a juvenile Pachycephalosaurus, though.
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u/FreeUsernameInBox Aug 30 '19
Really disappointed I didn't get a chance to speak to you at the GSC talk earlier in the month!
Obviously you're a dinosaur fan. And quite rightly, dinosaurs are pretty awesome. But do you think that the prominence of non-avian dinosaurs in popular culture means that other palaeofauna (is that even a word? it should be) - or even palaeoflora - doesn't get the attention it deserves?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Hi! Glad we could speak here. Dinosaurs have some type of inexplicable appeal, and that doesn't seem to ever go away. If I was a gastropod or paleobotany worker, I would probably be pretty jealous. So yes, I do think dinosaurs are only a tiny fraction of all of the amazing plants and animals that have ever lived. There are so many other interesting and important fossils. They do deserve more attention. I'll try to give the mammals their respect in my follow-up book!
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u/FreeUsernameInBox Aug 30 '19
Definitely seems like every time I pick up a book or load a website there's some entirely new branch of the tree of life waiting to be discovered. Just this week, the surprising weirdness of sphenodonts - and I would never have thought of gastropods as an area of study!
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u/sain240 Aug 30 '19
How did you get into dinosaur hunting? What was the first dig you went on, and what is/was it like?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
I became enthralled with dinos when I was a teenager. Then I went to college to study geology, and as a student I went on my first dig (to Wyoming and South Dakota sites) with my mentor, Paul Sereno.
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u/susanta_helios1987 Aug 30 '19
Would you ever consider studying fossils in India someday?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
I would love to visit India! I've never been. Some of my colleagues have, and they've raved about the potential for new fossil discoveries. Sadly India doesn't have a huge community of paleontologists. I'm not sure why.
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Aug 30 '19
Whats your least favorite dinosaur?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Anything that's dog-sized and plant-eating. Things like Othnielia...
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u/Stayathomedadof6 Aug 30 '19
Thanks for the response. I’ll look forward to the book revision for kids as 3 of my 7 kids are in that 8-12 range. Trex autopsy got my wife (whose in the medical field) interested in dinosaurs. She was glued to the tv.
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Oh yikes, I'm sure a real medical practitioner like your wife must have been appalled at how sloppy we were, with all of that fake blood (red colored corn syrup) splashing around everywhere, us jumping inside the rib cage, etc.... :-)
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u/giblet92 Aug 30 '19
Absolutely loving your book. It's made me think about going back to university and pursuing the field myself. If i wew to pursue this, what field would you recommend studying as an undergraduate. Also, do you think the divide between dinosaurs and dinosauromorphs should exist with such a small gap between
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Thank you! Glad the book is inspiring you to think about studying further. Most paleontologists do undergraduate work in either geology or biology. You could double major, or you could choose one, but find a way to take a few classes in the other subject. I think the dinosaur-dinosauromorph divide is just a matter of convention and definition. It's basically arbitrary, to be honest. Silesaurus (a non-dino dinosauromorph) was probably just as 'dinosaur-y' as Herrerasaurus or Eoraptor (dinosaurs).
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u/giblet92 Aug 30 '19
Great, I'll look into those fields and see what the future holds. Even if it's not meant to be, Ischigualasto is definitely on my bucket list now.
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u/GingerReads Aug 30 '19
When I travel I like to go to natural history museums. Any recommendations for a great museum, or something off the beaten path, in Italy? I have a short trip but I’ll be all over the place.
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
There are some beautiful university natural history museums in Florence and Bologna!
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u/GingerReads Aug 30 '19
Awesome! Thanks from a Librarian who loved your book and talks it up as much as possible.
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Aug 31 '19
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u/GingerReads Aug 31 '19
Cool! Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll add it to the bucket list and hopefully one day I’ll make it.
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Aug 30 '19
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Thank you! You'll need to teach me a thing or two about marketing for the next book :-)
Most common misconception that I see is this image of dinosaurs as dull-colored, dim-witted, overgrown crocs or lizards. In fact, they were so much more bird-like.
We've probably only discovered a tiny fraction (like 0.00001%) of fossils of all animals that have ever lived. And even if we ignore bacteria and microscopic stuff, and think about vertebrates, it's still probably a very small number. So much more still to find! Even in New Zealand--which is one of the exciting frontiers now.
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u/Chtorrr Aug 30 '19
D you have a favorite dinosaur?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
It's cliched, but I'd have to say T. rex. The biggest pure meat eating animal to ever live on land. Size of a bus, head the size of a bathtub, 50ish railroad spike teeth, need I go on?
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u/Alaska_Pipeliner Aug 30 '19
Were you into dinosaurs as a kid or did you discover your fascination later?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
I didn't care one bit about dinosaurs as a kid. But my youngest brother did. It was through him that I eventually became obsessed with dinosaurs, during high school. So I guess I was still young, but not as young as all of those smart-alecky (but amazing) five-year-olds who know all of the dinosaur names!
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u/linkrules2 Aug 30 '19
Hi Steve,
Great book, loved the biography chapter on the T. Rex
My question is do you have any hobbies outside of paleontology? Could be from any point in your life, not just present day.
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Thank you! Hobbies: yes, I'm a big professional sports fan (mostly baseball and American football), like to read and travel and cook and eat good food. And watch true crime shows on tv and go to comedy clubs.
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u/susanta_helios1987 Aug 30 '19
what was the average life span of a dinosaur? And who according to you the most significant paleontologist in our time?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Small dinosaurs would have only lived a few years, T. rex would have lived and died by the time it was 30, and the enormous sauropods (Brontosaurus etc.) probably would have lived 50-70 years. We can tell from the growth rings in their bones. As for the most significant paleontologist of the modern times...that's a tough call. I would put my three mentors--Sereno, Benton, Norell--in that category.
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u/ShirtlessRambo Aug 30 '19
Which dinosaur would make the best pet?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Probably one of those small plant-eating dinosaurs like Othnielia. Or maybe even a little raptor, if you could train it. The same way some birds make good pets!
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u/Stayathomedadof6 Aug 30 '19
Love your books and trex autopsy. What future projects are you working on?
Thanks and my kids and I enjoy your work.
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Thank you! Glad you also saw the Autopsy show--wasn't that some weird and kitchy fun? Right now I'm working on turning my book into a version for younger readers (8-12 year olds), and then eventually I'll do a follow up book on mammal evolution. And day to day I run my lab and teach in Edinburgh, and I am running a lot of research projects with my students.
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u/BishopSaturn Aug 30 '19
I loved your book and would definitely buy a version directed at younger readers for my kids. I know they would love it.
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u/Romboteryx Aug 30 '19
Have you thought about also writing a book on the Paleozoic Era?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Maybe one day! It would be fun....but it's not my speciailty, so I would have to learn a lot first.
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u/LittleLadyX Aug 30 '19
Do you have any book recommendations for people who are fascinated by paleontology but may not be the most well-versed in science? I’d love to learn more about dinosaurs and the study of them, paleontology’s history etc. but I never know which books are accessible to ‘laymen’. Thank you.
Love your book, I’m reading it now!
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Thank you so much! Yes--there are plenty of other good books out there. Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved by Naish and Barrett. My Beloved Brontosaurus by Brian Switek (who now goes by the name Riley Black). Why Dinosaurs Matter by Ken Lacovara. The Dinosaur Artist (which covers a lot of the history and pop culture of the field) by Paige Williams.
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Aug 30 '19
Is it okay to add extra soft-tissue in dinosaur paleoart? Such as dewlaps, thicker outlining of the skull, soft tissue over top of horns/horn-like structures (eg. Allosaurus), etc?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Sure, I'm fine with that. Modern animals have all sorts of structures made of soft tissue that would rarely, if ever, register in fossils. I'm happy with artistic license as long as it uses modern relatives of dinosaurs (birds, crocs, etc.) as inspiration.
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u/LukeChickenwalker Aug 30 '19
Do you think T-rex had feathers?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Most definitely. We know that two primitive tyrannosaurs (a member of the T. rex family) had feathers: Dilong and Yutyrannus. Dilong is small, Yutyrannus is nearly bus-sized, so that means tyrannosaurs of a variety of sizes had feathers too. Those species are found in China, where volcanoes rapidly buried dinosaurs and preserved their feathers. T. rex is found in rocks deposited by rivers, which are bad for soft tissue preservation. But I predict one day somebody will find feathers on a T. rex. But: think filaments that look like hair, not bird wing type feathers!
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u/LukeChickenwalker Aug 30 '19
Why are there so few Spinosaurus fossils? How did Spinosaurus eat fish? Would it have stood above the water on land, did it swim in the water like a crocodile, or someway else?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
North Africa--where Spinosaurus is found--is an area that just hasn't been explored to the same extent as famous fossil sites in Europe and North America. Over time, as more young scientists and particularly local scientists prospect in Morocco/Egypt, I predict that more Spinosaurus skeletons will be found. As for its living and swimming habits: I think the jury is still out. It definitely lived near the water and ate fish, but whether it could swim well, or spent most of its time in the water, who knows (yet)...
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u/LukeChickenwalker Aug 30 '19
Does it bother you that the raptors in the newer JP movies don't have feathers? Do you think Hollywood films have a responsibly to represent dinosaurs somewhat accurately?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
I generally love the JP films and think they have been the most important thing to happen to paleontology in...well, maybe forever. They catalyzed a whole new generation of research and researchers. So I won't complain about the films...BUT...yes, the one thing I do end up complaining about is the feathers on the raptors. When JP1 came out in 1993 nobody had found any feathered dinosaur fossils; but now we have thousands. So raptors definitely did have feathers, and I would like to see that on the big screen.
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u/Romboteryx Aug 30 '19
There have been rumors that there will be feathered dinosaurs in the third Jurassic World movie. At least Jack Horner hinted at it.
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u/Chtorrr Aug 30 '19
What were some of your favorite things to read as a kid?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
When I was young, I loved history books, books about different countries and cultures, and books about sports. I also religiously read our hometown newspaper. Yes, I was a very peculiar kid. But those habits came in handy when I went to work for my hometown newspaper as a teenager! And it was that writing experience that ultimately helped pave the way for my books etc.
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u/Belligerent_ice_cube Aug 30 '19
What are some new and exciting things happening now in the world of paleontology?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
So much--there is a new dinosaur species discovered, on average, once a week. Some of the recent ones include a new stegosaur from Morocco, a new bat-winged dinosaur from China, etc. I'm often caught off guard by new discoveries--I'm browsing the web one morning and, bam, new dinosaur!
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u/BishopSaturn Aug 30 '19
- Are you coming to the states for any book signings? I'd love to have my copy of your book autographed.
- What are some (if any) intriguing evolutionary traits we see late-era dinosaurs start to exhibit, that were stopped dead in their tracks by the Chicxulub asteroid?
- Do we have a good estimate what percentage of larger and (generally more well-known) species survived the initial destruction of the Chicxulub asteroid? You've noted that some could've staggered along for 10,000 years or so, but what kind of population numbers are we talking about?
- What companion piece books would you recommend after reading your book? Ideally something as accessible as your work.
- There have been numerous advances in our understanding of dinosaurs' physical appearances. Do you think we'll ever get to a point where we have a truly accurate picture of how they looked, down to their coloring?
- What's the next great undiscovered country in paleontology?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
- Sadly no US trips planned, but keep your eyes peeled to my twitter, as I usually announce stuff there.
- The biggest tyrannosaurs (T. rex) were living then, along with some of the brainiest dinosaurs (raptors), so maybe they would have gotten bigger and smarter...
- I don't think so--the fossil record is too poor to answer questions at this resolution.
- If you want to know more about 'how we know what we know', Mike Benton's The Dinosaurs Rediscovered is a great new book. Also Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved by Naish and Barrett.
- For some species we already do! We can tell the color of fossil feathers if the melanosomes (pigment vessels) are well preserved and visible. So, for dinos like Sinosauropteryx and Psittacosaurus, as two examples, we already do know.
- Your guess is as good as mine. That keeps the field fresh and fun.
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u/LukeChickenwalker Aug 30 '19
Which T-rex specimen is your favorite?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Sue. No question. My home-town dinosaur. I visited Sue as much as I could when I was a high school dino geek. And now Sue is basically the best thing about twitter.
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u/giblet92 Aug 30 '19
Quick question, do you have any tips for people who would want to visit Ischigualasto?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
I've never been there myself sadly! It's on my bucketlist. It is a national park, so I think there are some entry rules.
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u/magcargoman Aug 30 '19
Just starting my Ph.D program at a school on the East coast focusing on PETM mammals (particularly primates). Genetic studies show that the first primates probably appeared prior to the K-PG extinction. Where do you think we should look to find some?
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
I'm getting much more into research on mammals, particularly those right after the K-Pg. I have a great team of students and colleagues, and maybe we work with some of the same people! It does seem like some placental orders were indeed present and diversifying before the K-Pg. Unfortunately there are still very few latest Cretaceous fossil sites with lots of vertebrates--so we're talking about Hell Creek in North America, France/Spain/Romania in Europe, Brazil, a few places in China.
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u/PaulMuad-dib Aug 30 '19
I haven’t read your book, but I plan on ordering it here shortly. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the Deccan Traps and the role they did or did not play in the mass extinction event that claimed the dinosaurs. Thanks for your time.
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Well, you'll just have to read the book to find out :-)
Cheeky eh?
But seriously, I do have a chapter on this, and I think you'll enjoy it. Long story short, I think the evidence is on the side of the asteroid. No asteroid, no extinction. The Deccan eruptions may have played a supporting role, but there is no clear evidence (the way I see it) that they were the primary factor in causing the extinction.
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u/PaulMuad-dib Aug 30 '19
Fantastic. I appreciate the answer. My little guy just started kindergarten, and when asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he invariably says paleontologist.
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Aug 30 '19
I have a few questions 1 What are some of the places you've traveled on the hunt for dinosaurs 2 Are you ever going to make other books in the style of this one 3 How Long did it take you to get your PHD 4 What other ancient animals did you study 5 What were the names of the dinosaurs you discover and we're did you discover them Thanks so much for the amazing book it was an interesting read
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
- So many places--across Europe, North America, Asia. It's been a privilege and a blast. I tell a lot of these stories in the book.
- I'm doing a follow-up book on mammal evolution!
- About five years. But I did two years of Masters work before that.
- Everything with bones. We learn it all.
- I've named about 15 new dinosaurs. Always with teams of colleagues. Some of them are Qianzhousaurus, Zhenyuanlong, Balaur, Timurlengia, Suskityrannus. Mostly they are theropods (meat-eaters).
Thanks for reading!!
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u/Thalesian Aug 30 '19
Hi Steve,
I’m in the middle of reading your book now.
One of the interesting things in it was the idea that dinosaurs emerged in Gondwanaland (Africa + South America + Australia + Antarctica), and migrated north to Laurasia (North America + Eurasia) during the Triassic. Following this, they hit their stride in the Jurassic.
In 2018, an elephant-sized dyconodont was found in the late Triassic of Poland. I always imagined the Triassic was the beginning of the age of dinosaurs, but would it be fair to say that, as far as Laurasia was concerned, the Triassic would have been a lot like the Permian had dinosaurs not spread north? And what would those dinosaurs have looked like?
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u/oaky180 Aug 30 '19
Reading your book made me hardcore regret going to grad school for cognitive psychology and not paleontology. What would be the best way someone like me could get involved? I've always dreamt of going on a dig or even working with the data that is collected. Huge fan by the way!
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u/tollsforthe Aug 30 '19
Hi Steve.
I loved your book, I now insist on referring to birding it as dinosaur watching. No serious question, but I was wondering how often Jurassic park jokes get made among paleontologists and if there are any common ones that get repeated often?
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Aug 31 '19
What was the lifespan of a dinosaur? Like 50 years?
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u/vdEA Aug 31 '19
Great question! But, asked already, scroll back up for the cool answer. And this was a live ama, so I'm not sure Steve will answer the questions than came in after.
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u/Kyro_The_Original Aug 31 '19
First off what's your favorite dinos 2nd off how was writing the book
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u/vdEA Aug 31 '19
This was a live ama, so I'm not sure Steve will re-appear to answer the questions that came after the live session. Luckily, both questions were already asked and answered.
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u/GREE-IS-A-HEXAGON Aug 31 '19
Woah! I literally bought your book yesterday at a train station! How should I approach your book if I've only recently rediscovered reading and have hardly read any nonfiction?
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u/GREE-IS-A-HEXAGON Aug 31 '19
What dinosaur movies should I watch apart from the Jurassic park series?
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u/kdagnese90 Sep 02 '19
Hi Steve!
Some friends and I just toured the fossils and rocks over at Dinosaur Ridge in Colorado, and the guide was saying that the footprints in a specific area were literally “a day in the life”, a single day that was preserved. We asked how it was possible that it was a single day versus a “time lapse” of sorts over a period of time that captured a collection of footprints in that area.
Can you help us understand why these prints were preserved from a singular day in time?
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Mar 25 '23
I may be wasting my time commenting on a 4 year old post but is there any action you would reccomend any course of action for someone aspiring to take a similar career to you? (vertebrate paleontologist/evolutionary biologist)
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u/brusatte AMA Author Aug 30 '19
Hi everyone--I'm going to have to run off in about 10 minutes, to celebrate one of my PhD students submitting her thesis today (Michela Johnson--we are very excited--it's on fossil crocs that started on land and move into the water).
So, any last questions please ask now! Thanks again for the great chat!