Dr. Robert T. Bakker is the leader of the handful of iconoclastic paleontologists who rewrote the book on dinosaurs three decades ago. Along with other noted paleontologists such as John Ostrom and Armand de Ricqules, Bakker has changed the image of dinosaurs from slow-moving, slow-witted, cold-blooded creatures to, in at least some cases, warm-blooded giants well equipped to dominate the Earth for 200 million years. Long before feathered fossils were found, Bakker contended that some dinosaurs were endowed with insulating feathers. New research continues to lend strong support to this view, no longer in the minority.“I was fond of saying most of dinosaur science was wrong stuff, and that did offend a lot of people. Someone had to say dinosaurs had feathers,” said Bakker. “I want to put dinosaurs in context and in their chosen environment. I want you to be able to feel and think and smell what a Stegosaurus experienced. I want you to smell fresh fish on your teeth as a Ceratosaurus, then do this with the whole history of dinosaurs. Then I want you to finally understand how and why dinosaurs ruled.”
As curator of paleontology for the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Dr. Bakker has led the paleontology dig team in Seymour for the past two dig seasons, using a "CSI"-based approach, (for example, fossilized teeth uncovered are the “bullets” that help the team identify the victims and the predators in an ancient ecosystem) in order to discover the relationships between and the behavior of the species that lived in North Texas 250 million years ago.
In addition to his work with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Dr. Bakker is also the Director of the Morrison Natural History Museum in Colorado. He is also the author of many books on paleontology, including the groundbreaking 1986 book The Dinosaur Heresies: New Theories Unlocking the Mystery of the Dinosaurs and Their Extinction. Bakker was among the advisors for the film Jurassic Park, and the character Dr. Robert Burke in the motion picture The Lost World: Jurassic Park is based on him.
22 comments:
How many degrees do you have and what in?
We realize that T rex haven't been found in this area, but where have they been found?
Were the Dimetradon and the "T Rex" living in the same time period?
Hi Brandon,
Dimetrodon actually lived millions of years before even the first dinosaur appeared - so he and T.rex would not have tangled.
Good question! Thanks for posting.
To everyone else who posted - Dr. Bakker is in New Jersey today and tomorrow accepting an award, but we'll get these answers for you as soon as he gets back.
Thanks!
Erin
Erin
Tarrington and Matt,
It's been a while since you posted your quest, but in the off chance you are still checking back for an answer...
Tyrannosaurus Rex was northern US - Montana and the surrounding area, including a bit north, into Canada (Alberta? It's late here and my mind isn't working right.)
Jerry Sparks.
:)
Is there any way you could tell Mr. Bakker that I am, and Always have been, His biggest fan? And that "You can think of Tyrannosaurus Rex as the 8000 pound road runner from hell" is my favorite quote from him? Oh, I also plan to become a paleontologist.
Hi there,
I will certainly let Dr. Bakker know. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear it. You might be interested in the Q&A post he did with students from Seymour high school. Check it out here: http://hmnspaleo.blogspot.com/2007/
11/your-questions-answered.html
Thanks for reading!
Erin
to WildClaw:
Thanks for the note. Yeah, T. rex is a superb maxi-predator. We've got some new specimens that we're studying here at Houston. And our sister-museum in Glenrock, Wyoming has footprints from the Pygmy Tyrannosaur, Nanotyrannus.
A lot of popular books say "T. rex had razor-sharp teeth." Not true. The rex fangs are thick and strong and blunt - shaped like toothy bananas. Much stronger and blunter than the fangs in rex's close kin, Gorgosaurus (we have a gorgo too - at the Woodlands Xploration-Station).
Why did rex have blunt teeth? I suspect because it had to kill Triceratop. T'tops had thick armor all over the neck and shoulders. To break through, sharp teeth wouldn't work. Rex needed extra strong armor-penetrating fangs.
I have a question for you: What's your favorite Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaur? And what's your favorite Jurassic plant-eater?
Hope to see you in Houston...
Dr. Bob Bakker
Dr. Bakker,
What a thrill to find this blog and learn more of the work that is ongoing in Seymour.
Does HMNS envision or currently offer any hands-on courses and projects for more serious students of paleontology? I home school one very dino-obsessed ten-year-old girl who has amassed an amazing knowledge base of the dinosaur world, and I am seeking authentic opportunities for her to learn more.
Besides books and the museum, can you suggest some other ways (from your experience) that I might support her love for these creatures and this business? Do you ever lecture through HMNS? If not, do you offer any behind-the-scenes tours or opportunities of that sort whereby I might find greater support for my daughter's passion?
I most sincerely appreciate any advice or news that you can provide at your convenience.
Best regards,
Debra Pearson
Willis, TX
Hi Debra,
Thank you for reading the blog! I hope you and your daughter will check back periodically for updates on the Paleontology department's digs in Seymour.
I have forwarded your comment to Dr. Bakker, and will post his reply here as soon as I receive it.
Until then, you might be interested in visiting The Woodlands Xploration Station, a satellite educational facility of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. In addition to 12 full-size dinosaur skeleton casts currently on display, they are in the process of building a paleontology prep lab, where paleontologists, volunteers and even visitors like your daughter will work on excavating one of the plaster jackets they brought back from Seymour. (You can read more about that here It should be open within the next few weeks; you can call 281-364-7200 for the times it will be open.
Dr. Bakker does give lectures at the main Museum in Houston; however, none are currently scheduled.
If you have any other questions, please let us know. Thanks again for reading!
Best,
Erin
Hi Debra,
Thanks for the kind comments about our Texas fossils digs. Yes, we do have hands-on opportunities. The exact nature of the project depends on age of the student and their background. David Temple, our resident curator, has organzed a skilled posse of volunteers who clean bones and make plaster replicas. Give him a hollar.
Paleontology is a wonderful introduction to all of science. Digging and thinking about bones leads the mind to ponder ecology and animal behavior, anatomy and the mechancs of joints and muscles. Plus - fossil bones encourage folks to meld artistic appreciation of nature with an analytic approach.
Yep - I give talks five or six times a year at Houston. The next will be on "Dinosaur Mummies". And I help David with special programs for kids and parents, where we explore prehistoric fingers and toes from tracks.
Dr. Bob Bakker
(Check the Museum's Web site for more details on upcoming events.)
Thank you, Ms. Blatzer and Dr. Bakker. I have posted some questions for Mr. Temple, and I look forward to his ideas.
I forgot to mention that we visited Xploration Station for the first time this week and were impressed. Our family truly appreciates the hard work that you all do in the name of science.
Best regards,
Debra Pearson
Dr. Bakker:
Our 5th grade class read an article about you in the Fort Worth Star Telegram. We've filmed a research video and would like to send it to you. Where should we send it to make sure you get it? Please contact Scott Feille or Doug Mocek at 817-922-6850, or you can email us at scott.feille@fwisd.org.
Thanks for your time.
Dr. Bakker, Since I was a young boy, I have wondered how the long necked dinosaurs breathed effectively. Their long necks represent a large amount of "dead air", which must require larger lungs than otherwise necessary. And since the air they breath in would be somewhat "fouled" they must be warm blooded to have efficient oxygen transfer. The noise of the air rushing in and out thru the relatively small bronchial passages must have been brutal. Unfortunately, I have never seen anything written on this. Can you shed some light, if you have time, on the mechanics of the breathing problems, if any, of the long necked dinosaur. Thank you.
Gene
Hi Gene,
Thanks for your comment! I have forwarded it to Dr. Bakker and I'll post his reply here as soon as I receive it.
We just posted information on his new book for kids - I hope you'll check it out and come back soon for more info on the team's dig in Seymour.
Thanks again!
Erin
From Dr. Bakker:
Great question!! All us paleo-physiologists and bronto-respiratory-therapists worry about sauropods inhaling & exhaling.
No animal alive on land has such a long neck as a sauropod - see my sketch of Apatosaurus louisae (that's the one mounted in Pittsburgh).
One thing is clear: these dinos breathed like birds. We mammals and most other vertebrates have dead-end lungs. We inhale, air goes to the lungs, sits there, then comes out the same direction.
Birds do it better. They inhale, air goes to big air sacs in the body cavity, then goes through the lungs from the rear. And then continues forward and out the trachaea. No U-turn. No dead-ends.
Apatosaurs and other sauropods usually have big air-cavities in the vertebrae, identical to those of birds. That means there were even bigger air sacs around the gut. So sauropod dinosaurs must have had a "No U-Turn" air pathway.
Bird-style air-pathways should have made inhaling/exhaling easier and more efficient. Example: an ostrich has a neck four times longer than a deer's of the same body weight, but the ostrich has twice the efficiency (extracts twice as much oxygen from air for a given amount of energy spent on breathing).
I'd think that long-necked sauropod dinosaurs were far more efficient than any "normal" vertebrate without the bird-style system.
--Dr. Bakker
Hey Dr. Bob,
Are you still doing Dinamation digs at Como Bluff? It's on our agenda to return there sometime for another fun-filled week.
John and Gayla
a.k.a "Film Minor and Religious School", Como Crew '97
Dr. Bakker,
Thank you for your response to my question about Sauropod breathing capabilities. This explains something I have wondered about for a long time. I have another if you have time.
Who decided where the nostrils are placed on the Apatosaurus? My beady little brain tells me that this is not correct. I guess if you feel the animal had no need for a sense of smell, or had a bill instead of a fleshy snout, it might be correct but I cannot believe this. Additionally, I can just see all the debris blowing into its eyes as it breathes out, especially when feeding. I can think of no evolutionary advantage of having nostrils located where they are currently depicted. So, the question is why has this been done? Thanks, Gene
Dr. Bakker:
Hi!, my name is Rafel Vivas and I'm a biology student from Monterrey, Mexico. I heard about the discovery of the footprints from baby stegosaurs that you with other scientist discover last year. I don't know if there is some scientific article that talk about it. I f you had one, could you please sent me a copy from the document please? really I would apreciate your help so much.
I always had admire your job, and you with other paleontologist really had influenced me to be interested in dinosaur paleontologist, and I want to specialisate in that area, maybe doing a Major.
Well Dr. I`ll be waiting your answer. My e-mail adress is:
thundersaurus_vivas@hotmail.com
with all my respect:
Rafael Vivas Gzz.
Off topic ... but about 35-30 years ago in Melbourne Australia I met an American by the name of William Hall and who had a doctorate of Zoology. We discussed the Warm-Blooded Dinosaur Theory I had read about in Scientific American, and Dr Hall said that he knew 'Bob' Bakker. I would very much like to contact Dr Hall again. Perhaps if Dr Bakker reads this he might recall DR Hall, and perhaps know how to contact him.
Thank you
Bob just got an 8.2 over at beardrevue.com. That's a pretty awesome beard.
My burning question (that's been nagging at me for a while):
Can the fact that dinosaurs became extinct after the K-T event be considered as evidence that they were warm-blooded?
The cold-blooded ancestors of modern day crocodiles and turtles survived the post-KT-impact holocaust (namely, the food scarcity that followed) because they simply did not need to eat as much. The big dinos would be the first to die out after the impact. The smaller dinosaurs (that had not evolved into birds and hence, lacked the advantages of flight) would be out-competed by mammals in their ecological niches.
I've read many arguments for dinosaur endothermy that discuss (plausible) dinosaurian food intake in detail, but haven't encountered any so far that connect these dots - that large (as they were getting towards the end of the Cretaceous), warm-blooded animals would not be able to survive the food shortage following the K-T impact. I'd be thrilled to hear Dr. Bakker's thoughts on this.
Thanks in advance! I'm a huge fan, but I'll save the gushing for another time!
Shan
Singapore
Post a Comment