Darren Naish
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Darren Naish | |
|---|---|
 Darren Naish in 2016 | |
| Born | England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Southampton and University of Portsmouth |
| Known for | Tetrapod Zoology, Azhdarchid behaviour, and Xenoposeidon |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Palaeontology |
Darren Naish is a British vertebrate palaeontologist and science writer. He obtained a geology degree at the University of Southampton and later studied vertebrate palaeontology under British palaeontologist David Martill at the University of Portsmouth, where he obtained both an M. Phil. and PhD. He is also the founder of Tetrapod Zoology, created in 2006.
Research
Though initially beginning his research career in palaeontology with the intention of working on fossil marine reptiles, Naish is best known among palaeontologists for his doctoral work on the basal tyrannosauroid theropod Eotyrannus, a dinosaur that he, together with Steve Hutt and colleagues, named in 2001. He has published articles on the Wealden Supergroup theropods Thecocoelurus, Calamospondylus and Aristosuchus. With Martill and Dino Frey, he named a new illegally acquired Brazilian compsognathid theropod Mirischia. In 2004, Naish and Gareth Dyke reinterpreted the controversial Romanian fossil Heptasteornis. Suggested by other authors to be a giant owl, troodontid or dromaeosaurid, it was argued by Naish and Dyke to be an alvarezsaurid, and as such is the first member of this group to be reported from Europe. Other fragmentary European alvarezsaurid specimens have since been reported.
Naish has also published work on sauropod dinosaurs, pterosaurs, fossil marine reptiles, turtles, marine mammals and other fossil vertebrates, and he has also produced articles on other aspects of zoology. He published a series of articles on poorly known cetaceans during the 1990s and in 2004 published a review article on the giant New Zealand gecko Hoplodactylus delcourti. In 2004 he and colleagues described a giant Isle of Wight sauropod dinosaur that appears closely related to the North American brachiosaurid Sauroposeidon, and informally referred to as Angloposeidon. Prior to the 2006 description of Turiasaurus from Spain, this was the largest dinosaur reported from Europe. In 2005 he coauthored the description of the new Cretaceous turtle Araripemys arturi, and in 2006 he and David Martill published a revision of the South American crested pterosaurs Tupuxuara and Thalassodromeus. During 2007 and 2008, Naish and Martill published a major revision of British dinosaurs; Naish also published work with Barbara Sánchez-Hernández and Michael J. Benton on the vertebrate fossils of Galve in Spain. The Galve fossils are significant in including istiodactylid pterosaurs, heterodontosaurids and spinosaurines. In 2007, Naish co-authored the description of the bizarre new sauropod Xenoposeidon with fellow Portsmouth-based palaeontologist Mike P. Taylor. In 2008 he published an evaluation of azhdarchid pterosaurs with Mark Witton. In 2013, Naish described Vectidraco daisymorrisae, a small azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Isle of Wight.
In 2017, a new species of pycnodont fish, Scalacurvichthys naishi, was named after Naish.[1]
Publications
Naish has published several popular books on prehistoric animals including Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved[2] co-authored with Paul Barrett (Natural History Museum 2016) Dinosaur Record Breakers (Carlton Kids 2018)[3], the Dorling Kindersley Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life[4] (2003, with David Lambert and Elizabeth Wyse), the Palaeontological Association book Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight[5] (2001, with David Martill) and the highly acclaimed BBC Walking with Dinosaurs: The Evidence (2000, with David Martill), produced to accompany the TV series Walking with Dinosaurs. In 2010, he published The Great Dinosaur Discoveries[6] as sole author.
Dr. Naish has also published several books on cryptozoology, including Hunting Monsters: Cryptozoology and the Reality Behind the Myths[7] and Cryptozoologicon: Volume I[8] with John Conway and C.M. Kosemen.
His name is also attached to several children's books on prehistoric animals. Naish is an associate editor for the journal Cretaceous Research and was also on the editorial board of the journal The Cryptozoology Review. He acts as a regular book reviewer for the Palaeontological Association.
Media appearances
Naish has appeared widely on British television, having featured on BBC News 24, Richard and Judy, and Live from Dinosaur Island. He appeared on a Channel 4 discussion programme on cryptozoology, presented by journalist Jon Ronson, during the late 1990s. Naish's research on the giant Isle of Wight sauropod "Angloposeidon", on the pterosaur Tupuxuara, and on the sauropod Xenoposeidon was widely reported in the news media.
The Tetrapod Zoology blog
In 2006, Naish started a weblog, Tetrapod Zoology, that covered various aspects of zoology. In 2007 he joined the ScienceBlogs network. In July 2011, the blog moved to the Scientific American blog network, where it is currently hosted. Tetrapod Zoology seems to cover most subjects concerning tetrapods. Popular subjects commonly written about include frogs, dinosaurs, pterosaurs and cryptozoology. Together with colleagues Michael P. Taylor and Mathew Wedel, Naish also contributes to one of the most special-interest blogs in the world: the Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week site (or SV-POW!). Despite its arcane appeal, SV-POW! has received thousands of hits since its inception and has proved highly popular among palaeontology aficionados.
In 2010, Naish published a collection of early articles from Tetrapod Zoology as a book titled Tetrapod Zoology Book One.[9] As of April 2018 a successor to ' Book One' has yet to be announced.
The Tetrapod Zoology Podcast
Popularly know as the Tetrapod Zoology Podcrats the offical podcast of TetZoo world is hosted by Darren Naish and John Conway. Since 2018 the podcast has adopted a biweekly schedule.
The Tetrapod Zoology Convention
TetZooCon is an annual meeting themed around the contents of the Tetrapod Zoology blog. The convention was first held on 12 june 2014 and has taken places in various venues in London. The convention involves talks on a variety of subjects, ranging from palaeontology to cryptozoology, as well as workshops. The con is organised by Naish and Conway, Darren traditionally gives a talk himself whereas John Conway hosts a workshop.
The con also features a TetZoo quiz, which is fiendishly hard.
References
- ^ Cawley, John J.; Kriwet, Jürgen (2017). "A new pycnodont fish, Scalacurvichthys naishi gen. et sp. nov., from the Late Cretaceous of Israel". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology: 1–15. doi:10.1080/14772019.2017.1330772.
- ^ Darren,, Naish,. Dinosaurs : how they lived and evolved. Barrett, Paul M. (Paleontologist),. London, England. ISBN 0565093118. OCLC 948337113.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ DARREN., NAISH, (2018). DINOSAUR RECORD BREAKERS. [S.l.]: CARLTON BOOKS LTD. ISBN 1783123818. OCLC 1020279192.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ 1932-, Lambert, David, (2001). Encyclopedia of dinosaurs & prehistoric life. Naish, Darren., Wyse, Elizabeth, 1957-, Blount, Kitty., Crowley, Maggie., Bada, Kathleen., American Museum of Natural History. London: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 140530099X. OCLC 47232030.
{{cite book}}:|last=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight. Martill, David M., Naish, Darren., Palaeontological Association. London: Palaeontological Association. 2001. ISBN 0901702722. OCLC 47747920.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Darren., Naish, (2009). The great dinosaur discoveries. London: A & C Black. ISBN 1408119064. OCLC 320494340.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Darren,, Naish,. Hunting monsters : cryptozoology and the reality behind the myths. London. ISBN 1784288624. OCLC 973280941.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ 1981-, Conway, John, ([2013]). Cryptozoologicon : the biology, evolution, and mythology of hidden animals : volume 1. Kosemen, C. M., Naish, Darren. [Place of publication not identified]: Irregular Books. ISBN 1291621539. OCLC 870904128.
{{cite book}}:|last=has numeric name (help); Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Naish, Darren (7 October 2010), "Tetrapod Zoology Book One is here at last", Scienceblogs: Tetrapod Zoology, archived from the original on 8 May 2012
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Further reading
- Hutt, S., Naish, D., Martill, D.M., Barker, M.J., and Newbery, P. (2001). A preliminary account of a new tyrannosauroid theropod from the Wessex Formation (Cretaceous) of southern England. Cretaceous Research, 22: 227–242.
- Naish, Darren & Dyke, Gareth J. (2004): Heptasteornis was no ornithomimid, troodontid, dromaeosaurid or owl: the first alvarezsaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from Europe. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Monatshefte 7: 385–401.
- Naish, D. & Martill, D. M. 2007. Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society of London in their discovery: basal Dinosauria and Saurischia. Journal of the Geological Society, London 164, 493–510.
- Naish, D. & Martill, D. M. 2008. Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society of London in their discovery: Ornithischia. Journal of the Geological Society, London 165, 613–623.
- Naish, D., D.M. Martill, D. Cooper & K.A. Stevens 2004. Europe’s largest dinosaur? A giant brachiosaurid cervical vertebra from the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous) of southern England. Cretaceous Research 25: 787–795.
- Naish, D., Martill, D.M. and Frey, E. 2004. Ecology, Systematics and Biogeographical Relationships of Dinosaurs, Including a New Theropod, from the Santana Formation (?Albian, Early Cretaceous) of Brazil. Historical Biology. 2004, 1–14.
- Naish, D., Conway, J., Koseman, C. M. All Yesterdays: Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals. Irregular Books, 2012.
