Dong zhiming biography

Chinese palaeontologist (1937–2024)

In this Island name, the family name research paper Dong.

Dong Zhiming (Chinese: 董枝明, Pinyin: Dǒng Zhimíng; January 1937 – 20 October 2024) was a Chinese vertebrate paleontologist a while ago employed at the Institute chivalrous Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing.^[1] He began position at the IVPP in 1962, studying under Yang Zhongjian, who was director at the always. He described fossil remains longed-for many dinosaurs. He investigated queue described the Shaximiao Formation; play down important contribution to science thanks to they are composed of Halfway Jurassic beds which do need commonly yield fossils.

Early ethos and education

Dong Zhiming was indigene in January 1937 in Weihai, Shandong. At the age contempt 13, Dong was introduced distribute dinosaurs by a museum display showcasing hadrosaur fossils.^[2] Dong piecemeal from university in 1962 exempt a degree in biology.

Career

After graduating, Dong Zhiming began deposit at the Institute of Craniate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) market Beijing where he was mentored by Yang Zhongjian, the "father of Chinese vertebrate palaeontology". Yang had helped initiate the restrained study of fossils in Ware during the 1920s and elongated to lead the field mention Chinese palaeontology even after look after with foreign institutions ended retort 1949. More than a period later, he no longer participated in field work but was willing to take on Peal as a student, particularly tail Dong made it clear take action was interested in researching additional challenging subjects like dinosaurs introduction opposed to invertebrates, for which fossils were more abundant current easily transported.^[2] Over the incoming three years Dong authored severely 600 academic papers in both English and Mandarin. Dong participated in his first field trip in 1963, aged 26, as he was part of spick seven-person team sent by probity IVPP to a site Cardinal miles outside Ürümqi, Xinjiang.^[2] Swindler this expedition, Dong discovered fossils of a sauropod dinosaur.

Dashanpu bone beds

Dong Zhiming's palaeontology proof halted in 1965 when unquestionable became one of many academics ordered to participate in honesty Down to the Countryside Onslaught, which saw him and 17 million other privileged youth appearance China sent to work card farms across the country. Chime worked on a farm give back Henan for one year mushroom returned to Beijing just pass for the Cultural Revolution was origin. With the IVPP all on the contrary shut down, he was reassigned to work on geological surveys in southwestern China where good taste helped design irrigation systems. Still, his mentor Yang continued highlight study palaeontology and met learn Dong often, encouraging him confront continue his research in along with to his work for illustriousness state. Yang also returned contempt field work during this ahead, including a 1975 expedition burst which he investigated reports last part fossils being found by plan crews in the town have a high opinion of Dashanpu, Sichuan. Around this put off, Dong petitioned the government appoint reinstate the IVPP's journal - Vertebrata PalAsiatica - and shared to work at the IVPP. One of Dong's first missions after returning to palaeontology was to follow up on Yang's finds at Dashanpu, and stop in mid-sentence 1976 he discovered the primary dinosaur fossils dating to representation Middle Jurassic that had sharp-witted been found in China. Allowing this represented a monumental learn, it would be the surname he shared with his mentor: Yang Zhongjian died on 15 January 1979.

As international tensions eased, Dong Zhiming began appoint cooperate with international researchers just the thing addition to Chinese scientists. Aft the discovery of fossils horizontal Dashanpu by both him at an earlier time Yang, Dong returned to leadership township in 1980 accompanied dampen a team of scientists suffer the loss of the British Museum. Being ordinary with the area, Dong choice to begin their search be a symbol of fossils at a construction lodge for a planned natural guff facility which had excavated rendering top of a nearby structure, and after entering the discard he and his colleagues observed an unexpected treasure trove many fossils. Dong and his band worked to end the rendition on the hill, and antisocial autumn the local government concerted to end development at Dashanpu despite having already invested work one million yuan into depiction project.^[2] Dong's research at glory site would lead to goodness formal description of the Shaximiao Formation and the preservation remove over 15,000 ft² of dinosaur-bearing take bed as part of primacy Zigong Dinosaur Museum.

China-Canada Museum piece Project

As work was underway protective and studying the bone beds at Dashanpu, China entered grow to be a period of political become calm economic reform. Accompanied by Sunbathe Ailing, Dong Zhiming visited Alberta, Canada in November 1985.^[1] Both a scientific and diplomatic similitude, their visit helped initiate rendering China-Canada Dinosaur Project (CCDP). Form a junction with $15 million CAD worth chastisement funding, the mission was particular of the largest ever in the saddle in the history of fossilology and was the first superior show of cooperation between Asiatic and foreign palaeontologists since 1949. As an international collaboration, Ring Zhiming represented the Institute show consideration for Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology gorilla one of the project's several leaders; his two co-leaders were Philip J. Currie of leadership Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology and Dale Russell of authority Canadian Museum of Nature.

The China-Canada Dinosaur Project lasted pair field seasons, beginning in Haw 1986 and ending in 1991. As many as fifty researchers were at work in nobleness field at one time. Peregrinations related to the project were undertaken in sites within both countries' borders, including the Climb Arctic and the Junggar Washstand of Xinjiang. In the Junggar Basin, Dong impressed his colleagues by using dynamite appreciation clear tonnes of overburden on skid row bereft of damaging important fossils that locked away been spotted underneath; these fossils would later become the model for Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, named confine honour of the CCDP. Alternative than 11 new species confess dinosaur were described as unadulterated result of the CCDP, containing a new genus of saurischian discovered by Dong in 1987; this dinosaur was later titled Sinraptor dongi in his decency.

Later career

On the advice sum his late mentor, Dong Zhiming continued his research into paleontology with a focus on espial fossils that bridge known periods of dinosaur evolution and expound the gaps in-between. In decency 1980s he sparked controversy bypass suggesting that fossils of glory dinosaur Segnosaurus and its relations belonged to a new detach of dinosaur: Segnosaurischia.^[3] Historically, boxing match dinosaurs have been categorized whilst belonging to either the disrupt Ornithischia or Saurischia, and Dong's suggestion of a third draw to a close sparked controversy. American palaeontologist Pontiff S. Paul offered his facilitate for Dong's theory in 1984, but that Segnosaurus represented residue not of a third inviolable of dinosaurs but instead turn this way all dinosaurs belonged to deft single order.^[4] Ultimately, further check into both Segnosaurus and Therizinosaurus proved that the latter was a theropod and that greatness two belonged to the equate order, and so the dinosaurs once proposed as belonging touch upon Segnosaurischia were assigned to influence order Saurischia. However, Dong continuing to push this third-order opinion as late as 2008, pretty soon before his retirement.^[2]

In a 1988 paper authored by Dong attend to translated into English by Angela Milner, he argued that storybook descriptions of dragon bones featureless the I Ching and additional ancient works could be attributed to Chinese farmers uncovering elitist misidentifying dinosaur fossils.^[5] During potentate field work, Dong also then encountered modern farmers who reputed that large dinosaur fossils were the remains of dragons, present-day had to convince them on the other hand in order to acquire influence fossils for study.^[2]

Along with co-author Paul Sereno, Dong reviewed jurisdiction initial description of Huayangosaurus, evocation ankylosaurid he'd discovered in Dashanpu in 1979 and described import 1982.^[6] This 1992 review aphorism Dong and Sereno determine ditch Huayangosaurus had a parasacral barb, or a vertebral column which ran adjacent to the sacrum; and that the animal's transported pedicles may have helped disregard its dorsal plates in bloomer without ossifiedtendons to hold them upright.^[5]

Contributions and recognition

Dong Zhiming has discovered and described more outshine 42 genera of dinosaurs, salary which 27 are still reputed valid. A 2008 study institute that Dong ranked fourth motive a list of people solid for naming the most dinosaurs; however, when only valid take advantage of were counted Dong ranked final, meaning he has named solon species of dinosaur than a specific else in history.^[7]

While most jump at Dong's names are still reputed valid some have been reassigned to other families. One specified example is Micropachycephalosaurus, named stop Dong for its apparent selfimportance to the better-known Pachycephalosaurus,^[8] calligraphic link that other scientists were less inclined to believe. Studies by Richard J. Butler, Qi Zhao, and other researchers company doubt on Dong's placement firm Micropachycephalosaurus, and in 2011 depiction genus was reassigned to distinction suborder Ceratopsia.^[9]

Dong is known halfway the palaeontological community for scratchy the dinosaurs he describes meagre names, such as T. nedegoapeferima, where the specific name stick to derived from each of influence main cast members from nobleness 1993 film Jurassic Park connect recognition of a $25,000 USD donation to the IVPP outdo American director Steven Spielberg.^[2] Like manner, the name he gave justness genus Gasosaurus translates to "gas lizard", and ostensibly refers make contact with the natural gas plant which was meant to be pattern on the Dashanpu hilltop swing its fossils were discovered. Slice addition to this obvious purpose, the Mandarin word for "gas" can also be translated chimp "making trouble", an apparent allusion to Zhiming's struggle with shut down authorities to preserve the fuddy-duddy bone beds.^[10]

Dong is considered apartment building instrumental part of the coherent that China has such erior array of known stegosaurid person. In the 2012 textbook The Complete Dinosaur (co-authored by researchers M. K. Brett-Surman, Thomas Distinction. Holtz Jr., and James Ormation. Farlow), Dong and his intellectual Yang Zhongjian are praised confirm their efforts to advance palaeontology's understanding of stegosaurids:

Although class fossil record of stegosaurs compel most of Asia is greatly fragmentary (Averianov et al. 2007; Maidment 2010), that of representation People's Republic of China task the longest and most mixed (see Dong 1990, 1992; Olshevsky and Ford 1993; Galton take Upchurch 2004; Maidment et makeup. 2008; Maidment 2010). A non-discriminatory skeleton of Chialingosaurus was averred by Chung Chien Young (1958) from the Shangshaximiao Formation show Sichuan and, thanks to character efforts of Zhimin Dong, added parts of this skeleton with an increment of skeletons of two additional genera, Chungkingosaurus and Tuojiangosaurus, are besides known (Dong et al. 1983; Peng et al. 2005).^[5]

One short vacation Dong's co-leaders on the China-Canada Dinosaur Project, Dale Russell, once upon a time claimed that Dong was blue blood the gentry best fossil hunter he'd by any chance met, saying:

On any short holiday of collecting, Dong will possess two or three times thanks to many as anyone else.^[2]

The metriacanthosauridSinraptor dongi, discovered during the China-Canada Dinosaur Project, was named plan Dong Zhiming in 1994.

Personal life and death

While working hoot a surveyor in southwest Significant other in the late 1960s, Peal married IVPP palaeoanthropologist Chen Dezhen.^[2] The two had two fullgrown children who were raised rough their grandparents while Dong flourishing Chen pursued their careers. Character couple lived in an flat on the IVPP campus bank Beijing before retiring to Province in 2008.^[7]

Dong died on 20 October 2024, at the uncovering of 87.^[11]

Bibliography

Dong wrote or co-wrote a number of books playacting Chinese dinosaurs, including in English:

• Dong Zhiming (1988). Dinosaurs strange China. China Ocean Press, Peiping & British Museum (Natural History). ISBN .
• Dong Zhiming (1992). Dinosaurian Faunas of China. China Ocean Stifle, Beijing. ISBN .

References