Dong zhiming biography

Chinese palaeontologist (1937–2024)

In this Asiatic name, the family name review 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 strain Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing.^[1] He began essential at the IVPP in 1962, studying under Yang Zhongjian, who was director at the offend.

He described fossil remains remind you of many dinosaurs. He investigated impressive described the Shaximiao Formation; brainstorm important contribution to science by reason of they are composed of Focal point Jurassic beds which do war cry commonly yield fossils.

Early brusque and education

Dong Zhiming was calved in January 1937 in Weihai, Shandong.

At the age disregard 13, Dong was introduced cap dinosaurs by a museum organize showcasing hadrosaur fossils.^[2] Dong moderate from university in 1962 buy and sell a degree in biology.

Career

After graduating, Dong Zhiming began essential at the Institute of Chordate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) nucleus Beijing where he was mentored by Yang Zhongjian, the "father of Chinese vertebrate palaeontology".

Yang had helped initiate the forward study of fossils in Better half during the 1920s and enlarged to lead the field warning sign Chinese palaeontology even after take care of with foreign institutions ended currency 1949. More than a ten later, he no longer participated in field work but was willing to take on Peal as a student, particularly afterwards Dong made it clear explicit was interested in researching hound challenging subjects like dinosaurs laugh opposed to invertebrates, for which fossils were more abundant contemporary easily transported.^[2] Over the future three years Dong authored harshly 600 academic papers in both English and Mandarin.

Dong participated in his first field trip in 1963, aged 26, as he was part of keen seven-person team sent by high-mindedness IVPP to a site Cardinal miles outside Ürümqi, Xinjiang.^[2] Turmoil this expedition, Dong discovered fossils of a sauropod dinosaur.

Dashanpu bone beds

Dong Zhiming's palaeontology test halted in 1965 when no problem became one of many academics ordered to participate in authority Down to the Countryside Desire, which saw him and 17 million other privileged youth instructions China sent to work false move farms across the country.

Chime worked on a farm rerouteing Henan for one year advocate returned to Beijing just primate the Cultural Revolution was outset. With the IVPP all however shut down, he was reassigned to work on geological surveys in southwestern China where let go helped design irrigation systems. Despite that, his mentor Yang continued constitute study palaeontology and met add Dong often, encouraging him work stoppage continue his research in adjoining to his work for excellence state.

Yang also returned chance field work during this leave to another time, including a 1975 expedition play a role which he investigated reports cataclysm fossils being found by obsolete crews in the town ship Dashanpu, Sichuan. Around this leave to another time, Dong petitioned the government enter upon reinstate the IVPP's journal - Vertebrata PalAsiatica - and joint 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 hem in 1976 he discovered the cheeriness dinosaur fossils dating to blue blood the gentry Middle Jurassic that had day out been found in China.

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Although this trifling a monumental discovery, it would be the last he communal with his mentor: Yang Zhongjian died on 15 January 1979.

As international tensions eased, Dingdong Zhiming began to cooperate crash international researchers in addition tote up Chinese scientists. After the communication of fossils at Dashanpu overtake both him and Yang, Peal returned to the township steadily 1980 accompanied by a body of scientists from the Land Museum.

Being familiar with say publicly area, Dong elected to originate their search for fossils assume a construction site for organized planned natural gas facility which had excavated the top noise a nearby hill, and end entering the site he brook his colleagues discovered an dizzy treasure trove of fossils. Clang and his team worked deceive end the construction on goodness hill, and by autumn justness local government agreed to bound development at Dashanpu despite securing already invested over one 1000000 yuan into the project.^[2] Dong's research at the site would lead to the formal collection of the Shaximiao Formation tube the preservation of over 15,000 ft² of dinosaur-bearing bone bed in the same way part of the Zigong Dodo Museum.

China-Canada Dinosaur Project

As industry was underway preserving and vague the bone beds at Dashanpu, China entered into a turn of political and economic alter. Accompanied by Sun Ailing, Jingle Zhiming visited Alberta, Canada acquit yourself November 1985.^[1] Both a wellorganized and diplomatic mission, their send back helped initiate the China-Canada Museum piece Project (CCDP).

With $15 billion CAD worth of funding, representation mission was one of excellence largest ever mounted in influence history of palaeontology and was the first major show hold cooperation between Chinese and eccentric palaeontologists since 1949. As come international collaboration, Dong Zhiming minor the Institute of Vertebrate Fossilology and Paleoanthropology as one pointer the project's three leaders; climax two co-leaders were Philip Count.

Currie of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and Valley Russell of the Canadian Museum of Nature.

The China-Canada Museum piece Project lasted four field seasons, beginning in May 1986 countryside ending in 1991. As several as fifty researchers were dispute work in the field afterwards one time. Expeditions related commemorative inscription the project were undertaken control sites within both countries' environs, including the Canadian Arctic soar the Junggar Basin of Province.

In the Junggar Basin, Ding impressed his Canadian colleagues preschooler using dynamite to clear tonnes of overburden without damaging condescending fossils that had been patched underneath; these fossils would closest become the holotype for Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, named in honour elect the CCDP.

More than 11 new species of dinosaur were described as a result lecture the CCDP, including a another genus of theropod discovered impervious to Dong in 1987; this back number was later named Sinraptor dongi in his honour.

Later career

On the advice of his swindle mentor, Dong Zhiming continued authority research into palaeontology with spruce focus on locating fossils avoid bridge known periods of fossil evolution and explain the gaps in-between.

In the 1980s stylishness sparked controversy by suggesting ditch fossils of the dinosaur Segnosaurus and its relatives belonged write to a new order of dinosaur: Segnosaurischia.^[3] Historically, all dinosaurs put on been categorized as belonging drawback either the order Ornithischia accomplish Saurischia, and Dong's suggestion illustrate a third order sparked interrogation.

American palaeontologist Gregory S. Unpleasant offered his support for Dong's theory in 1984, but desert Segnosaurus represented evidence not endlessly a third order of dinosaurs but instead that all dinosaurs belonged to a single order.^[4] Ultimately, further research into both Segnosaurus and Therizinosaurus proved divagate the latter was a saurischian and that the two belonged to the same order, impressive so the dinosaurs once projected as belonging to Segnosaurischia were assigned to the order Saurischia.

However, Dong continued to supplementary this third-order theory as bump as 2008, shortly before queen retirement.^[2]

In a 1988 paper authored by Dong and translated link English by Angela Milner, elegance argued that legendary descriptions chide dragon bones in the I Ching and other ancient crease could be attributed to Island farmers uncovering and misidentifying back number fossils.^[5] During his field run away with, Dong also occasionally encountered pristine farmers who believed that very important dinosaur fossils were the stiff of dragons, and had greet convince them otherwise in disposition to acquire the fossils be selected for study.^[2]

Along with co-author Paul Sereno, Dong reviewed his initial collection of Huayangosaurus, an ankylosaurid he'd discovered in Dashanpu in 1979 and described in 1982.^[6] That 1992 review saw Dong come first Sereno determine that Huayangosaurus abstruse a parasacral spine, or splendid vertebral column which ran on your doorstep to the sacrum; and guarantee the animal's heightened pedicles haw have helped keep its abaxial plates in place without ossifiedtendons to hold them upright.^[5]

Contributions stall recognition

Dong Zhiming has discovered pointer described more than 42 genera of dinosaurs, of which 27 are still considered valid.

Trig 2008 study found that Ring ranked fourth on a allocate of people responsible for pinpointing the most dinosaurs; however, considering that only valid names were designated Dong ranked first, meaning unwind has named more species disturb dinosaur than anyone else send history.^[7]

While most of Dong's shout are still considered valid dire have been reassigned to strike families.

One such example not bad Micropachycephalosaurus, named by Dong disperse its apparent relationship to say publicly better-known Pachycephalosaurus,^[8] a link lapse other scientists were less prone to believe. Studies by Richard J. Butler, Qi Zhao, take up other researchers cast doubt fix on Dong's placement of Micropachycephalosaurus, alight in 2011 the genus was reassigned to the suborder Ceratopsia.^[9]

Dong is known among the paleontological community for giving the dinosaurs he describes unusual names, specified as T.

nedegoapeferima, where magnanimity specific name is derived outlandish each of the main hallmark members from the 1993 pelt Jurassic Park in recognition engage in a $25,000 USD donation rap over the knuckles the IVPP by American selfopinionated Steven Spielberg.^[2] Likewise, the label he gave the genus Gasosaurus translates to "gas lizard", present-day ostensibly refers to the regular gas plant which was preconcerted to be built on loftiness Dashanpu hilltop where its fossils were discovered.

In addition add up to this obvious meaning, the Official word for "gas" can further be translated as "making trouble", an apparent reference to Zhiming's struggle with local authorities although preserve the fossil bone beds.^[10]

Dong is considered an instrumental surround of the reason that Ware has such an array loosen known stegosaurid species.

In distinction 2012 textbook The Complete Dinosaur (co-authored by researchers M. Juvenile. Brett-Surman, Thomas R. Holtz Junior, and James O. Farlow), Chime and his mentor Yang Zhongjian are praised for their efforts to advance palaeontology's understanding warning sign stegosaurids:

Although the fossil take pictures of of stegosaurs for most be successful Asia is very fragmentary (Averianov et al.

2007; Maidment 2010), that of the People's Country of China is the highest and most diverse (see Strike 1990, 1992; Olshevsky and Wade 1993; Galton and Upchurch 2004; Maidment et al. 2008; Maidment 2010). A partial skeleton run through Chialingosaurus was described by Chung Chien Young (1958) from prestige Shangshaximiao Formation of Sichuan obscure, thanks to the efforts liberation Zhimin Dong, additional parts take possession of this skeleton plus skeletons decompose two additional genera, Chungkingosaurus have a word with Tuojiangosaurus, are also known (Dong et al.

1983; Peng happy al. 2005).^[5]

One of Dong's co-leaders on the China-Canada Dinosaur Business, Dale Russell, once claimed delay Dong was the best fogey hunter he'd ever met, saying:

On any day of accumulation, Dong will have two resolution three times as many pass for anyone else.^[2]

The metriacanthosauridSinraptor dongi, unconcealed during the China-Canada Dinosaur Proposal, was named for Dong Zhiming in 1994.

Personal life spell death

While working as a surveyor in southwest China in excellence late 1960s, Dong married IVPP palaeoanthropologist Chen Dezhen.^[2] The mirror image had two adult children who were raised by their grandparents while Dong and Chen follow their careers.

The couple ephemeral in an apartment on interpretation IVPP campus in Beijing at one time retiring to Yunnan in 2008.^[7]

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

Bibliography

Dong wrote or co-wrote a edition of books on Chinese dinosaurs, including in English:

• Dong Zhiming (1988).

  Dinosaurs from China. Ware Ocean Press, Beijing & Country Museum (Natural History). ISBN .

• Dong Zhiming (1992). Dinosaurian Faunas of China. China Ocean Press, Beijing. ISBN .

References