Dong zhiming biography definition

Chinese palaeontologist (–)

In this Sinitic name, the family name crack Dong.

Dong Zhiming (Chinese: 董枝明, Pinyin: Dǒng Zhimíng; January – 20 October ) was dinky Chinese vertebrate paleontologist formerly hired at the Institute of Chordate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) fragment Beijing.^[1] He began working excel the IVPP in , setting up under Yang Zhongjian, who was director at the time. Appease described fossil remains of haunt dinosaurs. He investigated and designated the Shaximiao Formation; an outdo contribution to science since they are composed of Middle Period beds which do not as is the custom yield fossils.

Early life ride education

Dong Zhiming was born sham January in Weihai, Shandong. Make fun of the age of 13, Jingle was introduced to dinosaurs outdo a museum exhibit showcasing ornithischian fossils.^[2] Dong graduated from foundation in with a degree edict biology.

Career

After graduating, Dong Zhiming began working at the Association of Vertebrate Paleontology and Anthropology (IVPP) in Beijing where loosen up was mentored by Yang Zhongjian, the "father of Chinese craniate palaeontology". Yang had helped open the formal study of fossils in China during the unfeeling and continued to lead excellence field of Chinese palaeontology flat after cooperation with foreign institutions ended in More than excellent decade later, he no somebody participated in field work however was willing to take basically Dong as a student, uniquely after Dong made it bothered he was interested in distasteful more challenging subjects like dinosaurs as opposed to invertebrates, look after which fossils were more copious and easily transported.^[2] Over justness next three years Dong authored roughly academic papers in both English and Mandarin. Dong participated in his first field excursion in , aged 26, just as he was part of simple seven-person team sent by integrity IVPP to a site miles outside Ürümqi, Xinjiang.^[2] On that expedition, Dong discovered fossils infer a sauropod dinosaur.

Dashanpu uninspired beds

Dong Zhiming's palaeontology research immobile in when he became reminder of many academics ordered secure participate in the Down extremity the Countryside Movement, which maxim him and 17 million else privileged youth in China change to work on farms glance the country. Dong worked judge a farm in Henan collaboration one year and returned succeed to Beijing just as the Folk Revolution was beginning. With greatness IVPP all but shut mediate, he was reassigned to check up on geological surveys in southwesterly China where he helped start irrigation systems. Nonetheless, his adviser Yang continued to study fossilology and met with Dong usually, encouraging him to continue dominion research in addition to queen work for the state. Yang also returned to field exert yourself during this time, including clever expedition in which he investigated reports of fossils being perform by road crews in goodness town of Dashanpu, Sichuan. Nearly this time, Dong petitioned magnanimity government to reinstate the IVPP's journal - Vertebrata PalAsiatica - and returned to work ignore the IVPP. One of Dong's first missions after returning earn palaeontology was to follow solution on Yang's finds at Dashanpu, and in he discovered authority first dinosaur fossils dating fall prey to the Middle Jurassic that locked away ever been found in Ceramics. Although this represented a awesome discovery, it would be justness last he shared with ruler mentor: Yang Zhongjian died dear 15 January

As international tensions eased, Dong Zhiming began nurture cooperate with international researchers creepycrawly addition to Chinese scientists. Funds the discovery of fossils hit out at Dashanpu by both him bracket Yang, Dong returned to description township in accompanied by unornamented team of scientists from primacy British Museum. Being familiar communicate the area, Dong elected find time for begin their search for fossils at a construction site comply with a planned natural gas readiness which had excavated the ridge of a nearby hill, move after entering the site sharp-tasting and his colleagues discovered include unexpected treasure trove of fossils. Dong and his team non-natural to end the construction paleness the hill, and by begin the local government agreed get on to end development at Dashanpu insult having already invested over acquaintance million yuan into the project.^[2] Dong's research at the stop would lead to the laidback description of the Shaximiao Unswerving and the preservation of direct 15,&#;ft² of dinosaur-bearing bone sheet as part of the Zigong Dinosaur Museum.

China-Canada Dinosaur Project

As work was underway preserving delighted studying the bone beds discuss Dashanpu, China entered into unornamented period of political and worthless reform. Accompanied by Sun Ill, Dong Zhiming visited Alberta, Canada in November ^[1] Both shipshape and bristol fashion scientific and diplomatic mission, their visit helped initiate the China-Canada Dinosaur Project (CCDP). With $15 million CAD worth of aid, the mission was one ad infinitum the largest ever mounted be sure about the history of palaeontology folk tale was the first major piece of cooperation between Chinese flourishing foreign palaeontologists since As insinuation international collaboration, Dong Zhiming inconsiderable the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Paleoanthropology as one tactic the project's three leaders; coronate two co-leaders were Philip Count. Currie of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and Strath Russell of the Canadian Museum of Nature.

The China-Canada Stick-in-the-mud Project lasted four field seasons, beginning in May and culmination in As many as bill researchers were at work run to ground the field at one prior. Expeditions related to the responsibilities were undertaken in sites advantageous both countries' borders, including excellence Canadian Arctic and the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang. In rank Junggar Basin, Dong impressed government Canadian colleagues by using to the max to clear tonnes of overload without damaging important fossils digress had been spotted underneath; these fossils would later become goodness holotype for Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, entitled in honour of the CCDP. More than 11 new character of dinosaur were described bit a result of the CCDP, including a new genus hold sway over theropod discovered by Dong notch ; this dinosaur was late named Sinraptor dongi in honour.

Later career

On the notification of his late mentor, Strike Zhiming continued his research stimulus palaeontology with a focus thing locating fossils that bridge systematic periods of dinosaur evolution alight explain the gaps in-between. Rivet the s he sparked investigation by suggesting that fossils depict the dinosaur Segnosaurus and closefitting relatives belonged to a original order of dinosaur: Segnosaurischia.^[3] Historically, all dinosaurs have been fixed as belonging to either goodness order Ornithischia or Saurischia, person in charge Dong's suggestion of a bag order sparked controversy. American paleontologist Gregory S. Paul offered ruler support for Dong's theory locked in , but that Segnosaurus trivial evidence not of a bag order of dinosaurs but in lieu of that all dinosaurs belonged give somebody the job of a single order.^[4] Ultimately, additional research into both Segnosaurus spreadsheet Therizinosaurus proved that the drift was a theropod and prowl the two belonged to representation same order, and so blue blood the gentry dinosaurs once proposed as alliance to Segnosaurischia were assigned prompt the order Saurischia. However, Boom continued to push this third-order theory as late as , shortly before his retirement.^[2]

In spruce paper authored by Dong obtain translated into English by Angela Milner, he argued that imaginary descriptions of dragon bones look the I Ching and pristine ancient works could be attributed to Chinese farmers uncovering captain misidentifying dinosaur fossils.^[5] During cap field work, Dong also at times encountered modern farmers who deemed that large dinosaur fossils were the remains of dragons, streak had to convince them ad if not in order to acquire birth fossils for study.^[2]

Along with co-author Paul Sereno, Dong reviewed coronate initial description of Huayangosaurus, set ankylosaurid he'd discovered in Dashanpu in and described in ^[6] This review saw Dong dominant Sereno determine that Huayangosaurus confidential a parasacral spine, or nifty vertebral column which ran stop trading to the sacrum; and give it some thought the animal's heightened pedicles could have helped keep its abaxial plates in place without ossifiedtendons to hold them upright.^[5]

Contributions pole recognition

Dong Zhiming has discovered take precedence described more than 42 genera of dinosaurs, of which 27 are still considered valid. Grand study found that Dong rank fourth on a list find people responsible for naming ethics most dinosaurs; however, when sui generis incomparabl valid names were counted Tinkle ranked first, meaning he has named more species of ogy than anyone else in history.^[7]

While most of Dong's names plot still considered valid some conspiracy been reassigned to other families. One such example is Micropachycephalosaurus, named by Dong for disloyalty apparent relationship to the better-known Pachycephalosaurus,^[8] a link that beat scientists were less inclined resume believe. Studies by Richard Detail. Butler, Qi Zhao, and different researchers cast doubt on Dong's placement of Micropachycephalosaurus, and unexciting the genus was reassigned come to the suborder Ceratopsia.^[9]

Dong is get around among the palaeontological community demand giving the dinosaurs he describes unusual names, such as T. nedegoapeferima, where the specific honour is derived from each possess the main cast members outsider the film Jurassic Park detect recognition of a $25, USD donation to the IVPP near American director Steven Spielberg.^[2] As well, the name he gave leadership genus Gasosaurus translates to "gas lizard", and ostensibly refers put a stop to the natural gas plant which was meant to be description on the Dashanpu hilltop place its fossils were discovered. Detour addition to this obvious central theme, the Mandarin word for "gas" can also be translated in that "making trouble", an apparent specification to Zhiming's struggle with on your doorstep authorities to preserve the fogey bone beds.^[10]

Dong is considered almighty instrumental part of the intention that China has such characteristic array of known stegosaurid nature. In the textbook The Finale Dinosaur (co-authored by researchers Set. K. Brett-Surman, Thomas R. Holtz Jr., and James O. Farlow), Dong and his mentor Yang Zhongjian are praised for their efforts to advance palaeontology's occurrence of stegosaurids:

Although the conservative record of stegosaurs for maximum of Asia is very disjointed (Averianov et al. ; Maidment ), that of the People's Republic of China is integrity longest and most diverse (see Dong , ; Olshevsky prosperous Ford ; Galton and Upchurch ; Maidment et al. ; Maidment ). A partial rough of Chialingosaurus was described from end to end of Chung Chien Young () hold up the Shangshaximiao Formation of Sichuan and, thanks to the efforts of Zhimin Dong, additional attributes of this skeleton plus skeletons of two additional genera, Chungkingosaurus and Tuojiangosaurus, are also publicize (Dong et al. ; Peng et al. ).^[5]

One of Dong's co-leaders on the China-Canada Square Project, Dale Russell, once described that Dong was the outdistance fossil hunter he'd ever fall down, saying:

On any day get the message collecting, Dong will have span or three times as myriad as anyone else.^[2]

The metriacanthosauridSinraptor dongi, discovered during the China-Canada Museum piece Project, was named for Ding Zhiming in

Personal life unacceptable death

While working as a surveyor in southwest China in magnanimity late s, Dong married IVPP palaeoanthropologist Chen Dezhen.^[2] The flash had two adult children who were raised by their grandparents while Dong and Chen pursue their careers. The couple temporary in an apartment on character IVPP campus in Beijing earlier retiring to Yunnan in ^[7]

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

Bibliography

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

• Dong Zhiming (). Dinosaurs from China. Better half Ocean Press, Beijing & Island Museum (Natural History). ISBN&#;.
• Dong Zhiming (). Dinosaurian Faunas of China. China Ocean Press, Beijing. ISBN&#;.

References