David Bruce Norman (born 20 June 1952 in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
) is a British
paleontologist
Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
, currently the main curator of
vertebrate paleontology
Vertebrate paleontology is the subfield of paleontology that seeks to discover, through the study of fossilized remains, the behavior, reproduction and appearance of extinct vertebrates (animals with vertebrae and their descendants). It also t ...
at the
Sedgwick Museum,
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
. From 1991 to 2011, Norman has also been the Sedgwick Museum's director.
Life and career
Norman is a fellow at
Christ's College, Cambridge, where he teaches Earth Sciences in the Natural Sciences
tripos
TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...
. A member of the
Palaeontological Association, he has studied ''
Iguanodon
''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning 'iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species found worldwide have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, Taxonomy (bi ...
'' and also has participated in the studies and scientific surveys included in the dinosaur work ''
The Dinosauria'' (2nd edition, 2004). The species epithet of ''
Equijubus normani'' was named in honour of him.
In 2017, Norman was one of three British palaeontologists who proposed a radical new hypothesis for early
dinosaur evolution and interrelationships in a paper in the journal ''
Nature
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
''. In this work, Matthew Grant Baron, Norman and Paul Michael Barrett (2017) suggested that
Ornithischia
Ornithischia () is an extinct clade of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek ...
and
were closely related as part of a new clade that they named
Ornithoscelida.
He also possesses a keen interest in rugby, and he regularly referees for Cambridge University.
Professor David Norman FLS (MA Cantab)
Christ's College - University of Cambridge
Works
Children books
* ''The Poster Book of Dinosaurs'', Hodder Children's Books, 1988 (illustrations by John Sibbick)
* ''The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs'', Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang (April 1997) ;
* ''The Big Book of Dinosaurs'', Publisher: Welcome Books (April 2001) ;
* ''Dinosaurs Sticker Book'', Usborne Sticker Books, 2010,
Popular science books
* ''Spotter's Guide to Dinosaurs & Other Prehistoric Animals'', Usborne Publishing, London, 1980 (illustrations by Bob Hersey)
* ''When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth'', Simon & Schuster, New York, 1985 (illustrations by John Sibbick)
* ''The Age of Dinosaurs'', Hodder Wayland, November 1985
* ''Dinosaurs!'', E.D.C. Publishing, December 1985 (illustrations by Ruth Thomson and Bob Hersey)
* ''Dinosaur'', co-authored with Angela Milner, Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Books, London, 1989
* ''Dinosaur!'', Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1991, (the official companion to A&E's 1991 four-part television series hosted by Walter Cronkite)
* ''Prehistoric Life: the rise of the vertebrates'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, December 1994 (illustrations by John Sibbick)
* ''The Smithsonian Handbook to Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals'', co-authored with Hazel Richardson, Dorling Kindersley
Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages.
It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
, 2003,
Scientific books and surveys
* ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs'', Salamander Books, 1985 (illustrations by John Sibbick)
*
* ''Basal Ornithischia'' and ''Basal Thyreophora'' (co-authored with Lawrence Witmer and David Weishampel), ''Basal Ornithopoda'' (co-authored with Hans-Dieter Sues
Hans-Dieter Sues (born 1956) is a German-born American palaeontologist who is a Senior Research Geologist and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
Career ...
, Lawrence Witmer and Rodolfo Coria), ''Basal Iguanodontia'' (co-authored with David B. Weishampel, Halszka Osmólska and Peter Dodson) ; in '' The Dinosauria'', 2nd edition, 2004 (first edition was published in 1990), edited by David B. Weishampel, Halszka Osmólska and Peter Dodson, University of California Press,
* ''Dinosaurs: A Very Short Introduction'', Oxford University Press, December 2005,
*
TV documentaries
Crew member, as a scientific advisor
* '' Walking with Dinosaurs'' (six-part TV series documentary, BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, 1999, scientific advisor for the episode "Giant of the Skies", credited as Dr. David Norman)
* '' Prehistoric Planet'' (a re-version of ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' and '' Walking with Beasts'', by Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
and NBC, 2002, scientific advisor for the episode "Sky King", credited as Dr. David Norman)
On screen, as himself
* ''Dinosaur!'' (four-part TV series documentary, hosted by Walter Cronkite, A&E, 1991, Norman appears in all four episodes: "The Tale of a Tooth", "The Tale of a Bone", "The Tale of an Egg" and "The Tale of a Feather")
* '' The Dinosaurs!'' (television documentary miniseries
In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
produced by PBS in 1992)
* ''Dinosaurs Myths & Reality'' (TV movie documentary, 1995, Produced by Castle Communications and Cromwell Productions Ltd.)
* ''The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs'' (TV movie documentary about the series '' Walking with Dinosaurs'', 1999, "making of" produced and directed by Jasper James for the BBC)
Acknowledgements
* '' Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives'' (TV series documentary, BBC, 1989, Norman is thanked in the episode titled "Dinosaur")
* '' Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life'' (TV movie documentary, BBC, 2009, Norman is acknowledged as Dr. David Norman)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, David B.
English palaeontologists
Living people
Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge
1952 births