John Ostrom
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John Harold Ostrom (February 18, 1928 – July 16, 2005) was an American
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 ...
who revolutionized the modern understanding of
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
s. Ostrom's work inspired what his pupil Robert T. Bakker has termed a " dinosaur renaissance". Beginning with the discovery of ''
Deinonychus ''Deinonychus'' ( ; ) is a genus of Dromaeosauridae, dromaeosaurid Theropoda, theropod dinosaur with one described species, ''Deinonychus antirrhopus''. This species, which could grow up to long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period (ge ...
'' in 1964, Ostrom challenged the widespread belief that dinosaurs were slow-moving
lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
s (or "saurians"). He argued that ''Deinonychus'', a small two-legged carnivore, would have been fast-moving and warm-blooded. Further, Ostrom's work made zoologists question whether birds should be considered an order of
Reptilia Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocephalia. About 12,000 living spe ...
instead of their own class,
Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...
. The idea that dinosaurs were similar to birds was first proposed by
Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...
in the 1860s, but was dismissed by Gerhard Heilmann in his influential book '' The Origin of Birds'' (1926). Prior to Ostrom's work, the development of birds was generally believed to have split off early on from that of dinosaurs. Ostrom showed more bird-like traits common in dinosaurs and proved that birds themselves are
coelurosauria Coelurosauria (; from Greek, meaning "hollow-tailed lizards") is the clade containing all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds than to carnosaurs. Coelurosauria is a subgroup of theropod dinosaurs that includes compsognathids, tyra ...
n
theropod Theropoda (; from ancient Greek , (''therion'') "wild beast"; , (''pous, podos'') "foot"">wiktionary:ποδός"> (''pous, podos'') "foot" is one of the three major groups (clades) of dinosaurs, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodom ...
dinosaurs. The first of Ostrom's broad-based reviews of the
osteology Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practiced by osteologists . A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, archaeology and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone mo ...
and
phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...
of the primitive bird ''
Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird'') is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaîos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
'' appeared in 1976. Ostrom lived to see the eventual discovery of
feathered dinosaur A feathered dinosaur is any species of dinosaur possessing feathers. That includes all species of birds, and in recent decades evidence has accumulated that many non-avian dinosaur species also possessed feathers in some shape or form. The exte ...
s in northeastern
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, confirming his theories about dinosaurs being progenitors of birds, and the existence of dinosaurs with feathered plumage.


Early life and education

Ostrom was born in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
on February 18, 1928 and grew up in
Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...
. As a pre-medical undergraduate student at
Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...
, he originally aimed to prepare for medical school in order to become a physician like his father. However, an elective course in geology and
George Gaylord Simpson George Gaylord Simpson (June 16, 1902 – October 6, 1984) was an American paleontologist. Simpson was perhaps the most influential paleontologist of the twentieth century, and a major participant in the modern synthesis, contributing '' Tempo ...
's book ''The Meaning of Evolution'' inspired him to change his career plans. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology and
geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
from Union College in 1951. Ostrom enrolled at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
as a graduate student with Ned Colbert as his advisor. In 1951 Simpson invited Ostrom to spend the summer as a field assistant in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico. Ostrom also worked as a research assistant with Colbert, who was the Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
(AMNH), Ostrom earned his doctorate in geology (vertebrate paleontology) in 1960 with a thesis on North American hadrosaurs that was based on the skull collection housed at the AMNH. In 1952 Ostrom married Nancy Grace Hartman (d. 2003). They had two daughters, Karen and Alicia.


Career

Ostrom taught for one year at
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...
in 1955 before joining the faculty at
Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1846 when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It has an enrollment of roughly 1,000 undergradua ...
the following year. In 1961 he accepted a professorship at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, where he remained throughout his career. As a new professor at Yale, Ostrom was named the assistant curator for
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
Peabody Museum of Natural History The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University (also known as the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History or the Yale Peabody Museum) is one of the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It ...
. He became full professor and curator in 1971. Throughout his career, Ostrom led and organized fossil-hunting expeditions to Wyoming and Montana. He worked in the Cloverly Formation Site in Montana and Wyoming from 1962 to 1966. By 1964, he had made 10 expeditions to the
Big Horn Basin The Bighorn Basin is a plateau region and intermontane basin, approximately 100 miles (160 km) wide, in north-central Wyoming in the United States. It is bounded by the Absaroka Range on the west, the Pryor Mountains on the north, the B ...
, in Wyoming, east of
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...
. Late in 1964, he discovered ''
Deinonychus ''Deinonychus'' ( ; ) is a genus of Dromaeosauridae, dromaeosaurid Theropoda, theropod dinosaur with one described species, ''Deinonychus antirrhopus''. This species, which could grow up to long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period (ge ...
'' fossils near the town of Bridger, Montana. He also discovered and named ''
Tenontosaurus ''Tenontosaurus'' ( ; ) is a genus of iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur. It had an unusually long, broad tail, which like its back was stiffened with a network of bony tendons. The genus is known from the late Aptian to Albian ages of the Early ...
'' fossils from the Cloverly Formation. In 1966 John H. Ostrom helped to establish Dinosaur State Park in
Rocky Hill, Connecticut Rocky Hill is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 20,845 at the 2020 United States census, ...
("because the governor was besieged by letters from schoolchildren swayed into dino-mania by Ostrom".). Ostrom edited the ''
American Journal of Science The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...
'', published over a dozen books for both scientific and lay audiences. He was the recipient of numerous awards and honors. In the 1960s, Ostrom wrote a paleontology themed guide for the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
's National Natural Landmarks (NNLs) Program. He recommended 20 sites for designation and protection as NNLs, of which 13 became designated landmarks. Others sites such as the Charles O. Wolcott Quarry near
Manchester, Connecticut Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713 ...
have since been destroyed. As early as October 20, 1884, stones from the Wolcott Quarry, reportedly containing fossils, were used to build a local bridge. In 1969, Ostrom surveyed over 60 bridges to find the missing blocks. They were part of a bridge over Hop Creek at Bridge Street which was scheduled for replacement. The highway department allowed Ostrom and his team to examine 400 sandstone blocks to find dinosaur fossils. Despite lobbying to preserve it, a shopping mall was built on the site of the Charles O. Wolcott Quarry in 2000. Ostrom officially retired from Yale in 1992, but continued to write and research as a professor emeritus until his health failed. Ostrom died from complications of
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
in July 2005 at the age of 77 in
Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are ...
.


Key discoveries

In the field of paleontology, Ostrom is responsible for the following key discoveries:


Hadrosaurs

Ostrom's work first achieved international attention with his studies of the unique hadrosaur nasal apparatus, which had not been convincingly explained by the early 1960s. By examining the
olfactory The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, it ...
apparatuses of modern
reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
s and drawing comparisons via comparative morphology, Ostrom concluded that hadrosaurs likely developed an acute sense of smell by a lengthening of the nasal passages into long chambers that wound around the skull and were protected by bony crests. He speculated in a subsequent paper that hadrosaurs had need for such an acute sense of smell as a defense against larger carnivorous dinosaurs, of which the hadrosaur body plan had little in the way of armor and speed. This hypothesis led Ostrom to further conclude that ecology of hadrosaurs was more likely to be that of dry ground such as conifer forests, rather than swampy, aquatic environments, thought to be the case at the time. This idea was further justified by a 1922 paper that Ostrom rediscovered in 1964, which described the stomach contents of a mummified specimen of the hadrosaur '' Anatosaurus'', which included conifer needles, twigs, fruit and seeds, plant matter that would be consumed in a terrestrial environment. In the 1970s, Ostrom examined trackways at the
Dinosaur Footprints Reservation Dinosaur Footprints in Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States, USA is an wilderness Nature reserve, reservation purchased for the public in 1935 by The Trustees of Reservations. The Reservation is currently being managed with the assistance from ...
in
Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...
. He mapped the site, identifying preserved dinosaur tracks in the sandstone beds of various sizes and species. Ostrom's reading of fossilized ''
Hadrosaurus ''Hadrosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of hadrosaurid ornithopod dinosaurs that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous Period in what is now the Woodbury Formation in New Jersey about 83.6 to 77.9 Ma. The holotype specimen was found in flu ...
'' trackways led him to the conclusion that these duckbilled dinosaurs were gregarious and traveled in herds.


''Deinonychus''

Ostrom worked in the Cloverly Formation Site in Montana and Wyoming from 1962 to 1966. Late in 1964, he detected unfamiliar fossils in the Bridger Fossil Area, near the town of Bridger, Montana. In subsequent seasons, his team unearthed four specimens of a small bipedal carnivorous
theropod Theropoda (; from ancient Greek , (''therion'') "wild beast"; , (''pous, podos'') "foot"">wiktionary:ποδός"> (''pous, podos'') "foot" is one of the three major groups (clades) of dinosaurs, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodom ...
, and parts of a larger plant-eating dinosaur. The discovery of the ''
Deinonychus ''Deinonychus'' ( ; ) is a genus of Dromaeosauridae, dromaeosaurid Theropoda, theropod dinosaur with one described species, ''Deinonychus antirrhopus''. This species, which could grow up to long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period (ge ...
'' fossils is considered one of the most important fossil finds in history. ''Deinonychus'' was an active predator that clearly killed its prey by leaping and slashing or stabbing with its "terrible claw", the meaning of the animal's genus name. Ostrom also suggested that it had hunted in packs. John Ostrom's work on the functional morphology of dinosaurs found that the claws and tendon scars in the tail would indicate a running position. Evidence of a truly active lifestyle included long strings of
muscle Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...
running along the tail, providing a stiff counterbalance for jumping and running. This changed the posture of bipedal dinosaurs to one of agile, fast-running, fearsome predators. He concluded that at least some dinosaurs had a high
metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...
and were in some cases
warm-blooded Warm-blooded is a term referring to animal species whose bodies maintain a temperature higher than that of their environment. In particular, homeothermic species (including birds and mammals) maintain a stable body temperature by regulating ...
. This position was further popularized by Ostrom's student Robert T. Bakker. This helped to change the impression of dinosaurs as sluggish, slow, cold-blooded lizards, which had prevailed since the turn of the century. The implications of ''Deinonychus'' changed depictions of dinosaurs both by professional illustrators and as perceived by the public eye. Museums worldwide changed their dinosaur bone displays. The altered view of dinosaurs inspired a new generation of dinosaur movies such as ''Jurassic Park'', which based its murderous "Velociraptors" on ''Deinonychus''. Ostrom's work on ''Deinonychus'' is credited with triggering the " dinosaur renaissance", a term coined in a 1975 issue of ''
Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...
'' by Bakker to describe increased interest in paleontology. The "dinosaur renaissance" continues, with scientists describing new species of dinosaurs every year and expanding the understanding of dinosaur biology.


Energy and climate

Due in large part to his earlier research on hadrosaurs—and his conclusion that they were likely upright, terrestrial animals rather than sluggish, swamp-bound lizards—Ostrom was one of the first paleontologists to grasp the implications of the amount of energy it would take such large animals (and their still larger predators, such as ''
Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...
'') to stand and move erect. At the first North American Paleontological Convention, held at the Chicago Field Museum in 1969, Ostrom spoke out against the accepted wisdom that
Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...
climates were universally tropical and that such warm climates would be necessary to sustain large animals with lizard-like
metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...
s. Ostrom supported this view by noting the correlation of erect posture and locomotion with high metabolism and body temperature in modern mammals and birds, stating that this relationship cannot be accidental. The observation that dinosaurs, thought to be uniformly cold-blooded at the time, could not be used as indicators of
paleoclimate Paleoclimatology ( British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the scientific study of climates predating the invention of meteorological instruments, when no direct measurement data were available. As instrumental records only span a tiny part of ...
was further validated in 1973 with the discovery of hadrosaur fossils above the
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
Canadian
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...
by the Canadian paleontologist
Dale Russell Dale Alan Russell (27 December 1937 – 21 December 2019) was an American-Canadian geologist and palaeontologist. Throughout his career Russell worked as the Curator of Fossil Vertebrates at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Research Professor at ...
. Ostrom's reappraisal of dinosaurs as
endothermic An endothermic process is a chemical or physical process that absorbs heat from its surroundings. In terms of thermodynamics, it is a thermodynamic process with an increase in the enthalpy (or internal energy ) of the system.Oxtoby, D. W; Gillis, ...
was considered radical at the time, but its ability to resolve outstanding contradictions in dinosaur physiology immediately drew many followers, and would be supported by many future discoveries.


''Archaeopteryx'' and the origin of flight

Ostrom's interest in the dinosaur-bird connection started with his study of what became known as the
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
''Archaeopteryx''. Discovered in 1855, it was actually the first specimen recovered but, incorrectly labeled as ''
Pterodactylus ''Pterodactylus'' (from ) is a genus of extinct pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, ''Pterodactylus antiquus'', which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile and one of the first prehis ...
crassipes'', it languished in the
Teylers Museum Teylers Museum () is an Art museum, art, Natural history museum, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the ...
in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. Ostrom's 1970 paper (and 1972 description) identified it as one of only four specimens known to exist at that time. In his 1973 paper in ''Nature'', "The Ancestry of Birds", Ostrom argued for a coelurosaurian (Theropoda) ancestry of birds, based on the skeletal anatomy of ''Archaeopteryx''. He suggested that dinosaurs, far from becoming extinct, had evolved into a wide variety of descendants in the form of birds. Ostrom's work led to a revolution in the classification of fossils and the understanding of dinosaur-bird lineages. As a result of subsequent research and comparison with more recently found specimens from the Tiaojushan Formation of China, it was suggested in 2017 that the
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
''Archaeopteryx'' actually represents a separate taxon. The genus has been given the generic name '' Ostromia'', after John Ostrom. The Haarlem fossil is now considered to be of the species ''Ostromia crassipes''. It is the first representative of the basal avialian clade ''Anchiornithidae'' to be found outside eastern Asia. In considering the possible evolution of flight, Ostrom theorized that birds might have evolved the ability for powered flight as a result of cursorial, or ground-upward movement such as leaping up to capture prey. This position was opposed to the arboreal hypothesis in which activities such as gliding down from trees were suggested to have been a precursor to flight.


Awards and honors

Ostrom received numerous accolades recognizing his significant contributions to paleontology: * John Simon
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
(1966–1967) *
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...
Fellowship, Germany (1976–1977 and 1985) * Hayden Memorial Geological Award, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1986) * Romer-Simpson Medal, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (1994) * Addison Emery Verrill Medal, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History (1999) In 1999, Yale University hosted an international symposium in Ostrom's honor, focusing on the origin and early evolution of birds. The event, attended by over 400 scientists, coincided with the exhibition "China's Feathered Dinosaurs" at the Yale Peabody Museum, showcasing significant fossil discoveries from Liaoning Province, China. Ostrom regarded these findings as pivotal evidence supporting the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds.


Scientific classification

* In 1970, John Ostrom gave '' Microvenator celer'' its formal name (meaning "fast small hunter"). * Also in 1970, he named '' Tenontosaurus tilletti'' (meaning "tendon lizard"). * In 1993, James Kirkland, Robert Gaston, and Donald Burge named a fossil '' Utahraptor ostrommaysorum'' for John Ostrom and Chris Mays. The largest discovered example of this species is 23 feet long and had an estimated live weight over 1000 pounds. * In 1998, Catherine Forster named a fossil '' Rahonavis ostromi'' (meaning "Ostrom's menace from the clouds") in honour of John Ostrom. The fossil is that of a primitive winged creature with a two-foot wingspan, feathers and a sickle-shaped claw on its second toe designed for slashing prey, similar to ''Deinonychus'' and ''Archaeopteryx''. * In 2017, '' Ostromia'' (a new genus named for the Haarlem specimen, formerly of ''
Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird'') is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaîos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
'') was named in his honor.


Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * * *


References


Sources

* . May 1975. John H. Ostrom. ''Discovery'', volume 11, number 1, pages 15 to 23. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrom, John 1928 births 2005 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Connecticut Deaths from dementia in Connecticut American paleontologists Scientists from New York City Columbia University alumni Union College (New York) alumni Beloit College faculty Brooklyn College faculty Presidents of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology