Robert Michael "Bob" Sullivan (born August 4, 1951) is a vertebrate paleontologist, noted for his work on fossil lizards and

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. Sullivan discovered the second and most complete skull of the

hadrosaurid Hadrosaurids (), also hadrosaurs or duck-billed dinosaurs, are members of the ornithischian family Hadrosauridae. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod fami ...

dinosaur, '' Parasaurolophus tubicen'', and skulls of the ankylosaurids '' Nodocephalosaurus kirtlandensis'' and ''

Ziapelta sanjuanensis ''Ziapelta'' is an extinct genus of Ankylosauridae, ankylosaurid. Its fossils have been found in the Hunter Wash and De-na-zin Stratigraphic unit, members of the Kirtland Formation of Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) New Mexico. It was named in 2014 ...

.'' He also made contributions to

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

vertebrate faunas from the

San Juan Basin The San Juan Basin is a geologic structural basin located near the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States. The basin covers 7,500 square miles and resides in northwestern New Mexico, southwestern Colorado, and parts of Utah a ...

, New Mexico, including establishing the Kirtlandian land vertebrate "age" for a time interval between the

Judithian The Judithian was a North American faunal stage lasting from 83.5 to 70.6 million years ago. It overlaps with the Campanian global stage. Fauna Dinosaur faunas of the Judithian age may represent the peak of dinosaur evolution in North America. H ...

and younger

Edmontonian The Edmontonian was a North American faunal epoch occurring during the Late Cretaceous, lasting from approximately 70 to 68 million years ago. Paleobiogeography In southern North America, little changed in the transition from the Judithian to th ...

"ages". Sullivan is also noted for his work on

pachycephalosaurid Pachycephalosauria (; from Greek παχυκεφαλόσαυρος for 'thick headed lizards') is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs. Along with Ceratopsia, it makes up the clade Marginocephalia. With the exception of two species, most pachycepha ...

dinosaurs, and was an early vocal critic of the asteroid impact theory as the cause for

dinosaur extinction Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is a ...

Early life

Born in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, to parents Robert F. Sullivan and Marian E. Sullivan, Sullivan lived in

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, Unit ...

(1951-1953) and moved to

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...

in early 1953. He had two younger brothers. Later, he lived in

Trumbull, Connecticut Trumbull is a New England town, town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut, Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, and borders on the cities of Bridgeport, Co ...

, until college in the fall of 1969. Robert grew up reading natural history books, including E. H. Colbert's (1961) ''Dinosaurs: Their discovery and their world'', which fueled his fascination with dinosaurs at a very early age. He became an avid collector of butterflies, rocks, minerals and fossils, but it was his love for prehistoric animals that would consume his professional career. On occasion, Sullivan's father would drop him off 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 ...

at Yale University, where he would spend hours in the dinosaur gallery viewing the various

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

vertebrates. His grandmother was especially supportive of his desire to become a paleontologist and drove him to a well-known

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

roadside outcrop in

Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania Stroudsburg is a borough in and the county seat of Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies within the Poconos region approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence of Brodhead Creek, McMichaels, ...

, where he would spend hours collecting fossil

bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary Colony (biology), colonies. Typically about long, they have a spe ...

ns, rugose corals and

brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum (biology), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear e ...

s. As a teenager he and a friend constructed a natural history "museum" and planetarium in the basement of his friend's house.

Academic life

Sullivan attended St. Joseph's Boys High School in Trumbull from 1964 to 1965 and then the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

where he received his B.A. in

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 ...

in 1973. Upon graduation, he moved to

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

where he commenced a graduate program in geology and

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 ...

. The summer of 1973 Sullivan worked as a field paleontologist near

Crawford, Nebraska Crawford is a city in Dawes County, Nebraska, Dawes County, Nebraska, United States, in the Great Plains region. The population was 997 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1886 and was named for the late Captain ...

, for the

University of Nebraska State Museum The University of Nebraska State Museum, also known as Morrill Hall, founded in 1871, is a natural history museum featuring Nebraska biodiversity, paleontology, and cultural diversity, located on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln City Campus n ...

, and found a partial skull and skeleton of a fossil lizard that would alter his scientific pursuits. In 1974, he left graduate school and moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

where he landed a job as a lab technician for BP Alaska, Inc. A year later, he moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

to study the fossil lizard ''Glyptosaurus'' under the direction of Richard Dean Estes, the subject of his masters thesis which was published in 1979. Sullivan received his M.S. in Vertebrate Paleontology (Special Major) at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

in 1978 and graduated with a Ph.D. in Geology from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

under the tutelage of

J. Alan Holman J. Alan Holman (1931–2006) was an American paleontologist, herpetologist, professor and Michigan State University Museum curator well known for his 1995 work called ''Pleistocene Amphibians and Reptiles in North America'' which was published b ...

in 1980.

Professional life

Upon graduation, Sullivan worked for several oil companies in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

in the early 1980s and then taught college in Alabama and subsequently at various colleges and universities in California, including the University of California-Riverside. He served as an NSF curatorial assistant in the late 1980s and later as collection manager in the Department of Herpetology of the

San Diego Natural History Museum The San Diego Natural History Museum is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. It is the second oldest scientific institution west of the Mississippi and the oldest ...

(1990-1992). At the end of 1992 Sullivan became the Senior Curator of Paleontology and Geology at the

State Museum of Pennsylvania The State Museum of Pennsylvania is a non-profit history museum at 300 North Street in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It is run by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to preserve and interpret the Commonwealth's h ...

in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he stayed until his retirement in 2012.

San Juan Basin fieldwork

In the mid 1980s, Sullivan spent time working in the Paleocene Nacimiento Formation looking for fossil lizards, with little luck, and occasionally would wander down section into the

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cret ...

rocks of the San Juan Basin. He began intensive fieldwork in the Upper Cretaceous in 1995 with occasional interruptions, spending numerous summers collecting fossil vertebrates from the Fruitland, Kirtland and Ojo Alamo (Naashoibito Member) formations. This fieldwork, which spanned over two decades, resulted in numerous unique and significant discoveries, including the recovery of New Mexico's first pterosaur ''Navajodactylus boerei'', along with many new dinosaur species.

Grants received and other affiliations

Sullivan has been the recipient of grants from

Sigma XI Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

(1974), the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

(1984), the Dinosaur Society (1996) and the Jurassic Foundation (1999). Served as Program Officer, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (1991 - 1993) Sullivan held Research Associate positions with the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

(1980 - 1982), San Diego Natural History Museum (1987 - 1990),

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

(1984 - 1992),

Carnegie Museum of Natural History The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, Pit ...

(1993 - present) and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (1998 - present).

Selected major publications

* 1979. Revision of the Paleogene genus ''Glyptosaurus'' (Reptilia, Anguidae). '' Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'', 163(1): 1-72. * 1986. The skull of ''Glyptosaurus sylvestris'' Marsh 1871 (Lacertilia: Anguidae). ''

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology The ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1980 by Jiri Zidek (University of Oklahoma). It covers all aspects of vertebrate paleontology, including vertebrate origins, evolu ...

'', 6(1): 28-37. * 1987. ''Parophisaurus pawneensis'' (Gilmore, 1928), new genus of anguid lizard from the middle Oligocene of North America. '' Journal of Herpetology'', 21(2): 115-133. * 1987. A reassessment of reptilian diversity across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, No. 391, 26pp. * 1989. ''Proglyptosaurus huerfanensis'' new genus, new species of glyptosaurine lizard (Squamata: Anguidae) from the early Eocene of Colorado.

American Museum Novitates ''American Museum Novitates'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Museum of Natural History. It was established in 1921. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2013 impact factor The impact ...

, No. 2949, 8pp. * 1999. (Robert M. Sullivan and Thomas E. Williamson) A new skull of ''Parasaurolophus'' (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae) from the Kirtland Formation of New Mexico and a revision of the genus. ''New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin'', Number 15, 52pp. * 1999. ''Nodocephalosaurus kirtlandensis'' gen. et sp. nov., a new ankylosaurid dinosaur (Ornithischia: Ankylosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous (Late Campanian) Kirtland Formation of New Mexico. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'', 19(1): 126-139. * 1999. (Robert M. Sullivan, Thomas Keller, and Jörg Habersetzer). Middle Eocene (Geiseltalian) anguid lizards from Geiseltal and Messel, Germany. I. ''Ophisauriscus quadrupes'' Kuhn 1940. Systematics and Taphonomy. Courier Forschungstitut Senckenberg, 216: 97-129. * 2003. Revision of the dinosaur ''Stegoceras'' Lambe (Ornithischia: Pachycephalosauridae). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 23(1): 181-207. * 2003. (Robert M. Sullivan and Spencer G. Lucas). The Kirtlandian -a new land-vertebrate "age" from the Late Cretaceous of western North America. ''New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook'', 54: 375-383. * 2006. (Robert M. Sullivan and Spencer G. Lucas). The Kirtlandian land-vertebrate "age"—faunal composition, temporal position and biostratigraphic correlation in the nonmarine Upper Cretaceous of western North America. ''New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin'' 35: 7-29. * 2013. (Victoria M. Arbour, Michael E. Burns, Robert M. Sullivan, Spencer G. Lucas, Amanda K. Cantrell, Joshua Fry and Thomas L. Suazo). A new ankylosaurid dinosaur (Ornithischia, Ankylosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous (Kirtlandian) of New Mexico with implications for ankylosaurid diversity in the Upper Cretaceous of western North America. PLoS ONE, 9(9): 1-14. *2019. The taxonomy, chronostratigraphy and paleobiogeography of glyptosaurine lizards (Glyptosaurinae, Anguidae). ''Comptes Rendus Palevol'' 18 (2019): 747-763.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Robert M. 1951 births Living people American paleontologists University of New Mexico alumni San Diego State University alumni Michigan State University alumni