Anthony Fiorillo

Anthony Ricardo Fiorillo is Executive Director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, as well as a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at Southern Methodist University. For many years he was vice president of research & collections and chief curator at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science.[1][2] A native of Connecticut, he received his bachelor's at the University of Connecticut, his master's at the University of Nebraska and a Ph.D. in Vertebrate Paleontology from the University of Pennsylvania.[3]

Anthony R. Fiorillo
Born1957
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Connecticut, University of Nebraska, University of Pennsylvania
Scientific career
FieldsPaleontology
InstitutionsNew Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
Author abbrev. (zoology)Tony Fiorillo

Career

Dr. Fiorillo worked on his Rea Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and later as a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1995 he became a curator at the Dallas Museum of Natural History (now the Perot Museum of Nature and Science). He is currently the Executive Director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science[4] and works as an adjunct associate professor of Paleontology at Southern Methodist University.[2] He has worked with the National Park Service in several national park units including Big Bend National Park, Denali National Park, Aniakchak National Monument, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park to identify, study and preserve dinosaur fossils found. In 2008, he was honored with a fellowship in the Geological Society of America.[2][5], as well as becoming a Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2013. For his long-time commitment to dinosaur paleontology within the National Park units in Alaska, he was recognized by the international George Wright Society in 2019 with the prestigious Natural Resource Achievement Award.

Since 1998 the primary focus of his work has been on polar dinosaurs, and more specifically the ancient Arctic dinosaurs of Alaska.[6][7] Of the four Alaskan dinosaurs that have names, Fiorillo has named two of them: Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum and Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, which he named in honor of major supporters of his former museum.[8][9] P. perotorum is christened after the billionaire Ross Perot and his family.[8][10] Although Perot is not necessarily connected to Alaska or paleontology, he has given generously to the Perot Museum, which also bears his name.[11] N. hoglundi is named for Forrest Hoglund,[9] a Texas oil millionaire[12] who has also donated generously. Fiorillo and his colleagues have unearthed new polar dinosaurs as well as obtained insights into the ancient polar climate during one of Earth's greenhouse modes.[13][14] In addition to Alaska, his work has taken him to Japan, Mongolia, and South Korea to explore the ancient land bridge connection between Asia and North America during the Cretaceous, a geographic connection often referred to as Beringia. His travels also include Australia, Peru, and Bolivia in order to further his research.[1] He has published approximately 135 technical papers.

Published work

Books

Anthony Fiorillo has collaborated on these books and volumes:

  • Rogers, Raymond R.; Eberth, David A; Fiorillo, Anthony R. (January 30, 2008). Bonebeds: Genesis, Analysis, and Paleobiological Significance. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-72371-6.
  • Scotchmoor, Judy G.; Springer, Dale A.; Breithaupt, Brent H.; Fiorillo, Anthony R. (January 1, 2002). Dinosaurs: The Science Behind the Stories. Alexandria, VA: American Geological Institute. ISBN 978-0-922152-62-9.
  • Fiorillo, Anthony, R., and McCarthy, Paul, J. 2010. Ancient polar ecosystems and environments. Selected papers based on Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Theme Session 10, Ancient polar ecosystems and environments: proxies for understanding climate change and global warming. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 295:345-442.
  • McCarthy, Paul, J., Fiorillo, Anthony, R., and Taylor, Edith, L. 2016. Ancient polar ecosystems and paleoclimate in deep time: Evidence from the past, implications for the future. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 441:223-389.

He has also written the following book:

Other publications

Personal life

Dr. Fiorillo currently resides in the Dallas area.

References
  1. Marino, Katharina (December 31, 2012). "Paleontologist puts passion for fossils to use as curator at Perot Museum". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  2. "Scientists". The Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  3. "Anthony Fiorello - Dedman College - SMU". Southern Methodist University. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  4. "Anthony R. Fiorillo, Ph. D. named executive director of New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science in Albuquerque :: Department of Cultural Affairs Media Center :: Press Releases". media.newmexicoculture.org. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  5. The Geological Society of America. "All Active and Current GSA Fellows". Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  6. Dunham, Mike (August 25, 2012). "Alaskans - extinct and not - included in new Dallas museum". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  7. Wheeler, Jason (July 22, 2014). "Museum team races to make Alaska dinosaur discoveries". USA Today. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  8. Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Tykoski, Ronald S. (September 2012). "A New Maastrichtian Species of the Centrosaurine CeratopsidPachyrhinosaurusfrom the North Slope of Alaska". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 57 (3): 561–573. doi:10.4202/app.2011.0033. ISSN 0567-7920.
  9. Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Tykoski, Ronald S. (2014-03-12). "A Diminutive New Tyrannosaur from the Top of the World". PLOS ONE. 9 (3): e91287. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...991287F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091287. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3951350. PMID 24621577.
  10. "Perot Museum of Nature and Science". Perot Museum Paleontologists Discover New Dinosaur Species | Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  11. "New Dallas science museum named for Ross Perot". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  12. "Forrest E. Hoglund". Reasoning Mind. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  13. Townsend, Lori (September 3, 2012). "Footprint Sheds More Light On Prehistoric Alaska;". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  14. Martin, Justin (August 7, 2014). "Footprints Suggest Duck-Billed Dinosaurs Thrived In Polar Ecosystem". KERA News. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
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