There may be a dinosaur waiting for you

The Globe and Mail ^ | 9/5/06 | Globe and Mail

[doc30]

Good news for dinosaur fans: There are probably a lot more of them waiting to be discovered. At least, their fossils are.

Peter Dodson of the University of Pennsylvania and Steve Wang of Swarthmore College estimate that 71 per cent of all dinosaur genera — groups of dinosaur species — have yet to be discovered.

“It's a safe bet that a child born today could expect a very fruitful career in dinosaur paleontology,” Dr. Dodson said in a statement.

The estimate appears in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Dodson — a professor of anatomy in Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine and professor in Penn's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences — first estimated the potential number of dinosaur genera in 1990 and now is revising that upward.

The estimates are based on the rates of discovery — about 10 to 20 annually — and the recent increase in finds of fossils in China, Mongolia and South America.

Dr. Dodson suggests that 1,850 genera will eventually be discovered. So far 527 genera have been found.

Fossilization itself is a rare event, they note, and as many as half of the dinosaur genera that ever existed may have left no remains.

“I would never suggest that this prediction, however statistically sound, is the final word on dinosaur diversity,” Dr. Dodson added. “My intention is to fuel the discussion using the facts at hand, and this is the best estimate we can make with the data available.”

[doc30]

So someone is taking a stab at estimating the diversity of types of dinosaurs. Interesting stuff, and the author at least admits it's just a statisitical guess. The bottom line is that there is still a lot our there to discover.

[doc30]

ping

[Hegemony Cricket]

Some day, my dinosaur will come... (fade to black while Disney music cues up)

[paudio]

Good to know. -Ross Geller-

[PistolPaknMama]

“It's a safe bet that a child born today could expect a very fruitful career in dinosaur paleontology,” Dr. Dodson said in a statement. ...the rates of discovery — about 10 to 20 annually How much do they pay per discovery for it to be "very fruitful"? Sounds like a paltry number, hardly very fruitful. But then science is not based on any kind of tangible logic.

[Liberal Classic]

But then science is not based on any kind of tangible logic.

D'OH!

[evets]

If Barney was dead...

I would refuse to discover him.

[PistolPaknMama]

If Barney was dead...

He's not? I saw a sign outside an Atlanta restaurant a few years ago that plainly said "Barney is dead." I thought it was either the gospel according to Buckhead or the restaurant was serving fuzzy purple steaks. No I didn't stop to check it out.

[indcons]

I was at Dinosaur National Park over the weekend and didn't see any new species :)

[uglybiker]

If Barney was dead...

That can be arranged!

[RunningWolf]

I would think one would expect a very 'stony career' in dinosaur paleontology

[PistolPaknMama]

LOL!

(Nice to see you again, UB)

[ml1954]

But then science is not based on any kind of tangible logic.

Bad Bait.

[Coyoteman]

But then science is not based on any kind of tangible logic.

Bad Bait.

Wrong, as well as silly.

[balrog666]

Silly Creationists placemarker.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Probably using the same method used to estimate the number of Axis tanks by counting those destroyed. It's not too bad. Maybe good to a factor of four or so.