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Preface
- Indiana University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
xiii PREFACE Horned dinosaurs (ceratopsians) are among the best-loved and better-known groups within the Dinosauria. We are still learning more about them every day, which is why the Ceratopsian Symposium was convened at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology (Drumheller, Alberta) on September 22–24, 2007. The symposium was a joint venture among three groups: (1) Don Brinkman, Dave Eberth, and Phil Currie from the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta (most of you are aware that Phil is now at the University of Alberta); (2) Michael Ryan from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History; and (3) Brenda Chinnery-Allgeier from the University of Texas at Austin. With so many new specimens and putatively new taxa starting to appear, as well as the unveiling of a new exhibit dedicated to ceratopsians at the Tyrrell Museum, we realized that it was an opportune time to bring together the community of horned-dinosaur workers (and lovers) to share in these discoveries , and to explore the significance of the new data. Moreover , with so many graduate students exploring new and old ideas about ceratopsians and applying emerging and new technologies in their studies, there was no question that the symposium would be lively, exciting, and challenging. The symposium was a resounding success. Over the course of two days of talks in a filled-to-capacity auditorium (≈190 participants), and a day in the field with the Tyrrell research team, we learned about recent discoveries, evaluated reinterpretations about known specimens and localities, and were exposed to new ideas about ceratopsian anatomy and behavior . The menu also included biostratigraphy, taphonomy, and new approaches for studying horned dinosaurs. This volume comprises those presentations and more, and its size alone should hint at just how much novel information was presented over three short days. Given the abundance and breadth of new information, we chose to call this volume New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs: The Royal Tyrrell Museum Ceratopsian Symposium and organized the contributions into six parts. Part 1, Overview, includes only one chapter, written by the irrefutable ‘‘king’’ of ceratopsian dinosaurs, Peter Dodson. Peter has spent a large part of his career studying horned dinosaurs , and here he reflects on all he has learned over the years, while providing historical perspective about those he has ‘‘infected ’’ with his joy of all things ceratopsian. His chapter eloquently describes why we study horned dinosaurs, and just how fascinating they really are. Part 2, Systematics and New Ceratopsians, includes 13 chapters that describe new taxa and present phylogenetic analyses. An astonishing and unprecedented 10 new ceratopsian taxa are described, bringing the number of named ceratopsian species to around 70! In addition, new information on previously known taxa adds greatly to this section, including a benchmark paper by Paul Sereno on the systematic relationships of psittacosaurs. Part 3, Anatomy, Functional Biology, and Behavior, includes 11 chapters that burrow into the details of new and old specimens in an attempt to address classic and new questions. Horn and frill function, patterns of growth, niche partitioning , life habits, and the application of paleopathology to behavior inference are all included here. Many of these studies employ evolving techniques in histology, computer modeling , and engineering that we hope will spark ongoing discussion and interest. Of particular interest here (and sure to spark debate) are the challenges posed by Nick Longrich and Tracy Ford and Larry Martin to our notions about the life habits of Protoceratops and Psittacosaurus. Part 4, Horned Dinosaurs in Time and Space: Paleobiogeography , Taphonomy, and Paleoecology, includes 9 separate discussions about large-scale diversity and migration patterns among ceratopsians, and where and how ceratopsians lived, died, and were preserved. Here the chapters by ChinneryAllgeier and James Kirkland; Sampson and Loewen; and Eberth stand out because of their ambitious integrative approaches , whereas the others are particularly satisfying because of their more detailed approaches. Part 5, History of Horned Dinosaur Collection, is the last section of the print volume and includes two chapters that focus on practical and historical issues surrounding the collection of ceratopsians. Although this section is brief, it presents engaging treatments on prospecting and collecting bias in the xiv preface Hell Creek Formation by Goodwin and Horner, and Tanke’s documentation of how a lost specimen from Alberta was never really lost at all. Part 6 is a CD-ROM that includes Ford’s exhaustive listing of ceratopsian specimens collected and published up to January 2008, and Tanke’s thorough historical account of ceratopsian discoveries in Alberta, Canada...