Mark Norell obituary: palaeontologist who showed that dinosaurs still walk among us - as birds

"Mark Norell, whose discoveries helped to demonstrate that birds are living dinosaurs, has died aged 68. As a curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Norell combined fieldwork, cutting-edge analysis and a gift for collaboration, transforming how scientists and the public see dinosaurs. Norell and his colleagues showed that birds belong to the group of carnivorous dinosaurs known as theropods, which also include Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus."

"He advanced evolutionary methods and proposed, for example, that estimates of a fossil's age could be improved by also accounting for the age of the species' nearest relative. The approach uses 'ghost lineages' by recognizing that the existence of lineages can be inferred on the basis of their relationships even when they leave no trace in the fossil record. This method has become adopted widely in palaeontology."

"Norell and his research teams also pioneered the use of imaging and chemical techniques to probe fossil anatomy, including brains and feathers. His work revealed details of dinosaur growth, reproduction and behaviour, and helped to establish that feathers are an evolutionary innovation that long pre-dated flight. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and raised in southern California, Norell developed a love of exploration as a teenager scouring deserts, mountains and coastal cliffs for fossils."

Mark Norell was a curator at the American Museum of Natural History who combined fieldwork, advanced analysis and collaboration to transform understanding of dinosaurs. Norell and colleagues demonstrated that birds belong to theropod carnivorous dinosaurs such as Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus. He developed evolutionary methods that improve fossil-age estimates by accounting for nearest relatives and 'ghost lineages', a technique widely adopted in palaeontology. His teams pioneered imaging and chemical techniques to examine fossil brains, feathers and anatomy, revealing details of growth, reproduction and behaviour and showing that feathers evolved long before flight. Norell began fossil collecting as a teenager and trained at California State University Long Beach, San Diego State and Yale.

Read at Nature