Gregory S. Paul

Gregory S. Paul (born 1954) is a freelance paleontologist, author and illustrator. He is best known for his work and research on theropod dinosaurs, and his detailed illustrations, both live and skeletal.

Illustrations
Paul helped pioneer the "new look" of dinosaurs started by Bob Bakker. He was among the first professional artists to depict them as active, warm-blooded and &mdash; in the case of the small ones &mdash; feathered.

Many later dinosaur illustrations are a reflection of his anatomical insights or even a direct imitation of his style. The fact that he also works closely with paleontologists lead many to regard his images as a sort of scientific standard to be followed; this tendency is stimulated by his habit of constantly redrawing older work to let it reflect the latest finds and theories. Much of it is in black-and-white; in ink, crayon or pencil. Even one of his scientific critics, Storrs L. Olson, described him in a review in the Scientific American as "a superior artist".

Paleontology
Aside from many scientific articles, Paul has written two books on paleontology, both lavishly illustrated by the author himself:


 * Predatory Dinosaurs of the World (1988, ISBN 0-671-61946-2): Aimed at a popular audience.
 * Dinosaurs of the Air (2002, ISBN 0-8018-6763-0): Quite scholarly, the book puts forth the hypothesis that some theropods, especially maniraptors like the Velociraptor, were descended from flying dinosaurs who later lost the ability to fly.

Named dinosaurs
Paul has named the dinosaurs:
 * Acrocanthosaurus altispinax
 * Albertosaurus megagracilis
 * Aublysodon molnari
 * Avisaurus archibaldi (with Brett-Surman; a bird)
 * Brachiosaurus (Giraffatitan) brancai (a sub-genus)
 * Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis
 * Potamornis skutchi (with Elzanowski & Stidham; a bird)
 * Dollodon bampingi
 * Dakotadon lakotaensis

The first three of these are now commonly assigned to other genera.

The theropod Cryptovolans pauli is named after him in recognition of his (presumed correct) predictions about feathered and flying dinosaurs.