Uploaded June 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Ideas on the fringes of paleontology — from the "aquatic ape" hypothesis of human origins and the ideas that dinosaurs were all aquatic, to Triassic hyper-intelligent "krakens," to the "discovery" of microscopic fully formed people in Paleozoic limestone — will be examined.
Presented at Balticon 53, Baltimore, Maryland, May 27, 2019
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. is Principal Lecturer in Vertebrate Paleontology at the Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, adaptations, and behavior of carnivorous dinosaurs, and especially of tyrannosauroids (Tyrannosaurus rex and its kin). He received his Bachelors at Johns Hopkins in 1987 and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1992. He is also a Research Associate of the Department of Paleobiology of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and serves on the Scientific Council of Maryland Academy of Science (which operates the Maryland Science Center (Baltimore, MD)).
In addition to his dinosaur research, Holtz has been active in scientific outreach. He has been a consultant on museum exhibits documentaries. He is the author of the award-winning Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-To-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages (Random House).
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS).
Ideas on the fringes of paleontology — from the "aquatic ape" hypothesis of human origins and the ideas that dinosaurs were all aquatic, to Triassic hyper-intelligent "krakens," to the "discovery" of microscopic fully formed people in Paleozoic limestone — will be examined.
Presented at Balticon 53, Baltimore, Maryland, May 27, 2019
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. is Principal Lecturer in Vertebrate Paleontology at the Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, adaptations, and behavior of carnivorous dinosaurs, and especially of tyrannosauroids (Tyrannosaurus rex and its kin). He received his Bachelors at Johns Hopkins in 1987 and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1992. He is also a Research Associate of the Department of Paleobiology of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and serves on the Scientific Council of Maryland Academy of Science (which operates the Maryland Science Center (Baltimore, MD)).
In addition to his dinosaur research, Holtz has been active in scientific outreach. He has been a consultant on museum exhibits documentaries. He is the author of the award-winning Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-To-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages (Random House).
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS).
