About Jim Dr. Jim Kirkland (born, August 24, 1954) is the Utah State Paleontologist with the Utah Geological Survey. He issues permits for paleontological research on Utah state lands, keeps tabs on paleontological research and issues across the state, and promotes Utah’s paleontological resources for the public good. An expert on the Mesozoic, he has spent more than thirty years excavating fossils across the southwestern US and Mexico authoring and coauthoring more than 75 professional papers. The reconstruction of ancient marine and terrestrial environments, biostratigraphy, paleoecology, and mass extinctions are some of his interests. He has discovered and described numerous new dinosaurs including several new armored dinosaurs, bipedal plant-eaters, the oldest truly horned-dinosaur, North America’s first sickle-clawed therizinosaurid, and the giant dromaeosaur [raptor] Utahraptor. Additionally he has described and named many fossil mollusks and fish. His researches in the middle Cretaceous of Utah indicate that the origins of Alaska and the first great Asian-North American faunal interchange occurred about 100 million years ago, which his numerous trips to China and Mongolia have substantiated. Notable Media appearances in US Good Morning America, Today Show Nova, “The Real Jurassic Park” Several appearances on Science Friday, NPR The Learning Channel, “Paleoworld”, several episodes. Discovery Channel, Advisor for and on air appearances for both “Walking with Dinosaurs” “When Dinosaurs Roamed America”, and “Alien Planet”. Advisor on “Before the Dinosaurs” and “Dinosaur Planet”. History Channel “Jurassic fight night” several episodes. Prehistoric animals named or co-named by Kirkland; Includes 30 molluscan taxa, 7 fossil fish, and 13 dinosaurs, with several more in progress, new primitive mammal and crocodilian are also being described. Ankylosaurian dinosaurs Mymoorapelta maysi (oldest North American ankylosaur, Jurassic, Colorado) Gastonia burgei (best represented polacanthine ankylosaur, Early Cretaceous, Utah) Animantarx ramaljonesi (nodosaurid, middle Cretaceous Utah) Cedarpelta bilbyhallorum (oldest true ankylosaurids, Early Cretaceous, Utah) Aletopelta coombsi (first dinosaur to be named from California) Ceratopsian dinosaurs Zuniceratops christopheri (oldest dinosaur with brow horns, middle Cretaceous, New Mexico and southernUtah) Diabloceratops eatoni (oldest centrosaurine –pretty spectacular horns, Late Cretaceous, Utah) Ornithopod dinosaurs Eolambia caroljonesa (very advanced iguanodontian, middle Cretaceous Utah) Velafrons coahuilensis (crested duckbill dinosaur, Late Cretaceous Mexico) Jeyawati rugoculus (very advanced iguanodontian, middle Cretaceous New Mexico) 2 new Early Cretaceous basal iguanodontians from Utah in revision Theropod dinosaurs Utahraptor ostrommaysorum (the giant raptor, Early Cretaceous, Utah) Nedcolbertia justinhoffmani (small coelurosaurian, Early Cretaceous, Utah) Falcarius utahensis (most primitive and best known therizinosaur, Early Cretaceous, Utah) Nothronychus mckinleyi (first North American therizinosaur, middle Cretaceous, New Mexico and southern Utah) Geminiraptor suarezarum (in press) (basal troodontid Early Cretaceous, Utah)

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