Darren Naish
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Darren Naish (b. 1975) is a vertebrate palaeontologist and science writer, presently based at the University of Portsmouth where he works on theropod dinosaurs, particularly those from the Wealden Group rocks of Early Cretaceous England. He obtained a geology degree at the University of Southampton and later studied vertebrate palaeontology under British palaeontologist David Martill at the University of Portsmouth, where he obtained both an M. Phil. and Ph.D.
Though initially beginning his research career in palaeontology with the intention of working on fossil marine reptiles, Naish is best known among palaeontologists for his doctoral work on the basal tyrannosauroid theropod Eotyrannus, a dinosaur that, together with Steve Hutt and colleagues, he named in 2001. He has published articles on the Wealden Group theropods Thecocoelurus, Calamospondylus and Aristosuchus. With Martill and Dino Frey, he named the new Brazilian compsognathid theropod Mirischia.
Naish has also published work on sauropod dinosaurs, pterosaurs, fossil marine reptiles, turtles, marine mammals and other fossil vertebrates, and he has also produced articles on other aspects of zoology. He published a series of articles on poorly known cetaceans during the 1990s and in 2004 published a review article on the giant New Zealand gecko Hoplodactylus delcourti. In 2004 he and colleagues described a giant Isle of Wight sauropod dinosaur that appears closely related to the North American brachiosaurid Sauroposeidon. Prior to the 2006 description of Turiasaurus from Spain, this was the largest dinosaur reported from Europe. In 2005 he coauthored the description of the new Cretaceous turtle Araripemys arturi, and in 2006 he and David Martill published a revision of the South American crested pterosaurs Tupuxuara and Thalassodromeus.
[edit] Publications
Naish has published several popular books on prehistoric animals including the Dorling Kindersley Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life (2003, with David Lambert and Elizabeth Wyse), the Palaeontological Association book Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight (2001, with David Martill) and the highly acclaimed BBC Walking With Dinosaurs: The Evidence (2000, with David Martill). His name is also attached to several children's books on prehistoric animals. Naish is an associate editor for the journal Cretaceous Research and was also on the editorial board of the journal The Cryptozoology Review. He acts as a regular book reviewer for the Palaeontological Association.
[edit] Media appearances
Naish has appeared widely on British television, having featured on BBC News 24, Richard and Judy, and Live from Dinosaur Island. He appeared on a Channel 4 discussion programme on cryptozoology, presented by journalist Jon Ronson, during the late 1990s. Naish's research on the giant Isle of Wight sauropod and the pterosaur Tupuxuara was widely reported in the news media.
