Born in Russia

The Russian born paleontologist and geologist Alejandro Mateievich Piatnitzky has been immortalized by being the namesake of an Argentinian dinosaur, Piatnitzkysaurus floresi. Named in 1979 (with remains collected in 1977, 1982, and 1983) by Jose Bonaparte, this Middle Jurassic dinosaur was a midsized carnivore that highly resembled Allosaurus. The resemblance was noted nearly twenty years ago, but it has not run into any kind potential lumping situations. We will have to look at this comparison during this week as we look at the story of the dinosaur and its history.

©Nobu Tamura