Paul Sereno
Paul Callistus Sereno is a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago and a National Geographic "explorer-in-residence" who has discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents, including at sites in Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco and Niger. One of his most widely publicized discoveries is that of a nearly complete specimen of Sarcosuchus imperator — popularly known as SuperCroc — at Gadoufaoua in the Tenere desert of Niger.
Biography
Youth and education
The son of a mail carrier and an art teacher at Prairie Elementary, Sereno grew up in Naperville, Illinois and graduated from Naperville Central High School. He was then educated at Northern Illinois University and Columbia University.Career
Sereno was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People.Sereno co-founded Project Exploration, a non-profit science education organization to encourage city kids to pursue careers in science.
1997-12-05
He appears in the 2009 DVD Dinosaur Discoveries, featuring classic segments of CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite as the host, which aired on A&E in 1991. It was later re-shown on the Disney Channel until the late 1990s.
On August 14, 2008, it was revealed that Sereno had uncovered a large Stone Age cemetery at Gobero in the Nigerien Sahara, remnants of a people who lived from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago on the edge of what was then a large lake. The National Geographic documentary, Skeletons of the Sahara was made about this discovery and premiered in 2013.
Fossil species described by Sereno or his team
Dinosaurs- Aerosteon
- Afrovenator
- Significant new material of Carcharodontosaurus, including Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis)
- Deltadromeus
- Eocarcharia
- Eodromaeus
- Eoraptor
- Erliansaurus
- Graciliceratops
- Significant new material of Herrerasaurus
- Jobaria
- Kryptops
- Neimongosaurus
- Nigersaurus
- Pegomastax
- Three new species of Psittacosaurus
- Rajasaurus
- Raptorex
- Rugops
- Significant new material from Spinosaurus
- Spinostropheus
- Suchomimus
- Marasuchus, an early relative of dinosaurs
- "The African Pterosaur"
- Sarcosuchus imperator or SuperCroc
- Anatosuchus minor or DuckCroc from Niger
- Araripesuchus rattoides or RatCroc from Niger and Morocco
- Kaprosuchus saharicus or BoarCroc from Niger and Morocco
- Laganosuchus thaumastos or PancakeCroc from Niger and Morocco
- Laganosuchus maghrebensis or PancakeCroc from Niger and Morocco
Documentaries featuring Sereno and his discoveries
In addition to his many discoveries in the field, public communication has been a big part of Sereno's career.| Year | Title | Producer | Featured Fossils |
| 1991 | At the Forefront | Kurtis Productions, Ltd., PBS | |
| 1992 | Fragments of Time | New Explorers, PBS | Eoraptor |
| 1992 | The Dinosaurs! - Flesh on the Bones | WHYY-TV, PBS | Herrerasaurus |
| 1993 | The Next Generation, 1% Inspiration | WNET, PBS | |
| 1994 | Skeletons in the Sand | New Explorers, PBS | |
| 1995 | Paleoworld - African Graveyard, Part I: Hunting Dinosaurs | The Learning Channel | |
| 1995 | Paleoworld - African Graveyard, Part II: Discovering Dinosaurs | The Learning Channel | |
| 1996 | Paleoworld - Flesh on the Bones | The Learning Channel | Deltadromeus, Carcharodontosaurus |
| 1997 | Beyond T-Rex | Discovery Channel | Carcharodontosaurus |
| 1998 | Colossal Claw | National Geographic Explorer | Suchomimus |
| 1998 | Dinosaur Fever | National Geographic Explorer | sauropods |
| 1999 | Africa's Dinosaur Giants | National Geographic Explorer | Jobaria |
| 2001 | SuperCroc | NBC/NGC | Sarcosuchus |
| 2006 | Sky Monsters | NGC | pterosaur |
| 2009 | Bizarre Dinos | NGC | Nigersaurus, Raptorex, Mykocephale |
| 2009 | When Crocs Ate Dinosaurs | NGChannel | BoarCroc, PancakeCroc, DuckCroc, DogCroc, RatCroc |
| 2013 | Skeletons of the Sahara | NOVA-NGTelevision | humans |
| 2014 | Bigger than T. rex | NOVA-NGTelevision | Spinosaurus |