Jørn Hurum
Encyclopedia
Jørn Harald Hurum is a Norwegian
paleontologist and popularizer of science. He is a vertebrate
paleontologist and holds an Associate Professor position at the Natural History Museum
of the University of Oslo
. He has studied dinosaur
s, primitive mammal
s and plesiosaur
s.
on Norwegian radio. In 2001, Hurum was awarded Oslo University's "Formidlingspris," an award for the popularization of science, which he shared with Hans Arne Nakrem and Geir Søli. He was awarded the prize again in 2009 for his work publicizing "Ida," the Darwinius
find.
. In 2006 his team uncovered an enormous short-necked plesiosaur (see Predator X
). His main work continues to be in the field of plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs from Svalbard.
On May 19, 2009, he announced the acquisition and scientific description of a 47 million year old, 95% complete skeleton of a primitive primate, Darwinius masillae, that had been in the private collection of an amateur fossil collector for 25 years.
Hurum named the specimen "Ida", after his daughter
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
paleontologist and popularizer of science. He is a vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
paleontologist and holds an Associate Professor position at the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo
The Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo is Norway's oldest and largest museum of natural history, situated in Oslo.It traces its roots to the University Botanical Garden, which was founded near Tøyen Manor in 1814...
of the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
. He has studied dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s, primitive mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s and plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
s.
Media
Hurum is known as a popularizer of science with a high media profile. He is the author of the book Menneskets utvikling ("The Evolution of Man") and the host of the segment Jørns hjørne ("Jørn's Corner") on the popular-science program "Newton" on Norwegian television. He also co-hosts the radio program Hurum og Ødegaard ("Hurum and Ødegaard") with astrophysicist Knut Jørgen Røed ØdegaardKnut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard
Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard is a Norwegian astronomer formerly employed as a media contact at the University of Oslo's Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics...
on Norwegian radio. In 2001, Hurum was awarded Oslo University's "Formidlingspris," an award for the popularization of science, which he shared with Hans Arne Nakrem and Geir Søli. He was awarded the prize again in 2009 for his work publicizing "Ida," the Darwinius
Darwinius
Darwinius is a genus of Adapiformes, a group of basal primates from the Eocene epoch. Its only known species is Darwinius masillae, dated to 47 million years ago based on dating of the fossil site....
find.
Discoveries
Hurum has done work on theropod dinosaurs and on plesiosaurs from SvalbardSvalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
. In 2006 his team uncovered an enormous short-necked plesiosaur (see Predator X
Predator X
Predator X is a comic book character, in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. The character is an adversary of Marvel's mutant characters, including the X-Men.-History:...
). His main work continues to be in the field of plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs from Svalbard.
On May 19, 2009, he announced the acquisition and scientific description of a 47 million year old, 95% complete skeleton of a primitive primate, Darwinius masillae, that had been in the private collection of an amateur fossil collector for 25 years.
Hurum named the specimen "Ida", after his daughter