Dr. Yoshitsugu Kobayashi is an Associate Professor of Paleontology of Hokkaido University, Japan, Invited Associate Professor of Osaka University, Research Affiliate of Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, and a member of CRE Reviewer Circle of National Geographic Society. He received his B.Sc. in Geology from University of Wyoming under the supervision of Jason Lillegraven and M.S. and Ph.D. in Vertebrate Paleontology from Southern Methodist University under the supervision of Louis Jacobs.

 

He has worked on the evolution and paleobiology of non-avian theropod dinosaurs, especially ornithomimosaurs. His studies have demonstrated the history of adaptation of herbivory and cursoriality, found in jaw, hand, and foot structures, in this group. He also reported gastroliths in the ornithomimosaur Sinornithomimus from China and discussed its implication for the evolution of digestive system of non-avian theropod dinosaurs. Recently, his interest is expanded to other non-avian theropod dinosaurs such as therizinosaurs from Mongolia and China.

 

He has lead some expeditions in Mongolia and Japan and participated fieldworks in Alaska and other areas (other states in USA, Canada, China, and Mexico). His fieldworks in Mongolia and Alaska started in 1996 and 2007, respectively. His interests through these fieldworks are mainly on the comparisons of dinosaur diversities in two continents (Asia and NA) and the timing of faunal exchanges between them during the Cretaceous. Recently, he and his colleagues discovered a nearly complete hadrosaur skeleton from the latest Cretaceous marine sediments of Hokkaido, which is the first complete medium to large sized dinosaur skeleton from the country. He hopes that this Hokkaido hadrosaur tells us how it migrated to Japan from North America via Alaska and Mongolia.