Elmer S. Riggs
Encyclopedia
Elmer Samuel Riggs was an American
paleontologist
known for his work with the Field Museum of Natural History
in Chicago
, Illinois
. He was born in Trafalgar
, Indiana
, and moved with his family to Kansas
at a young age. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Kansas
and then worked with the American Museum of Natural History
. In May 1898 he joined the staff of the Field Museum (then the Field Columbian Museum). He began work in Morrison Formation
rocks of Wyoming
and Colorado
. In 1900 he and his crew recovered the first known skeleton of the giant sauropod
dinosaur
Brachiosaurus altithorax
from near Fruita
, Colorado, and in 1901 they found a specimen of Apatosaurus in the same area, which is on display at the Field Museum. From these specimens he named Brachiosaurus and Brachiosauridae
, and presented evidence that Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus were the same genus of dinosaur. He also proposed that sauropods were terrestrial animals, based on their limb structure, but this was largely dismissed in favor of aquatic sauropods until the 1970s, when the idea was revived by Robert Bakker
.
Following these discoveries, he turned to fossil mammals, and worked throughout the western United States
and South America
until 1931. One particularly notable find was the fossils of the saber-toothed marsupial
Thylacosmilus
, which he found in Pliocene
-age rocks of Argentina
in 1927 and named in 1933. He became the Curator of Paleontology at the Field Museum, and was employed by the museum until he retired in 1942. He was also sought-after as a lecturer, and was still conducting speaking tours many years after retiring from the Field Museum. He died on March 25, 1963, in Sedan
, Kansas, at the age of 94.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
paleontologist
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
known for his work with the Field Museum of Natural History
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. He was born in Trafalgar
Trafalgar, Indiana
Trafalgar is a town in Nineveh and Hensley townships, Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,101 at the 2010 census.This town is twenty miles south of Indianapolis.It is the home of the transmitter for WTTV-TV, WTTS-FM, and WFCI-FM....
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and moved with his family to Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
at a young age. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
and then worked with the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
. In May 1898 he joined the staff of the Field Museum (then the Field Columbian Museum). He began work in Morrison Formation
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Late Jurassic sedimentary rock that is found in the western United States, which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone and limestone and is light grey, greenish...
rocks of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. In 1900 he and his crew recovered the first known skeleton of the giant sauropod
Sauropoda
Sauropoda , or the sauropods , are an infraorder of saurischian dinosaurs. They had long necks, long tails, small heads , and thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land...
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...
Brachiosaurus altithorax
Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Jurassic Morrison Formation of North America. It was first described by Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the Grand River Canyon of western Colorado, in the United States. Riggs named the dinosaur Brachiosaurus altithorax,...
from near Fruita
Fruita, Colorado
The City of Fruita is a Home Rule Municipality located in the western part of Mesa County, Colorado, in the United States. It is part of the Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area and within the Grand Valley...
, Colorado, and in 1901 they found a specimen of Apatosaurus in the same area, which is on display at the Field Museum. From these specimens he named Brachiosaurus and Brachiosauridae
Brachiosauridae
Brachiosauridae are a family of dinosaurs, whose members are known as brachiosaurids. They were herbivorous quadrupeds with longer forelegs than hind legs - the name derives from the Greek for arm lizard - and long necks...
, and presented evidence that Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus were the same genus of dinosaur. He also proposed that sauropods were terrestrial animals, based on their limb structure, but this was largely dismissed in favor of aquatic sauropods until the 1970s, when the idea was revived by Robert Bakker
Robert T. Bakker
Robert T. Bakker is an American paleontologist who helped reshape modern theories about dinosaurs, particularly by adding support to the theory that some dinosaurs were endothermic...
.
Following these discoveries, he turned to fossil mammals, and worked throughout the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
until 1931. One particularly notable find was the fossils of the saber-toothed marsupial
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
Thylacosmilus
Thylacosmilus
Thylacosmilus was a genus of sabre-toothed metatherian predators that first appeared during the Miocene. Remains of the animal have been found in parts of South America, primarily Argentina...
, which he found in Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
-age rocks of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in 1927 and named in 1933. He became the Curator of Paleontology at the Field Museum, and was employed by the museum until he retired in 1942. He was also sought-after as a lecturer, and was still conducting speaking tours many years after retiring from the Field Museum. He died on March 25, 1963, in Sedan
Sedan, Kansas
Sedan is the county seat of and the largest city in Chautauqua County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,124.-Geography:Sedan is located at...
, Kansas, at the age of 94.