Peter Lars Larson (born 1952) is an American fossil expert and president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. He led the team that excavated " Sue", one of the largest and most complete specimen of ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' found to date, and has published numerous scientific and popular works on dinosaur paleontology. He is criticized by paleontologists for his commercial enterprises and support of private collections.

Early life and education

Peter Larson grew up on a ranch near Mission, South Dakota. He began rock hunting at the age of four on his parents' ranch. He attended the

South Dakota School of Mines The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (South Dakota Mines, SD Mines, or SDSM&T) is a public university in Rapid City, South Dakota. It is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and was founded in 1885. South Dakota Mines offers ba ...

to study paleontology. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1974. Shortly after graduating college he started Black Hills Minerals.

Career

Larson founded what eventually became the

Black Hills Institute The Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Inc. (BHI) is a private corporation specializing in the excavation and preparation of fossils, as well as the sale of both original fossil material and museum-quality replicas. Founded in 1974 and b ...

in 1974. Partners Robert Farrar and (Larson's brother) Neal Larson later joined the company. In 1990, Larson led the excavation of the ''

'' skeleton later named " Sue". With only a bachelor's degree in geology, Larson has written and co-authored numerous publications on dinosaurs, has excavated more ''T. rex'' skeletons than any paleontologist, and his organization's work on excavation and preparation of fossils has been recognized by paleontologists

Robert Bakker Robert Thomas Bakker (born March 24, 1945) is an American paleontologist who helped reshape modern theories about dinosaurs, particularly by adding support to the theory that some dinosaurs were endothermic (warm-blooded). Along with his mentor ...

, Philip Currie, Phillip Manning, and Jack Horner for its quality. He was one of the first to work with ''T. rex'' bone pathologies, has worked to uncover sexual dimorphism in the chevron length of ''T. rex'', and argues that several juvenile ''T. rex'' skeletons actually represent a distinct genus, ''Nanotyrannus''. In 1992, Larson's team helped to discover second largest ''

'' Stan. Larson, along with paleontologist

Kenneth Carpenter Kenneth Carpenter (born September 21, 1949, in Tokyo, Japan) is a paleontologist. He is the former director of the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum and author or co-author of books on dinosaurs and Mesozoic life. His main research interests ...

, edited the scholarly text ''Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Tyrant King''. Larson and his ex-wife Kristin Donnan wrote the book ''Rex Appeal,'' which relates the story of how the U.S. Government took possession of the "Sue" ''T. rex'' skeleton following its excavation, and ''Bones Rock!'', a children's book about the history of paleontology and requirements on how to become a palaeontologist. In 2013 Larson and colleagues began excavating at a site located in

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

, US containing the remnants of three nearly complete skeletons of ''

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one ...

.''

Federal lands dispute

In 1992, an acting U.S. Attorney led about 35 F.B.I. agents and 20 National Guardsmen on a raid on the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Larson's company. The federal agents seized the skeleton of Sue, along with other fossils and records. Larson and associates believed they were excavating "Sue" on private land, and had paid the owner $5,000 for permission. The U.S. Attorney charged that the fossil had been illegally taken from land under Federal administration. In 1994, a Federal court ruled that "Sue" belonged to the landowner, a Native American whose deed was held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. After the sale to the Field Museum, the landowner received $7.6 million. Chapter 12 "Everything Changed that Day". Following a trial on charges unrelated to the "Sue" ''T. rex'' find, Larson was convicted of two felonies and two misdemeanours. Richard Battey sentenced Larson two years in federal prison.

Legacy

Larson has developed a controversial standing among paleontologists, who object to his organization's commercial selling of fossils, though

, himself controversial, has backed Larson as a responsible paleontologist.

Selected works

Journal articles

*Larson,P and Frey,E. "Sexual Dimorphism in the Abundant Upper Cretaceous Theropod, T. rex." ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 12'', Abstract 96, 3 September 1992. *

Popular books

*Larson, P. and Donnan, K. "Rex Appeal". Montpelier, VT: Invisible Cities Press, 2002. *Larson, P. and Carpenter, K. "Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Tyrant King (Life of the Past)". Indiana University Press, 2008. *

References

External links

Collaborator Profile
University of Manchester Paleontology *
Black Hills Institute of Geological Research Inc. website
* ''Part 1: Wagon Ho'' , Interview by Bernie Harberts with Pete and Neal Larson {{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Peter 1952 births Living people American paleontologists People from Pennington County, South Dakota Businesspeople from South Dakota South Dakota School of Mines and Technology alumni People from Mission, South Dakota