Alick Walker
Encyclopedia
Alick Donald Walker was a British palaeontologist, after whom the Alwalkeria
genus
of dinosaur
is named.
He was born in Skirpenbeck
, near York
and attended Pocklington School
from 1936 to 1943. He began a degree course in engineering at Cambridge
, but dropped out in 1944. In 1948 he returned to university after national service, reading Geology at the University of Bristol
. On graduation, he join the research group of Professor Stanley Westoll
at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, working on the fossil reptiles of the Late Triassic
found in Elgin
. He was appointed Lecturer in Geology
in 1954, while working on his PhD.
The bony remains of the Elgin reptile
fossils were poor, sometimes just indentations in rocks. Walker devised a new casting method to caputure the anatomical information in these fossils, using PVC; many of the resulting casts are now in the National Museum of Scotland
and the Natural History Museum
. His early work was also notable for reclassifying and naming
Eustreptospondylus
.
In the late 1960s Walker studied the origin of crocodilians and of birds, which became controversial in 1972 with his publication of a paper in Nature arguing for a close relationship between sphenosuchia
n crocodylomorphs and birds. He later accepted that this hypothesis might be incorrect in a 1985 paper on Archaeopteryx
.
Alwalkeria
Alwalkeria is a genus of basal saurischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic of India. It was a small bipedal omnivore.This dinosaur was originally named Walkeria maleriensis by Sankar Chatterjee in 1987, in honor of famous British paleontologist Alick Walker and the Maleri Formation, in which its...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of 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...
is named.
He was born in Skirpenbeck
Skirpenbeck
Skirpenbeck is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated north west of Stamford Bridge just north of the A166 road.According to the 2001 UK census, Skirpenbeck parish had a population of 142....
, near York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and attended Pocklington School
Pocklington School
Pocklington School, is an independent school in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1514 by John Dolman. The school is situated in of land, on the outskirts of a small market town, from York and from Hull. It is an Anglican foundation and Friday morning church is...
from 1936 to 1943. He began a degree course in engineering at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, but dropped out in 1944. In 1948 he returned to university after national service, reading Geology at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
. On graduation, he join the research group of Professor Stanley Westoll
Thomas Stanley Westoll
Thomas Stanley Westoll, FRS FRSE, FGS was the long-time head of the Department of Geology at Newcastle University.-Education and career:He was born in West Hartlepool and educated at the local grammar school...
at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, working on the fossil reptiles of the Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...
found in Elgin
Elgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
. He was appointed Lecturer in Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
in 1954, while working on his PhD.
The bony remains of the Elgin reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
fossils were poor, sometimes just indentations in rocks. Walker devised a new casting method to caputure the anatomical information in these fossils, using PVC; many of the resulting casts are now in the National Museum of Scotland
National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the Royal Museum next door, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world...
and the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
. His early work was also notable for reclassifying and naming
Eustreptospondylus
Eustreptospondylus
Eustreptospondylus is a genus of megalosaurid dinosaur, from the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic period in southern England, at a time when Europe was a series of scattered islands Eustreptospondylus ("well-curved vertebra", in reference to the arrangement of the spine in the original...
.
In the late 1960s Walker studied the origin of crocodilians and of birds, which became controversial in 1972 with his publication of a paper in Nature arguing for a close relationship between sphenosuchia
Sphenosuchia
Sphenosuchia is a suborder of basal crocodylomorphs that first appeared in the Triassic and occurred into the Late Jurassic. Most were small, gracile animals with an erect limb posture. They are now thought to be ancestral to crocodyliforms, which include all living crocodilians.-Stratigraphic...
n crocodylomorphs and birds. He later accepted that this hypothesis might be incorrect in a 1985 paper on Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx , sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel , is a genus of theropod dinosaur that is closely related to birds. The name derives from the Ancient Greek meaning "ancient", and , meaning "feather" or "wing"...
.
Selected publications
- Walker AD. 1964. Triassic reptiles from the Elgin area: Ornithosuchus and the origin of carnosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 248: 53–134.
- Walker AD. 1972. New light on the origin of birds and crocodiles. Nature 237: 257–263
- Walker AD. 1985. The braincase of Archaeopteryx. In: Hecht MK, Ostrom JH, Viohl G, Wellnhofer P, eds. The Beginnings of Birds, pp. 123–134. Freunde des Jura-Museums Eichstätt, Germany.