We've talked here about the possible merging of Triceratops and Torosaurus into just Triceratops. Jack Horner is one of the paleontologists involved in that research. And, for him, it's more than just a single study of a couple of species. Horner thinks that scientists have identified far more dinosaur species than actually existed. It's not just Torosaurus he'd like to see consigned to the trash heap, as he explains in this TEDxVancouver talk. The Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs blog offers a little background on Horner:
In this talk, I find the way Horner sells himself as something of a rogue paleontologist pretty interesting. I don't use the word "rogue" to imply that his ideas are absolutely crazy, but in that he's willing to do things like cut into dinosaur bones at the Museum of the Rockies, whereas other museums consider their collections too precious to risk. Perhaps "maverick" would be a better word here. Many of his big laughs come from the way he packs his observations in a pragmatic, blue collar, almost John Wayne-y persona. This is an old tradition in science: establishing oneself as a member of the masses, willing to get dirty while effete intellectuals bandy about theories in the parlors of academia.
