Description: (American Paleontologist Who Revolutionized Modern Understanding of Dinosaurs)
John Harold Ostrom, an American paleontologist, revolutionized the understanding of dinosaurs by proposing they were fast and warm-blooded, challenging the traditional view of them as slow-moving creatures. His research sparked the "dinosaur renaissance" and influenced the reclassification of birds as coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs. Ostrom's pivotal role in linking bird evolution to dinosaurs involved identifying bird-like traits in dinosaurs and studying primitive birds like Archaeopteryx. His contributions remain influential in the field of paleontology.