Luis M. Chiappe

Luis María Chiappe (born 18 June 1962) is an Argentine paleontologist born in Buenos Aires who is best known for his discovery of the first sauropod nesting sites in the badlands of Patagonia in 1997 and for his work on the origin and early evolution of Mesozoic birds. He has been the Senior Vice President of Research and Collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County since 2012 and was the founding director of the museum's Dinosaur Institute. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the American Museum of Natural History, New York after immigrating from Argentina. Chiappe curated the award-winning Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and led the decade-long work on the green dinosaur Gnatalie which culminated with a new mount in the NHM Commons.

Chiappe is a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, a laureate of the Alexander Humboldt Foundation, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, and a member of the Real Academia de Ciencias de España.

Academic contributions Chiappe has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals, with nearly 17,000 citations. He has numerous publications in high-profile scientific journals, including Nature, Science, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, Current Biology, Gondwana Research, PNAS, Nature Communications, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, and Scientific Reports. He is best known for his extensive work on the origin and early evolution of birds, although he is also well-known for work on sauropod nesting sites and embryos from Patagonia, on which he has authored several books and articles, and on pterosaur embryos.

Below is a list of taxa that Chiappe has contributed to naming:

YearTaxonAuthors2026Gorgonavis alcyone gen. et sp. nov.Nebreda, Chiappe, Navalón, Terol, Serrano, Buscalioni, & Marugán-Lobón 2025Shuilingornis angelai gen. et sp. nov.Wang, Cau, Wang, Kundrát, Zhang, Liu, & Chiappe 2024Navaornis hestiae gen. et sp. nov.Chiappe, Navalón, Martinelli, de Souza Carvalho, Santucci, Wu, & Field 2019Gretcheniao sinensis gen. et sp. nov.Chiappe, Qingjin, Serrano, Sigurdsen, Min, Bell, & Di 2019Elektorornis chenguangi gen. et sp. nov.Xing, O'Connor, Chiappe, McKellar, Carroll, Hu, Bai, & Lei 2019Orienantius ritteri gen. et sp.. nov.Liu, Chiappe, Zhang, Serrano, & Meng 2015Fumicollis hoffmani gen. et sp. nov.Bell & Chiappe 2014Gansus zheni sp. nov.Liu, Chiappe, Zhang, Bell, Meng, Ji, & Wang 2014Changyuraptor yangi gen. et sp. nov.Han, Chiappe, Ji, Habib, Turner, Chinsamy, Liu, & Han 2013Zhouornis hani sp. nov.Zhang, Chiappe, Han, & Chinsamy 2013Overosaurus paradasorum gen. et sp. nov.Coria, Filippi, Chiappe, Garcia, & Arcucci 2013Sulcavis geeorum, gen. et sp. nov.O'Connor, Zhang, Chiappe, Meng, Quanguo, & Di 2010Fruitadens haagarorum gen. et sp. nov.Butler, Galton, Porro, Chiappe, Henderson, & Erickson 2010Morsoravis sedilis gen. et sp. nov.Bertelli, Lindow, Dyke, & Chiappe 2010Shenqiornis mengi gen. et sp. nov.Wang, O'Connor, Zhao, Chiappe, Gao, & Cheng 2010Longicrusavis houi gen. et sp. nov.O'Connor, Gao, & Chiappe 2010Hollanda luceria gen. et sp. nov.Bell, Chiappe, Erickson, Suzuki, Watabe, Barsbold, Tsogtbaatar 2009Shanweiniao cooperorum gen. et sp. nov.O'Connor, Wang, Chiappe, Gao, Meng, Cheng, & Liu 2008Zhongornis haoae gen. et sp. nov.Gao, Chiappe, Meng, O'Connor, Wang, Cheng, & Liu 2007Kelenken guillermoi gen. et sp. nov.Bertelli, Chiappe, & Tambussi 2007Elsornis keni gen. et sp. nov.Chiappe, Suzuki, Dyke, Watabe, Tsogtbaatar, & Barsbold 2006Dalingheornis liweii gen. et sp. nov.Zihui, Lianhai, Yoshikasu, O'Connor, Martin, & Chiappe 2006Juravenator starki gen. et sp. nov.Göhlich & Chiappe 2002Aucasaurus garridoi gen. et sp. nov.Coria, Chiappe, & Dingus 2002Halimornis thompsoni gen. et sp. nov.Chiappe, Lamb, & Ericson 2001Limenavis patagonica gen. et sp. nov.Clarke & Chiappe 1999Changchengornis hengdaoziensis gen. et sp. nov.Qiang, Chiappe, & Shu' An 1998Shuvuuia deserti gen. et sp. nov.Chiappe, Norell, & Clark 1996Vorona berivotrensis gen. et sp. nov.Forster, Chiappe, Krause, & Sampson 1996Eoalulavis hoyasi gen. et sp. nov.Sanz, Chiappe, Pérez-Moreno, Buscalioni, Moratalla, Ortega, & Poyato-Ariza 1995Avisaurus gloriae sp. nov.Varrichio & Chiappe 1994Neuquenornis volans gen. et sp. nov.Chiappe & Calvo 1993Yungavolucris brevipedalis gen. et sp. nov.Chiappe 1993Mononychus olecranus gen. et sp. nov.Altangerel, Norell, Chiappe, & Clark 1988Amargasuchus minor gen. et sp. nov.Chiappe 1988Caiman tremembensis sp. nov.Chiappe

Books

Chiappe, L.M.; Qingjin, M. 2016. Birds of Stone. (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). Chiappe, L.M. 2007. Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds. (Wiley-Liss, 2007). Dingus, L.; Chiappe, L.M. The Tiniest Giants: Discovering Dinosaur Eggs (Doubleday Books, 1999). Chiappe, L.M.; Dingus, L. Walking on Eggs: The Astonishing Discovery of Thousands of Dinosaur Eggs in the Badlands of Patagonia (Scribner, 2001). Chiappe, L.M.; Dingus, L. The Lost Dinosaurs: The Astonishing Discovery of the World's Largest Prehistoric Nesting Ground (Abacus, 2002), Chiappe, L.M.; Witmer L. Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs (University of California Press, 2002).

In popular culture Chiappe has been featured in many TV documentaries, including the 2016 BBC documentary, Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur, showing Sir David Attenborough the dinosaur egg nesting site at Auca Mahuevo, and eggs from that site in the Museo Carmen Funes in Plaza Huincul, Neuquén Province, Argentina.