Name Julian Hume | Role Writer | |
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Books Lost Land of the Dodo: An Ecological History of Mauritius, Reunion & Rodrigues | ||
Julian Pender Hume (born 3 March 1960) is an English palaeontologist, artist and writer who lives in Wickham, Hampshire. He was born in Ashford, Kent, and grew up in Portsmouth, England. He attended Crookhorn Comprehensive School between 1971 and 1976. His career began as an artist, specialising in the reconstruction of extinct species, after which he undertook a degree in palaeontology at the University of Portsmouth, followed by a PhD in the same subject, jointly hosted by the University of Portsmouth and the Natural History Museum, London and Tring. He has travelled extensively, working on fossil excavations, but his main area of research is the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues, where in particular he has studied the history of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus).
Contents
He has contributed both scientifically and artistically to a large number of palaeontological papers, popular books and magazines, and has published a critically acclaimed book 'Lost Land of the Dodo,' coauthored with Anthony Cheke, on the subject of extinct Mascarene species.
His latest contribution, which includes his own artwork, is a book entitled 'Extinct Birds' Poyser Monographs, Christopher Helm, London, coauthored with Michael Walters and published February 2012.
Artwork
His paintings of recently extinct species, especially birds, are a combination of art and science, with each painting reproduced in the most scientifically accurate way. His subjects include extinct species from islands around the world, especially the Hawaiian Islands and the Mascarenes. The dodo in particular has been illustrated on a number of occasions.