Michael Benton

Professor Michael Benton, is a British Vertebrate Palaeontologist who was amongst around 400 Palaeontologists in contact, working to adivse the Walking With Dinosaurs series. Professor Benton has written hundreds of books, many of which are illustrated by artists, over a successful career spanning decades. He is a lecturer of Palaeontology and Evoluton at Bristol University (UK), where he is based. He has a prestigious set of academic honours, of which Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh is but one. Also, he has various species named in his honour, such as Bentonyx, a Triassic Rhynchoaur reptile, and Triassic Palaeontology is his speciality.

Though well read and clearly highly knowledgable of vast ranges of Palaeontological fields, his own specialisation and interest, seems to be Permian and moreover Triassic Reptiles such are Archosaurs and Dicynodonts, finding the transitional period to be intriguing as do many experts. His knowledge in his particular field is unparalled. This is a good reason for why his name appears on the subtitles of Walking With Dinosaurs - Episode One, New Blood, as the scientific advisor (at least the main one) for this particular episode.

Professor Michael Benton has also appeared on the two 'Making of' Walking With Beasts features, discussing various things such as the difference between tiny Mesozoic Mammals in comparison with Dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex, and also the difference between these older mammals and later, larger beasts of the Cenozoic Era after the extinction of the Dinosaurs.

He also appears in 'The Trilogy of Life' feature of Walking With Monsters. Here he discusses a variety of things briefly, including how he has noticed an upsurge in Palaeontology degree applicants due to Walking With..., and the arguments over the accuracy and controversial presentation of Walking With Dinosaurs ('fiction presented as facts', some say) Professor Benton says how science is about hypothesis testing, and that ultimately Walking With Dinosaurs provided a focus of debate and that at the end of the day this was positive and helpful, being scientific inference, not pointless fiction.