10 Facts About Varavudh Suteethorn

Varavudh Suteethorn, or Warawut Suteethorn is a Thai palaeontologist and geologist.

Varavudh Suteethorn is the current director of the Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University.

Varavudh Suteethorn is best known for his work on vertebrate paleontology in northeastern Thailand, having contributed to the discovery of many fossil taxa and dig sites in the Khorat Plateau, as a part of a long-standing collaboration between Thai and French scientists.

Varavudh Suteethorn was born in the Nakhon Pathom Province of central Thailand on 10 October 1948.

Varavudh Suteethorn obtained a bachelor's degree in geology from the Chiang Mai University in 1967, and started working at the Geological Survey Division of the Department of Mineral Resources in 1974 as he began his career in geology.

Varavudh Suteethorn's geological mapping of those areas led to the discovery of various new fossil sites, which have since yielded the majority of Thailand's palaeontological discoveries.

Varavudh Suteethorn has been head of the Thai dinosaur research team since 1992 and continues to find new dig sites, which are subject to cataloguing and routine checks from his team, although excavation has not begun in many of them.

In 2006 Varavudh Suteethorn was given the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's Skinner Award.

Varavudh Suteethorn is currently lecturer and director of the Palaeontological Research and Education Centre of Mahasarakham University.

Varavudh Suteethorn has helped name and describe many fossil vertebrates from the Khorat Plateau, including extinct dinosaurs, fish, crocodylomorphs, mammals, and turtles.