Dale A. Russell (born December 27, 1937) is a Canadian geologist/palaeontologist, currently Research Professor at The Department of Marine Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS) of North Carolina State University. Dinosaurs he has described include Daspletosaurus and he was amongst first paleontologists to consider an extraterrestrial cause (supernova, comet, asteroid) for the extinction of the dinosaurs. He is also credited with inventing the controversial dinosauroid thought experiment.