Doris Mary Kermack FLS (née Carr; 1923 – 2003) was a British

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

and marine zoologist at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...

. She completed her PhD thesis entitled 'The anatomy and physiology of the gut of ''Arenicola marina'' L.' at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

in 1953. In 1988 she was awarded the

Linnean Gold Medal The Linnean Gold Medal is a medal awarded by the Linnean Society of London in "special circumstances" for "services to the Society". As the society's highest honour it has, to date, only been awarded three times. Gold Medallists * Doris Kermack ...

for outstanding service to the society. She had two sons with her husband and fellow paleontologist

Kenneth Kermack Kenneth A. Kermack (1919 – 2000) was a British palaeontologist at University College London most notable for his work on early mammals with his wife, Doris Mary Kermack Doris Mary Kermack FLS (née Carr; 1923 – 2003) was a Briti ...

. The species name '' Bridetherium dorisae'' is named in her honour. Together with her husband and

Frances Mussett Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...

she was the first to formally describe the early mammal-like '

symmetrodont Symmetrodonta is a group of Mesozoic mammals and mammal-like synapsids characterized by the triangular aspect of the molars when viewed from above, and the absence of a well-developed talonid. The traditional group of 'symmetrodonts' ranges in ...

' '' Kuehneotherium praecursoris''.

References

Women paleontologists British palaeontologists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London 1923 births 2003 deaths 20th-century British women scientists {{paleontologist-stub