Robert Ewan Fordyce (14 July 1953 – 10 November 2023) was a New Zealand

palaeontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

. He specialised in the evolution of whales, dolphins, and early penguins.

Life and career

Fordyce joined the Department of Geology at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

in 1982 and retired in 2021. During his career, he was involved in the discovery and description of many fossil species, including the giant penguin '' Kairuku'' and the ancient whale ''

Llanocetus ''Llanocetus'' ( "Llano's whale" ) is a genus of extinct toothed baleen whales from the Late Eocene of Antarctica. The type species, ''Llanocetus denticrenatus'', reached gigantic proportions, with the juvenile specimen reaching an estimated in ...

''. He also had a new species of giant penguin named for him, '' Kumimanu fordycei'', which was described in 2023. In 2012, Fordyce was awarded the

Hutton Medal The Hutton Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Society Te Apārangi to a researcher who, working within New Zealand, has significantly advanced understanding through work of outstanding scientific or technological merit. Frederick Wollaston Hu ...

for "his seminal contributions in New Zealand vertebrate paleontology, notably in relation to the occurrence, taxonomy and display of fossil marine mammals such as whales and dolphins and of penguins". In 2019, he won the McKay Hammer Award for a 2016 paper he co-authored with Robert W. Boessenecker reviewing early baleen whales (

Eomysticetidae Eomysticetidae is a family of extinct mysticetes belonging to Chaeomysticeti (toothless mysticetes). It is one of two families in the basal chaeomysticete clade Eomysticetoidea (the other being Cetotheriopsis, Cetotheriopsidae). Description Eo ...

) and describing a new whale species, '' Matapanui waihao''. Fordyce died on 10 November 2023, at the age of 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fordyce, Ewan 1953 births 2023 deaths New Zealand paleontologists Academic staff of the University of Otago Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand