Kenneth Alexander Kermack (1919 – 2000) was a British

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 ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

most notable for his work on early mammals with his wife, Doris Mary Kermack. Among Kermack's other significant contributions was the observation that '' Diplodocus'' could not have had an aquatic lifestyle because sheer water pressure alone on its chest would have prevented it breathing whilst submerged. He first described the early mammal ''Aegialodon dawsoni'' from a molar tooth and the docodont ''Simpsonodon oxfordensis''. He was also interested in astronomy, elected a member of the British Astronomical Association on 23 February 1966, a member until his death in 2000.

Selected publications

* Kermack, D. M., Kermack, K. A., and Mussett, F. 1968. The Welsh pantothere ''Kuehneotherium praecursoris''. ''Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology'' 47:407–423. * Kermack, K. A., Mussett, F., and Rigney, H. W. 1973. The lower jaw of ''Morganucodon''. ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' 53:87–175. * Kermack, K. A., Mussett, F., and Rigney, H. W. 1981. The skull of ''Morganucodon''. ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' 71:1–158. * Kermack, K. 1989. Hearing in early mammals. ''Nature'' 341:568–569.

References

British palaeontologists 1919 births 2000 deaths {{paleontologist-stub