George Gaylord Simpson (June 16, 1902 – October 6, 1984) was an American
paleontologist
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 ...
. Simpson was perhaps the most influential paleontologist of the twentieth century, and a major participant in the
modern synthesis
Modern synthesis or modern evolutionary synthesis refers to several perspectives on evolutionary biology, namely:
* Modern synthesis (20th century), the term coined by Julian Huxley in 1942 to denote the synthesis between Mendelian genetics and s ...
, contributing ''
Tempo and Mode in Evolution
''Tempo and Mode in Evolution'' (1944) was George Gaylord Simpson's seminal contribution to the evolutionary synthesis, which integrated the facts of paleontology with those of genetics and natural selection.
Simpson argued that the microevol ...
'' (1944), ''The Meaning of Evolution'' (1949) and ''The Major Features of Evolution'' (1953). He was an expert on
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s and their intercontinental migrations. Simpson was extraordinarily knowledgeable about
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...
fossil mammals and fossil mammals of North and South America. He anticipated such concepts as
punctuated equilibrium
In evolutionary biology, punctuated equilibrium (also called punctuated equilibria) is a Scientific theory, theory that proposes that once a species appears in the fossil record, the population will become stable, showing little evolution, evol ...
(in ''Tempo and Mode'') and dispelled the myth that the
evolution of the horse
The evolution of the horse, a mammal of the family Equidae, occurred over a geologic time scale of 50 million years, transforming the small, dog-sized, forest-dwelling '' Eohippus'' into the modern horse. Paleozoologists have been able to piece ...
was a linear process culminating in the modern ''
Equus caballus
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...
Tempo and Mode in Evolution
''Tempo and Mode in Evolution'' (1944) was George Gaylord Simpson's seminal contribution to the evolutionary synthesis, which integrated the facts of paleontology with those of genetics and natural selection.
Simpson argued that the microevol ...
'' (1944)
* ''The Principles of Classification and A Classification of Mammals'' (1945)
''The Meaning of Evolution'' (1949, 1951)
* ''Horses'' (1951)
* ''Evolution and Geography'' (1953)
* ''The Major Features of Evolution'' (1953)
* ''Life: An Introduction to Biology'' (1957)
* ''Quantitative Zoology'' (1960)
* ''Principles of Animal Taxonomy'' (1961)
* ''This View of Life'' (1964)
* ''The Geography of Evolution'' (1965)
* ''Penguins'' (1976)
* ''Concession to the Improbable'' (1978) (an autobiography)
* ''Splendid Isolation'' (1980)
* ''The Book of Darwin'' (1983)
* ''Fossils and the History Of Life'' (1983)
* ''The Dechronization of Sam Magruder'' (posthumously published novella, 1996)
See also
*
Annie Montague Alexander
Annie Montague Alexander (29 December 1867 – 10 September 1950) was an Exploration, explorer, Natural history, naturalist, Paleontology, paleontological collector, and Philanthropy, philanthropist.
She founded the University of California Museu ...