Oldfield Thomas

Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. He made important contributions to the study of animals, especially mammals. Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum in London, where he described and named many new species. His work helped scientists understand the diversity of life on Earth.

Thomas was particularly interested in the classification of mammals. He studied their physical features and habits to group them correctly into different families and genera. This work laid the foundation for modern mammal taxonomy.

Throughout his career, Thomas published many papers and books. He described over 2,000 new species, some of which are still well-known today. His detailed observations and careful research remain valuable to biologists and zoologists.

Career

Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum studying mammals. He described about 2,000 new species and subspecies during his time there. He joined the museum in 1876 and moved to the zoological department in 1878.

In 1891, he married Mary Kane, the daughter of Sir Andrew Clark. Her family’s money helped him hire collectors for the museum. He also traveled to Western Europe and South America to collect specimens, often with his wife. Even after retiring in 1923, he kept working on his projects until his death in 1929.

Taxonomic descriptions

Oldfield Thomas was a British zoologist who described many groups of animals. He worked on higher ranks like families and genera, naming many species of bats, rats, and other small mammals. His work helped scientists understand and classify these animals better.

Some of the groups he described include families like Deomyinae and genera such as Aethalops and Aethomys, along with many specific species like the Admiralty flying fox and the Asian particolored bat.