Arthur H. Harris

Last updated
Arthur H. Harris
Arthur H. Harris.jpg
Harris in his office at the University of Texas at El Paso
Alma mater University of New Mexico
Awards see article section
Scientific career
Fields Mammalogy and Paleontology
Institutions Fort Hays State University, University of Texas at El Paso
Doctoral advisor James S. Findley [1]
Author abbrev. (zoology) A. H. Harris

Arthur H. Harris is an American mammalogist and paleontologist.

Contents

Education

Arthur H. Harris spent his academic career at the University of New Mexico where he earned a Bachelor's degree in biology with a minor in anthropology (1958), a Master of Science in zoology with a minor in botany (1959) and a PhD in vertebrate zoology with a minor in geochronology in 1965.

Professional career

Harris began his career as an assistant professor of zoology at Ft. Hays Kansas State College. From there he relocated to The University of Texas at El Paso where he held the positions of assistant professor of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, and Professor of Biological Sciences. After his retirement from teaching, Harris was honored as Professor Emeritus, Biological Sciences.

Harris is Past Director of the Laboratory for Environmental Biology (now the UTEP Biodiversity Collections), Curator of Higher Vertebrates, and Curator of Vertebrate Paleobiology. [2] He is a Research Associate in the Museum of Southwestern Biology Division of Mammals. [3]

Research

Harris's research is focused primarily on Pleistocene vertebrate faunal remains from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

Pendejo Cave

Harris completed a preliminary report on the fauna of the Pendejo Cave in 1991. [4] Subsequently, he prepared a review of the vertebrate fauna of the cave [5] and contributed this research for a section of Pendejo Cave. [6] Subsequently, both Harris and others have reworked the faunal list for the cave extensively to better reflect the time units and modifications of identifications since Pendejo Cave was published. [7]

Awards

Taxa

Taxa named for Arthur H. Harris

Taxa described by Arthur H. Harris

Selected publications

Arthur H. Harris Field Journal 1965 Arthur H. Harris Field Journal 1965.pdf
Arthur H. Harris Field Journal 1965

Harris has published extensively. See external links for more comprehensive sources.

Service

Harris communicated his research to the public through writing episodes of Desert Diaries, a series of radio shorts presented by the Centennial Museum and National Public Radio for the Southwest (KTEP) from 2001 to 2005. [12]

He served as Managing Editor of The Southwestern Naturalist a publication of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists from 1978 to 1982.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pika</span> Genus of mountain-dwelling mammal

A pika is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal native to Asia and North America. With short limbs, a very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears. The large-eared pika of the Himalayas and nearby mountains lives at elevations of more than 6,000 m (20,000 ft).

<i>Miracinonyx</i> Extinct species of mammal

Miracinonyx is an extinct genus of felids belonging to the subfamily Felinae that was endemic to North America from the Pleistocene epoch and morphologically similar to the modern cheetah. The genus was originally known from fragments of skeletons, but nearly complete skeletons have been recovered from Natural Trap Cave in northern Wyoming.

The Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens is a cultural history and natural history museum on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso in El Paso, Texas, United States.The museum was built in 1936 to commemorate the centenary of Texas independence, making it the oldest museum in El Paso.

<i>Notiosorex</i> Genus of mammals

Notiosorex is a genus of shrew from the subfamily Soricinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black jackrabbit</span> Species of mammal

The black jackrabbit is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. Endemic to Mexico, its only known location is Espiritu Santo Island in the Gulf of California. The IUCN has listed this species as a "vulnerable species" because of its restricted range. This taxon is regarded by some authorities as being a subspecies of the black-tailed jackrabbit, found on the mainland of Mexico.

Burnet Cave is an important archaeological and paleontological site located in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States within the Guadalupe Mountains about 26 miles west of Carlsbad.

<i>Aztlanolagus</i> Extinct genus of rabbits

Aztlanolagus is an extinct monotypic genus of rabbit that lived during the Quaternary in what is now the Southern to Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Aztlanolagus agilis is currently the only recognized species, though differences among recovered fossils suggest that there may have been other species. The generic name refers to Aztlán, the legendary place of origin of the Nahua peoples as recorded in the mythological accounts of the Aztecs and other Nahua groups. By some traditions, this legendary locale is placed in the border regions of the Southwestern United States and adjacent northern Mexico.

Conkling Cavern is a paleontological and archaeological site located in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. It was excavated in the late 1920s under the direction of Chester Stock. Unfortunately, Stock never published the fossil fauna from the excavations. Instead, R. P. Conkling, who had drawn scientific attention to the site, published very preliminary lists of mammals identified by Stock and birds identified by Howard. Several authors have done research on portions of the recovered fossil fauna. Excavated before modern dating techniques were developed, little is known about the chronology except some apparently is Holocene and much is Pleistocene in age.

Shelter Cave is an archaeological and paleontological site located in Doña Ana County, New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Blanco</span>

Mount Blanco is a small white hill — an erosional remnant — located on the eastern border of the Llano Estacado within Blanco Canyon in Crosby County, Texas. With Blanco Canyon, it is the type locality of the Blanco Formation of Texas and Kansas, as well as the Blancan fauna, which occurs throughout North America.

<i>Arctodus</i> Extinct genus of bears

Arctodus is an extinct genus of short-faced bear that inhabited North America during the Pleistocene. There are two recognized species: the lesser short-faced bear and the giant short-faced bear, also known as the bulldog bear. Both species are relatively rare in the fossil record. A. pristinus was largely restricted to the Early Pleistocene of the Eastern United States, whereas A. simus had a broader range, with most finds being from the Late Pleistocene of the United States, Mexico and Canada. A. simus evolved from A. pristinus, but both species likely overlapped in the Middle Pleistocene. Of these species, A. simus was larger, is known from more complete remains, and is considered one of the most charismatic of North America's megafauna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robust cottontail</span> Species of mammal

The robust cottontail or Holzner's cottontail is a species of cottontail rabbit native to high-altitude regions of the southwestern United States and western Mexico.

<i>Hypolagus</i> Extinct genus of lagomorph

Hypolagus is an extinct genus of lagomorph, first recorded in the Hemingfordian of North America. It entered Asia during the early Turolian and spread to Europe not much later, where it survived until the Middle Pleistocene. Though unknown in the Iberian Peninsula, fossils of this genus have been found in the Balearic Islands, suggesting an eastern migration during the dry period in the Mediterranean region known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis.

This paleomammalogy list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2010, as well as notes other significant paleomammalogy discoveries and events which occurred during that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artie L. Metcalf</span>

Artie Lou Metcalf was an American malacologist.

Notiosorex harrisi is an extinct species of shrew from the subfamily Soricinae.

Ashmunella harrisi is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Polygyridae.

Ashmunella todseni is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Polygyridae.

Neotoma findleyi, or Findley's woodrat, is an extinct species of rodent that was found in New Mexico. It lived during the Pleistocene, going extinct during the Rancholabrean.

References

  1. "History of the Mammal Collection". University of New Mexico, Museum of Southwestern Biology. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. "Art Harris Bio". UTEP Biodiversity Collections. University of Texas at El Paso. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  3. "Associates of the Division of Mammals". University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology. 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  4. Harris, Arthur H. (1991). "Preliminary report on the fauna of Pendejo Cave, Otero County, New Mexico". Current Research in the Pleistocene. 8: 92–93.
  5. Harris, Arthur H. (1995). "The vertebrate fauna from Pendejo Cave, Otero County, New Mexico". Directorate of Environment, Cultural Resources Branch, U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Center, Fort Bliss, TX.: 1–60.
  6. MacNeish, Richard; Libby, Jane, eds. (2004). Pendejo Cave. University of New Mexico. pp. 36–65. ISBN   978-0826324054 . Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  7. Harris, Arthur H. "Pendejo Cave". Pleistocene Vertebrates of Southwestern USA and Northwestern Mexico. University of Texas at El Paso. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  8. "Fellowship Awards". The Ninth Annual Report of the National Science Foundation (PDF). The National Science Foundation. 1959. p. 248. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  9. "Fellowship Awards". The Eleventh Annual Report of the National Science Foundation (PDF). The National Science Foundation. 1961. p. 247. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  10. Carraway, Leslie N. (2010-07-09). "Fossil history of Notiosorex (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) shrews with descriptions of new fossil species". Western North American Naturalist. 70 (2): 155. doi:10.3398/064.070.0202. S2CID   86042657 . Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  11. Metcalf, Artie L. (1977). "Two new species of Ashmunella from Dona Ana County, New Mexico, with notes on the Ashmunella kochii Clapp complex (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Polygyridae)". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 90: 895. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  12. "Desert Diaries Index". KTEP's Desert Diary Web Pages. University of Texas at El Paso. Retrieved 18 April 2020.