Barry Kues

Barry Stephen Kues (born March 15, 1946) is an American paleontologist ^[1] and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico. ^[2] His research has focused on the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Pennsylvanian, Permian, and Cretaceous formations of the American Southwest, and the study of marine invertebrates and the history of geological research in New Mexico. ^{[3] [4]}

Biography

Kues was born in Santa Monica, California, and raised in southern California. ^[2] He received a B.A. in zoology from the University of California, Riverside in 1967 ^[5] , followed by an M.S. in marine biology from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego in 1969. ^[6] He completed his Ph.D. in geology at Indiana University in 1974, where his dissertation examined the paleoecology of the Permian Oketo Member of the Barneston Limestone in Kansas and Nebraska. ^{[7] [8]}

Career

Kues joined the University of New Mexico in 1974 as an assistant professor of geology after completing his Ph.D. at Indiana University. He spent his entire academic career at UNM, becoming associate professor in 1980 and full professor in 1992, and served as chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences from 1991 to 1999. ^[7] He retired in 2011 and was named professor emeritus. Beyond the university, he held positions as Adjunct Curator of Paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and served as a Research Associate of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. ^[1]

Kues also played a role that led to the establishment of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque. ^[9] In 1977, he led a paleontological survey of northwestern New Mexico for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the resulting for a state natural history museum, which opened in 1986. ^[10]

His research focused on the geology and fossil record of New Mexico and the American Southwest, with emphasis on the Cretaceous and Paleozoic eras. ^{[11] [12]}

Kues is an editor and author of The Paleontology of New Mexico, a scholarly volume that documents the fossil record of New Mexico from the Precambrian through the Pleistocene and compiles contributions on the state’s paleontology and stratigraphy. ^[13]

Awards

Kues is an Honorary Life Member of the New Mexico Geological Society. ^[7] He received the New Mexico Earth Science Achievement Award, presented by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources in 2019. ^[14] He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. ^[15]

Selected Publications

Books

• Kues, B. S (1982). Fossils of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN   978-0-8263-0613-5.
• Kues, B.S (December 16, 2008). The Paleontology of New Mexico by Kues, Barry S |... UNM Press. p. 446. ISBN   978-0826341365.
• Kues, B.S (January 1, 2014). A Brief History of Geological Studies in New Mexico, with Biographical Profiles of Notable New Mexico Geologists. New Mexico Geological Society, Special Publication 12. p. 230. ISBN   978-1585460113.

Journal Articles and book chapters

• Kues, B.S (1989). "Taxonomy and variability of three Texigryphaea (Bivalvia) species from their Lower Cretaceous (Albian) type localities in New Mexico and Oklahoma". Journal of Paleontology. 63 (4): 454-483. doi:10.1017/S0022336000019697.
• Kues, B.S; Giles, K.A; Mack, G.H; Lawton, T.F (2015). "A Late Pennsylvanian outer shelf marine fauna from a highstand systems tract, Derry Hills, south-central New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geology. 24 (4). New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources: 121-130. doi:10.58799/NMG-v24n4.121. ISSN   2837-6420.
• Kues, B.S; Batten, Roger L. (January 2001). "Middle Pennsylvanian Gastropods from the Flechado Formation, North-Central New Mexico". Journal of Paleontology. 75 (sp54): 1–95. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2001)75[1:MPGFTF]2.0.CO;2.
• Kues, B. S (2002). "New Genera and Species of Middle Pennsylvanian Gastropods from West Texas". Journal of Paleontology . 76 (1): 52–62. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2002)076<0052:NGASOM>2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0022-3360. JSTOR   1307175.

• Kues, B.S; Giles, K.A (2004). "The late Paleozoic Ancestral Rocky Mountains system in New Mexico". In Giles, K.A; Mack, G.H (eds.). The Geology of New Mexico, a Geologic History. New Mexico Geological Society. pp. 95–136. ISBN   978-1585460106.
• Kues, B.S (2012). "The geology of New Mexico as understood in 1912: an essay for the centennial of New Mexico statehood: Part 3". New Mexico Geology. 34 (3) 127331: 67–75. doi:10.58799/nmg-v34n3.67. S2CID   262324243.
• Kues, B.S (1987). "Pharkidonotus megalius , a large new gastropod species from the Middle Pennsylvanian of south-central New Mexico". Journal of Paleontology. 61 (6): 1187–1193. doi:10.1017/S0022336000029553. ISSN   0022-3360.

References

1. Socorro, N.M. "Bureau of Geology Selects UNM Prof Barry Kues For Annual Award: New Mexico Tech". www.nmt.edu. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
2. Dunbar, Nelia. "New Mexico Bureau of Geology names Barry Kues as 2019 Achievement Award winner". UCAM Newsroom. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
3. Stone, Katie (2015-07-22). "Geology Of New Mexico". KUNM. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
4. Clemens, William A. (1982-02-19). "Eocene and Earlier Deposits: Advances In San Juan Basin Paleontology. Spencer G. Lucas, J. Keith Rigby, Jr., and Barry S. Kues, Eds. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1981. xii, 394 pp., illus. $27.50". Science. 215 (4535): 962–964. doi:10.1126/science.215.4535.962.b.
5. "Barry S. Kues". University of New Mexico Press. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
6. Barnett, Tim P. "Graduate Students and the List of Ph.D. and M.S. Recipients". SCRIPPS INSTITUTION of OCEANOGRAPHY. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
7. "Barry S. Kues research interests involve the taxonomy, biostratigraphy, and paleoecology". eps.unm.edu. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
8. "Barry Kues (Ph.D. 1975) is nearing completion of 31 years in the University of New Mexico Department of Geology, during several of which he served as chair. Kues comments that "time flies when you're having fun". Indiana University.
9. Rowe, Timothy; Cifelli, Richard L.; Kues, Barry (1982). "The Instrumental Role of Paleontology in the Funding and Development of a Major New Natural History Museum: Editorial". Journal of Paleontology. 56 (4): 839–842. ISSN   0022-3360. JSTOR   1304705.
10. "Paleontological survey, resource assessment, and mitigation plan for the Bisti-Star Lake area, northwestern New Mexico : report to the Bureau of Land Management / by Barry S. Kues ... [et al.]". siris-libraries.si.edu. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
11. Kues, Barry S.; Duchene, Harvey R. (1990). "The largest late Paleozoic bellerophontid gastropod". Journal of Paleontology. 64 (3): 478–479. doi:10.1017/S0022336000018746. ISSN   0022-3360.
12. Kues, Barry (2005-08-02). "Bibliography of New Mexico Invertebrate Paleontology". Earth and Planetary Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications.
13. Kues, Barry S. (2008). The paleontology of New Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN   978-0-8263-4136-5.
14. "Nelia Dunbar & Barry Kues". UNM UCAM Newsroom. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
15. "Board of Trustees | New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science". www.nmnaturalhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2025-10-05. Retrieved 2026-02-04.