Donald Prothero

Donald Prothero
Donald Prothero, in the Troublesome Formation near Kremmling, central Colorado, 2008
Born (1954-02-21) February 21, 1954 (age 70)
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materUniversity of California, Riverside,
Columbia University
Known forMammalian paleontology
Scientific career
Thesis Medial Oligocene magnetostratigraphy and mammalian biostratigraphy: testing the isochroneity of mammalian biostratigraphic events
Websitehttp://www.donaldprothero.com/

Donald Ross Prothero (February 21, 1954) is an American geologist, paleontologist, and author who specializes in mammalian paleontology and magnetostratigraphy, a technique to date rock layers of the Cenozoic era and its use to date the climate changes which occurred 30–40 million years ago. He is the author or editor of more than 30 books and over 300 scientific papers, including at least 5 geology textbooks.

Stephen Jay Gould cited Prothero's research on the lack of response to climate change in mammals from the Eocene, Oligocene and Pleistocene epochs to support the punctuated equilibrium model of evolution. He called Prothero "the best punctuated equilibrium researcher on the West Coast".[1]

  1. ^ Gould, S.J. (2002). The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674006133.