Although trained as an entomologist, and a specialist in dragonflies and orthopterans, Flower began studying paleontology in the middle of the 1930s. He became an expert in North American cephalopods of the Devonian period as well as the stratigraphy of the early Paleozoic era. His main field was the nautiloids, which he studied intensely, often focusing on life habits and theoretical aspects of paleobiology, but he also penned many papers on fossil corals and other invertebrates. Flower described several hundred new fossil species and over 100 new genera.
Eccentricitiesedit
In the paleontology community, Flower's colorful behavior earned him admirers and enemies—whom he would occasionally "thank" in the acknowledgement sections of his papers or, in one case, in the name of a fossil species. His antics included mocking the alleged low-standards of one organization for paleontologists by dressing as an ape for a conference, and by having his dog inducted into the society. After moving to New Mexico, he took to wearing western-style "cowboy" clothes, and carrying bullwhips and pistols, at one point accidentally shooting a hole through his office ceiling into his boss's office. When people asked about these things, he was known to tell them that he bullwhipped the outcrops he disliked, or that they were for use on his wife. Flower was a skilled cellist, pianist, organist, violinist, and writer of music—all without having taken any lessons. He was also an extreme chain smoker, even taking his habit into the shower.
Contributions to Paleozoic paleontology and stratigraphy in honor of Rousseau H. Flower
Life
Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: an upside-down nautiloid from the Devonian of Wisconsin
April 16, 2024
rousseau, flower, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, addin. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Rousseau H Flower news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Rousseau Hayner Flower 1913 1988 was an extremely prolific 20th century paleontologist known for his eccentric personality Contents 1 Career 2 Eccentricities 3 Awards 4 ReferencesCareer editAlthough trained as an entomologist and a specialist in dragonflies and orthopterans Flower began studying paleontology in the middle of the 1930s He became an expert in North American cephalopods of the Devonian period as well as the stratigraphy of the early Paleozoic era His main field was the nautiloids which he studied intensely often focusing on life habits and theoretical aspects of paleobiology but he also penned many papers on fossil corals and other invertebrates Flower described several hundred new fossil species and over 100 new genera Eccentricities editIn the paleontology community Flower s colorful behavior earned him admirers and enemies whom he would occasionally thank in the acknowledgement sections of his papers or in one case in the name of a fossil species His antics included mocking the alleged low standards of one organization for paleontologists by dressing as an ape for a conference and by having his dog inducted into the society After moving to New Mexico he took to wearing western style cowboy clothes and carrying bullwhips and pistols at one point accidentally shooting a hole through his office ceiling into his boss s office When people asked about these things he was known to tell them that he bullwhipped the outcrops he disliked or that they were for use on his wife Flower was a skilled cellist pianist organist violinist and writer of music all without having taken any lessons He was also an extreme chain smoker even taking his habit into the shower Awards editPaleontological Society Medal 1988References editContributions to Paleozoic paleontology and stratigraphy in honor of Rousseau H Flower Life Wooster s Fossil of the Week an upside down nautiloid from the Devonian of Wisconsin Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rousseau H Flower amp oldid 1086429070, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
