Alfred Sherwood RomerDied 5 Nov 1973 at age 78 (born 28 Dec 1894). U.S. paleontologist who studied the evolution of early vertebrates in biological terms of comparative anatomy and embryology. He researched muscle and limb evolution, the development and evolutionary history of cartilage and bone, and the structure and function of the nervous system. Further, he traced the basic structural and functional changes that took place during the evolution of fishes to primitive terrestrial vertebrates and from these to modern vertebrates. He linked the form and function of animals to their environment. Romer was one of the first vertebrate palaeontologists to defend the idea of continental drift, having found striking similarities between Permian reptiles in western Texas and in Czechoslovakia.« |
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