Alfred Romer
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Alfred Sherwood Romer (December 28, 1894 - November 5, 1973) was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist and a specialist in vertebrate evolution.
Alfred Romer was born in White Plains, New York, and studied at Amherst College and Columbia University. In 1934 he was appointed professor of biology at Harvard University. In 1946, he also became director of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology.
Romer was very keen in investigating vertebrate evolution. Comparing facts from paleontology, comparative anatomy, and embryology, he taught the basic structural and functional changes that happened during the evolution of fishes to primitive terrestrial vertebrates and from these to all other tetrapods. He always emphasized the evolutionary significance of the relationship between the form and function of animals and the environment.
Works
- The Vertebrate Body (1949)