Duncan Merrilees facts for kids

Duncan Merrilees (1922–2009) was an important Australian scientist. He was a geologist (someone who studies rocks and Earth's history) and a palaeontologist (someone who studies fossils). He worked as a lecturer and curator at the Western Australian Museum. His research helped us understand ancient mammals and how humans might have changed Australia's environment long ago. He also found and described new types of extinct marsupials.

Who Was Duncan Merrilees?

Duncan Merrilees was born in Sydney in 1922. He studied chemistry at the city's university and finished his degree in 1942. During World War II, he used his skills in a wood pulping factory in Tasmania.

How He Became a Fossil Expert

While working, he became very interested in studying igneous rock (rock formed from cooled lava). This led him to examine fossilised mammals. In 1951, he moved to Western Australia. He started teaching science at the University of Western Australia.

Soon, he also began working with the Western Australian Museum. Eventually, he took on a full-time job there. He became the curator of the museum's collections of fossils, minerals, and meteorites. His main focus was on what he called the "large extinct marsupials." These were huge ancient animals like giant kangaroos.

His Later Life

After a long career, Duncan Merrilees retired. He moved to a place near Manjimup in the southwest of Australia. He passed away in 2009.

What Did Duncan Merrilees Discover?

Duncan Merrilees published many reports about his findings. These came from digging at fossil sites and studying specimens at the museum. One of his big ideas was about how humans affected the environment.

Humans and Ancient Animals

He wrote a major paper about how the arrival of the first humans in Australia might have caused big changes. He suggested that the disappearance of megafauna (very large ancient animals) was a direct result of human activities. He compared this to similar extinction events on other continents.

Important Research Sites

In 1967, Merrilees shared his research and ideas. He gave a special speech to the Royal Society of Western Australia. He also worked at important archaeological sites. In 1970, he explored Devil's Lair, a cave that held many important fossils. He worked with Charles Dortch on this project.

His Love for Nature

Merrilees also cared deeply about conservation. He had a personal interest in farming. He helped manage a program that bought semi-cleared land. The goal was to improve farming and also help the bushland return to its natural state.

His Published Works

Duncan Merrilees contributed to 24 scientific papers. He also wrote six non-scientific articles. He described two new extinct species of Sthenurus. These were a type of kangaroo-like marsupial.

He was known for being very fair. When he wrote papers with younger scientists, he insisted his name be listed in alphabetical order. This helped to highlight the names of the less senior authors. The museum where he worked keeps 40 volumes of his field notes. These notes are from archaeological sites all over Australia.