Oldfield Thomas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oldfield Thomas FRS FZS
Painting by John Ernest Breun
Born	Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas 21 February 1858 Millbrook, Bedfordshire, England
Died	16 June 1929(1929-06-16) (aged 71)
Known for	Mammalogy
Scientific career
Fields	Zoology
Institutions	Natural History Museum
Author abbrev. (zoology)	Thomas

Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (born February 21, 1858 – died June 16, 1929) was a British zoologist. He was a very important scientist who studied mammals. He described many new kinds of animals during his life.

Studying Mammals

Michael Oldfield Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum in London. He started there in 1876. In 1878, he moved to the zoology department. This is where he focused on studying mammals.

He became famous for describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies of mammals. This means he was the first person to officially name and describe these animals for science.

In 1891, Thomas married Mary Kane. Her family had some money. This allowed him to hire people to travel the world and collect mammal specimens. These specimens were then brought back to the museum for him to study.

Thomas also traveled himself. He did field work in places like Western Europe and South America. His wife, Mary, loved nature too. She often went with him on these collecting trips.

In 1896, a new head took over the department. This allowed Thomas to spend even more time on his important work. He focused on studying all the new animal specimens that were being collected.

Thomas believed it was important to understand all the mammals in the world. He worked hard to fill in the "blank areas" of knowledge about them. He officially retired from the museum in 1923. But he loved his work so much that he kept doing it without stopping.

Animals He Described

Michael Oldfield Thomas named many different groups and types of mammals. Here are some examples of the higher groups and specific animals he described:

Higher Groups

These are larger groups of animals, like families or subfamilies.

Genera (Groups of Species)

These are smaller groups, like a genus, which contains one or more species.

Species (Specific Animals)

These are individual species of mammals he described.

See also

• In Spanish: Oldfield Thomas para niños
• Category:Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas