Thorington, Richard W., Jr. 1937-

PERSONAL:

Born December 24, 1937, in Philadelphia, PA. Education: Princeton University, A.B., 1959; Harvard University, M.A., 1963, Ph.D., 1964.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Smithsonian Institution, U.S. National Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 108, Washington, DC 20013-7012. E-mail—thoringtonr@si.edu.

CAREER:

Biologist. Harvard University Regional Primate Center, Southborough, MA, primatologist, 1964-69; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, curator of mammals, 1969—.

MEMBER:

American Society of Mammalogists.

WRITINGS:

Proportions and Allometry in the Gray Squirrel, Sciurus Carolinensis, Delaware Museum of Natural History (Greenville, DE), 1972.

(Editor, with P.G. Heltne) Neotropical Primates: Field Studies and Conservation: Proceedings of a Symposium on the Distribution and Abundance of Neotropical Primates, National Academy of Sciences (Washington, DC), 1976.

Descriptive and Comparative Osteology of the Oldest Fossil Squirrel Protosciurus, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1982.

(With Katie Ferrell) Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 2006.

Contributor to journals, including Journal of Mammalogy, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the Journal of Mammalian Evolution.

SIDELIGHTS:

Richard W. Thorington, Jr., is a biologist, curator, and writer. He earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, then went on to study at Harvard University for his graduate work, earning both his master's degree and a doctorate. A specialist in the study of mammals, particularly squirrels, he has worked at a number of research institutes over the course of his career, including the Harvard University Regional Primate Center in Southborough, Massachusetts, where he served as a primatologist during the late 1960s, and the National Museum of Natural History, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, where he has been the curator of mammals since 1969. In addition to his museum work, Thorington is a regular contributor to various scholarly journals, such as the Journal of Mammalogy, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the Journal of Mammalian Evolution. Along with P.G. Heltne, he served as the editor of Neotropical Primates: Field Studies and Conservation: Proceedings of a Symposium on the Distribution and Abundance of Neotropical Primates, which was released in 1976, and has also written or cowritten a number of other books, including Proportions and Allometry in the Gray Squirrel, Sciurus Carolinensis, Descriptive and Comparative Osteology of the Oldest Fossil Squirrel Protosciurus, and Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide, which he wrote with Katie Ferrell, who previously worked as his research assistant.

In Squirrels, Thorington and Ferrell offer readers a general primer to the squirrel species, including information on the various types of squirrels, their common habitats and behaviors, and what different, similar mammals are, in fact, related to the squirrel. There are lists of general and sometimes humorous questions about squirrels, along with answers, such as whether or not squirrels are capable of seeing things in color, whether a squirrel can make an appropriate pet, and even how squirrels are linked to the story of Cinderella. Some information is of a more scientific nature, such as the fact that squirrels use their tails as a means of controlling their body temperature. A reviewer for California Bookwatch praised the book for including information suitable for a text book in a volume that is also clear enough for a general reader, commenting that "even general-interest libraries will find this most accessible." A reviewer for Internet Bookwatch called Thorington and Ferrell's effort "an information-packed primer," and opined that it is "sure to entertain readers of all ages and backgrounds."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

California Bookwatch, December, 2006, review of Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide.

Internet Bookwatch, December, 2006, review of Squirrels.

ONLINE

Smithsonian Institution Web site,http://www.si.edu/ (February 18, 2008), staff profile.