Erich Maren Schlaikjer (; November 22, 1905 in

Newtown, Ohio Newtown is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in southeastern Hamilton County, Ohio, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, near Cincinnati. The population was 2,702 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Newtown was settled in 1792 and ...

– November 5, 1972) was an American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

hunter. Assisting

Barnum Brown Barnum Brown (February 12, 1873 – February 5, 1963), commonly referred to as Mr. Bones, was an American paleontologist. Named after the circus showman P. T. Barnum, he discovered the first documented remains of ''Tyrannosaurus'' during a career ...

, he co-described ''

Pachycephalosaurus ''Pachycephalosaurus'' (; meaning "thick-headed lizard", from Greek ''pachys-/'' "thick", ''kephale/'' "head" and ''sauros/'' "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. The type species, ''P. wyomingensis'', is the only known species, ...

'' and what is now ''

Montanoceratops ''Montanoceratops'' is an extinct genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 70 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Montana and Alberta. ''Montanoceratops'' was a small sized, modera ...

''. Other discoveries include ''

Miotapirus ''Miotapirus harrisonensis'' is an extinct species of tapir lived during the early Miocene Epoch some 20 million years ago in North America. Physically ''Miotapirus'' was virtually identical to its modern relatives; with a length of 2 m (6 f ...

'' and a new species of ''

Mesohippus ''Mesohippus'' (Greek: / meaning "middle" and / meaning "horse") is an extinct genus of early horse. It lived 37 to 32 million years ago in the Early Oligocene. Like many fossil horses, ''Mesohippus'' was common in North America. Its shoulder hei ...

''. Schlaikjer attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1929. He received master’s and doctoral degrees from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1931 and in 1935, respectively.

Honors

Selected highlights of honors: * Parmentier Scholar, Harvard University 1924 to 1925. * University Fellow, Columbia University, 1931 to 1932. * Cressy Morrison Prize,

New York Academy of Science The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wit ...

, 1939. * Fellow of

The Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

, 1939. * Fellow of the

Paleontological Society of America The Paleontological Society, formerly the Paleontological Society of America, is an international organisation devoted to the promotion of paleontology. The Society was founded in 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland, and was incorporated in April 1968 in ...

, 1940. * Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. *

Who’s Who in America Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

, 1949 Supplement, 1950 edition to date.

Publications

*Schlaikjer EM. (1931) Description of a new ''Mesohippus'' from the White River formation of South Dakota: ''New England Zool. Club Proc''., 12, pp35–36. *Schlaikjer EM. (1932) The osteology of ''Mesohippus barbouri'': ''Mus. Comp. Zool. Bull''., 72, pp391–410. *Brown B, Schlaikjer EM. (1937) The skeleton of ''Styracosaurus'' with the description of a new species: ''Am. Mus. Novitates''. 955 p1-12.

External links

Erich Maren Schlaikjer website
family website

References

20th-century American geologists American paleontologists 1905 births 1972 deaths Harvard University alumni Columbia University alumni {{paleontologist-stub