The Australian zoologist (1973) (19728235004)

Ellis Le Geyt Troughton (born in Sydney on 29 April 1893; died 30 November 1974) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

and

mammalogist In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part ...

Biography

Ellis Troughton began to exercise his interest in mammals at fourteen years of age, taking a role at the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

in 1908. He continued to be employed there as curator after returning from military service as a

stretcher bearer A stretcher-bearer is a person who carries a stretcher, generally with another person at its other end, especially in a war or emergency times when there is a very serious accident or a disaster. In case of military personnel, for example removi ...

in the European war during the years 1917 and 1918. He retired from the museum in 1958.

Works

Troughton wrote '' Furred Animals of Australia'' in 1941, with illustrations provided by Neville W. Cayley; the publication date of the work was determined to be 1944. He was the first Honorary Life Member of The " Australian Mammal Society" and ''The Ellis Troughton Memorial Award'' is named for him. Amongst Troughton early works is a significant contribution to the study of bats, and at 33 years of age he composed the text for the section regarding the poorly known Australian

Chiroptera Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ...

in the volume titled ''The Wild Animals of Australia''; Troughton's text was one of the few original contributions to A. S. Le Souef and Henry Burrell's largely plagiarised work. Troughton classified the

New Guinea singing dog The New Guinea singing dog or New Guinea Highland dog is an ancient ( basal) lineage of dog found in the New Guinea Highlands, on the island of New Guinea. Once considered to be a separate species in its own right, under the name ''Canis hallst ...

as a separate species ''Canis hallstromi''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troughton, Ellis Le Geyt 20th-century Australian zoologists Australian mammalogists 1893 births 1974 deaths