Harold Frederick Loomis (December 23, 1896 – July 5, 1976) was an American

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and

myriapodologist Myriapodology is the scientific study of myriapods which includes centipedes and millipedes. The field of myriapodology can also cover other myriapods such as pauropods and symphylans. Those who study myriapods are myriapodologists. Societies * In ...

known for his contributions to

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

, plant pathology, and millipede taxonomy. He worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for over four decades, studying diseases of crop plants, and was a colleague of

Orator F. Cook Orator Fuller Cook Jr. (May 28, 1867 – April 23, 1949) was an American botanist, entomologist, and agronomist, known for his work on cotton and rubber cultivation and for coining the term "speciation" to describe the process by which new species ...

. He also made major contributions to the natural history of Central America and the West Indies, naming over 500 species of millipedes in total. He co-described with Cook the leggiest animal on earth: '' Illacme plenipes,'' with over 700 legs.

Biography

Harold Loomis was born in the Mertensia neighborhood of Farmington, New York, in 1896. He worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1914 until his retirement in 1958, some 44 years, and was director of the U.S. Plant Introduction Station at Chapman Field, from 1931 to 1958. He was primarily involved in the production of natural rubber, and also worked on

diseases A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that ar ...

of corn and cotton. He was a charter member of the

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an botanic garden with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in the city of Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, just south of Miami, s ...

, and served many years on its board of directors. He also collected plants and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Robert Hibbs Peebles. in 1939 Loomis described the tropical palm tree ''

Astrocaryum alatum ''Astrocaryum alatum'' is a species of palm with edible nuts, a flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is a common species found many types of rainforests and swamps in Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. It is locally known as t ...

'' ("Coquillo"). His other area of research was in

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

. Loomis was an honorary research fellow in

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

at the Smithsonian Institution, and an active research collaborator with the National Museum of Natural History, and Florida State Collection of Arthropods in Gainesville. Early in his career he began working with fellow botanist/entomologist

. In 1919 Loomis accompanied Cook on an expedition to China to study crops as well as collect millipedes, and in 1928 Loomis and Cook described the millipede with the greatest number of legs known, '' Illacme plenipes'' of California. With individuals possessing up to 750 legs (375 pairs), ''Illacme'' has more legs than any animal known. Loomis later described another species from Panama with 700 legs. Loomis's specialty was in the millipedes of Central America and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, and over his career he named more than 500 species, at least 127 new

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

, 2 new

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

, and 9 new families, including

Messicobolidae The family Messicobolidae is one of the smaller families of millipedes in the Order Spirobolida (fewer than 30 described species). In general appearance, messicobolids are medium to large size spirobolids and are often brightly colored. Messicob ...

Tingupidae Tingupidae is a family of millipedes in the order Chordeumatida. Adult millipedes in this family have 28 or 30 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson The telson () is the posterior-most division of the body of an ar ...

, and

Tridontomidae Tridontomidae is a small family of millipedes. Its members are endemic to Guatemala. These millipedes range from 22 mm to 28 mm in length and are uniformly grayish in color; their legs and antennae are unusually long and slender. This family inc ...

, with only a few taxa named with co-authors. He produced 64 scientific papers on arthropods and 50 on millipedes. The eminent myriapodologist Richard L. Hoffman wrote of Loomis: "(H)is monographs on the faunas of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

(1936) and Panama (1964) stand out as oases in a desert of chaotic short descriptive papers. His 1968 checklist of the Mesamerican species is beyond praise for its fundamental reference value." p. 8 In terms of numbers of species described, Loomis ranks as one of the ten most prolific millipede taxonomists in history.

Selected works

As sole author: * Loomis, H. F. (1927). Development of flowers and bolls of

Pima Pima or PIMA may refer to: People * Pima people, the Akimel O'odham, Indigenous peoples in Arizona (U.S.) and Sonora (Mexico) Places * Pima, Arizona, a town in Graham County * Pima County, Arizona * Pima Canyon, in the Santa Catalina Mountains ...

and Acala cotton in relation to branching. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture * Loomis, H. F. (1936). The millipeds of Hispaniola, with descriptions of a new family, new genera, and new species. ''Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.'', 80: 3-191, text figs. 1-75, pls. 1- 3 * * * With colleagues: * King, C. J., and H. F. Loomis. (1927). Factors influencing the severity of the crazy-top disorder of cotton. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. * * King, C. J., and Loomis, H. F. (1929). Further studies of cotton root rot in Arizona with a description of a sclerotium stage of the fungus. U.S. Department of Agriculture. *

Eponymous taxa

The following is a selection of taxa named after Loomis. *'' Loomisiola'' Hoffman, 1979 ( Polydesmida,

Chelodesmidae Chelodesmidae, is a millipede family of order Polydesmida. The family includes 219 genera. Two new genera were described in 2012. Genera A *'' Achromoporus'' *'' Afolabina'' *'' Alassodesmus'' *'' Allarithmus'' *'' Alocodesmus'' *''Alys ...

) *''Colactis loomisi'' Hoffman, 1954 (synonymized with ''Colactis tiburona''), Callipodida,

Schizopetalidae Schizopetalidae is a family of crested millipedes in the order Callipodida Callipodida is an order of millipedes containing around 130 species, many characterized by crests or ridges. Description Callipodida are long and narrow millipedes ...

*''Nesobolus loomisi'' Hoffman, 1998 (

Spirobolida Spirobolida is an order of "round-backed" millipedes containing approximately 500 species in 12 families. Its members are distinguished by the presence of a "pronounced suture that runs "vertically down the front of the head". Most of the spec ...

: Rhinocricidae) *''Prostemmiulus loomisi'' Mauriès, 1979 (

Stemmiulida Stemmiulida is an order of millipedes consisting of approximately 130 species, reaching up to 50 mm in length. It contains a single family, Stemmiulidae. Description Stemmiulids are small to medium sized millipedes, reaching a maximum leng ...

Stemmiulidae Stemmiulida is an order of millipedes consisting of approximately 130 species, reaching up to 50 mm in length. It contains a single family, Stemmiulidae. Description Stemmiulids are small to medium sized millipedes, reaching a maximum len ...

) *''Tridontomus loomisi'' Shear, 1977 (Polydesmida,

) *''Troglocambala loomisi'' Hoffman, 1956 (synonymized with ''Cambala ochra''),

Spirostreptida Spirostreptida is an order (biology), order of long, cylindrical millipedes. There are approximately 1000 described species, making Spirostreptida the third largest order of millipedes after Polydesmida and Chordeumatida. Description Spirostrept ...

Cambalidae Cambalidae is a family of millipedes in the order Spirostreptida. There are at least 20 genera and 80 described species in Cambalidae. Genera References Further reading

* * * * Spirostreptida Millipede families {{myria ...

*'' Tylobolus loomisi'' Keeton, 1966 (Spirobolida, Spirobolidae)

References

External links

Exploring for Plants at Isla Beata
from the Archives of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Myriapod publications by Harold Frederick Loomis
International Society of Myriapodology * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Loomis, Harold Frederick 1896 births 1976 deaths American agronomists American entomologists 20th-century American botanists People from Farmington, New York People from Miami Myriapodologists United States Department of Agriculture people Scientists from New York (state) 20th-century American zoologists 20th-century agronomists