Robert Thomas Orr (August 17, 1908 – June 23, 1994) was an American biologist known for his work as a zoologist and natural historian.

Early life and education

Orr was born in San Francisco, California to Robert Harry Orr and Clara Cockburn Orr. He received his B.S. degree in biology from the University of San Francisco in 1929. His M.A. and Ph.D. degrees were earned at the University of California, Berkeley while studying in the laboratory of Joseph Grinnell.

Career

Orr spent most of his career in San Francisco as curator of the ornithology and

mammalogy 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 o ...

collections at the California Academy of Sciences (1936–1963), and a faculty member at the University of San Francisco (1942–1963). He served as associate director of the California Academy of Sciences from 1964 to 1975. Orr's research consisted studies of seals, sea lions and whales along the California coast. In addition to his work in mammalogy and ornithology, Orr was considered an authority on wild mushrooms. He was known for leading mushroom hunting expeditions in the moist coastal forests of Mendocino County, California, delighting amateur "Mendocino Mushroomers" with tales of mushrooms and fungi. Orr served as President of the Pacific Division 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 ...

from 1976 to 1977. He died on June 23, 1994, at his home in Larkspur, California at the age of 86. The '' San Francisco Chronicle'' reported he had a long illness.

Selected publications

Orr wrote 260 scientific and popular articles mostly on mammalogy and ornithology. He also wrote three books on fungi, and he co-authored (with his wife, Margaret Cunningham Orr) a book on western North American wildflowers. He authored a textbook on vertebrate biology that was first released in 1961, with the final fifth edition released in 1981. His publications include: *Orr, R.T. 1940. The rabbits of California. ''Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences'' 19:1–227, 10 pls., 30 figs. *—— 1945. A study of captive Galapagos finches of the genus '' Geospiza''. ''Condor'' 47:177–201. *—— 1954. Natural history of the pallid bat, ''Antrozous pallidus'' (Le Conte). ''Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences'' 28:165–246. *—— 1965. ''The Animal Kingdom'' Macmillan, New York. 380pp. *—— 1972. ''Marine Mammals of California'' University of California Press, Berkeley. 64pp. *—— and M.C. Orr. 1974. ''Wildflowers of Western America.'' Knopf, New York. 270pp. *—— and D.B. Orr. 1980. ''Mushrooms of Western North America'' University of California Press, Berkeley. 293pp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Robert T. 20th-century American zoologists American science writers Scientists from San Francisco 1908 births 1994 deaths Educators from California Writers from San Francisco People associated with the California Academy of Sciences University of San Francisco alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of San Francisco faculty 20th-century American non-fiction writers People from Larkspur, California