Michael Charles Thomas (May 5, 1948 – October 14, 2019) was an American

entomologist Entomology () is the 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 as arach ...

who co-authored the book series ''

American Beetles ''American Beetles'' is the single most comprehensive description of the beetles of North America north of the tropical area of Mexico. It was started by Ross H. Arnett, Jr. as an update of his classic ''The Beetles of the United States''; along ...

''. Born in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Thomas graduated from the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts, followed by a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in Entomology from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in 1981. Thomas also received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. From 1986 to 1988, Thomas worked as a Taxonomic Entomologist for the

West Virginia Department of Agriculture The West Virginia Department of Agriculture is a government agency of the U.S. state of West Virginia. History The Department of Agriculture was founded in 1891 as the West Virginia State Board of Agriculture. In 1911, the West Virginia Legisla ...

. Beginning in 1988, Thomas worked for the

Florida Department of Agriculture The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is an executive department of the government of Florida. The Commissioner of Agriculture (directly elected by voters statewide for a four-year term, and a member of the Florid ...

in Gainesville as a Taxonomic Entomologist, an Entomology Section Administrator, and a Curator of

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

and

Orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassho ...

. His research interests included the biology and systematics of

Cucujidae The Cucujidae, "flat bark beetles," are a family of distinctively flat beetles found worldwide (except Africa and Antarctica) under the bark of dead trees. The family has received considerable taxonomic attention in recent years and now consists ...

, and the

zoogeography Zoogeography is the branch of the science of biogeography that is concerned with geographic distribution (present and past) of animal species. As a multifaceted field of study, zoogeography incorporates methods of molecular biology, genetics, mo ...

of the beetles of Florida. He retired in 2013.

References

Bio page at Florida State Collection of Arthropods

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Michael C. 1948 births 2019 deaths Writers from Miami American entomologists Coleopterists University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumni University of South Florida alumni