Kenneth Kermack

Kenneth Alexander Kermack (1919 – 2000) was a British palaeontologist at University College London most notable for his work on early mammals with his wife, Doris Mary Kermack.^[1]

Kenneth Alexander Kermack
Born	1919
Died	2000 (aged 80-81)
Nationality	British
Occupation	palaeontologist
Scientific career
Fields	Vertebrate palaeontology
Institutions	University College London
Doctoral students	Colin Patterson, Susan E. Evans

Among Kermack's other significant contributions was the observation that Diplodocus could not have had an aquatic lifestyle because sheer water pressure alone on its chest would have prevented it breathing whilst submerged.^[2][3]

He first described the early mammal Aegialodon dawsoni from a molar tooth^[4][5] and the docodont Simpsonodon oxfordensis.^[6][7] He was also interested in astronomy, elected a member of the British Astronomical Association on 23 February 1966,^[8] a member until his death in 2000.^[9]

Selected publications

• Kermack, D. M., Kermack, K. A., and Mussett, F. 1968. The Welsh pantothere Kuehneotherium praecursoris. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 47:407–423.^[10]
• Kermack, K. A., Mussett, F., and Rigney, H. W. 1973. The lower jaw of Morganucodon. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 53:87–175.^[11]
• Kermack, K. A., Mussett, F., and Rigney, H. W. 1981. The skull of Morganucodon. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 71:1–158.^[12]
• Kermack, K. 1989. Hearing in early mammals. Nature 341:568–569.^[13]

References

1. Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska (12 July 2013). In Pursuit of Early Mammals. Indiana University Press. pp. 80–100. ISBN 978-0-253-00824-4.
2. Kermack, K. A. (1951). "LXXX.—A note on the habits of the Sauropods". Journal of Natural History. Series 12. 4 (44): 830–832. doi:10.1080/00222935108654213.
3. David Lambert; Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff (1 April 2010). Dinosaur. Dorling Kindersley Limited. pp. 66–. ISBN 978-1-4053-4540-8.
4. Kermack, K. A.; Lees, P. M.; Mussett, F. (1965). "Aegialodon dawsoni, A New Trituberculosectorial Tooth from the Lower Wealden". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 162 (989): 535–554. Bibcode:1965RSPSB.162..535K. doi:10.1098/rspb.1965.0055. PMID 4378463. S2CID 39141524.
5. Jason A. Lillegraven; Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska; William A. Clemens (17 December 1979). Mesozoic Mammals: The First Two-Thirds of Mammalian History. University of California Press. pp. 183–. ISBN 978-0-520-03951-3.
6. Kermack, K. A.; Lee, A. J.; Lees, P. M.; Mussett, F. (1987). "A new docodont from the Forest Marble". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 89: 1–39. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1987.tb01342.x.
7. Sigogneau-Russell, D. 2001. Docodont nature of Cyrtlatherium, an upper Bathonian mammal from England. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 46:427–430. http://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app46-427.html
8. http://adslabs.org/adsabs/abs/1966JBAA...76..445./
9. Hewitt, N. D.; Tucker, D. (2001). "Report of the Council and Accounts for the session 2000 August 1 to 2001 July 31". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 111: 273. Bibcode:2001JBAA..111..273H.
10. Kermack, D. M.; Kermack, K. A.; Mussett, F. (1968). "The Welsh pantothere Kuehneotherium praecursoris". Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology. 47 (312): 407–423. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1968.tb00519.x.
11. Kermack, K. A.; Mussett, F.; Rigney, H. W. (1973). "The lower jaw of Morganucodon". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 53 (2): 87–175. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1973.tb00786.x.
12. Kermack, K. A.; Mussett, F.; Rigney, H. W. (1981). "The skull of Morganucodon". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 71: 1–158. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1981.tb01127.x.
13. Kermack, K. (1989). "Hearing in early mammals". Nature. 341 (6243): 568–569. Bibcode:1989Natur.341..568K. doi:10.1038/341568a0. PMID 2797186. S2CID 4238510.