Eleanor Mary Ord Laurie Explained

Eleanor Mary Ord Laurie Isserlis (14 January 1919 - 17 March 2009)^[1] was a British mammalogist.

Early life

Laurie was born in 1919^[1] to parents Elinor Beatrice Ord and Robert Douglas Laurie. Her father was head of the Zoology Department at Aberystwyth University from 1918 until his retirement in 1940.^[2]

Education and career

Laurie was the head of the Mammal Department at the British Museum of Natural History.^[1] She graduated from St Hugh's College, Oxford in 1942 with a Master of Science degree.In its 1949 - 1950 issue, the St Hugh's College Chronicle noted that she was appointed Senior Scientific Officer at the British Museum in its Zoology Department.She became a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1950;^[3] she withdrew from the Society in 1958.^[4]

Species described

Laurie described a number of new mammal species, including:

• Dactylopsila tatei Laurie, 1952^[5]
• Microperoryctes papuensis (Laurie, 1952)^[6]
• Hipposideros inexpectatus Laurie & Hill, 1954^[7]
• Miniopterus shortridgei Laurie & Hill, 1956^[8]

Selected publications

• Book: Laurie. E. M.. Hill. J. E.. 1954. List of land mammals of New Guinea, Celebes and adjacent islands 1758-1952. Trustees of the British Museum.
• 10.1098/rspb.1946.0012. The reproduction of the house-mouse (Mus musculus) living in different environments. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. 133. 872. 248–281. 1946. 1946RSPSB.133..248L. Laurie. E. M. O.. 20994890. free.
• 10.2307/1554. 1554. The House-Mouse (Mus musculus) in Corn Ricks. The Journal of Animal Ecology. 15. 2. 134. 1946. Southern. H. N.. Laurie. E. M. O..
• 10.2307/1622. 1622. The Coypu (Myocastor coypus) in Great Britain. The Journal of Animal Ecology. 15. 1. 22–34. 1946. Laurie. E. M. O..

Personal life

On 29 December 1949,^[9] she married Alexander Reginald Isserlis, who would become Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister in 1970. Together, they had two daughters.^[10]

Honors

In 2009, Helgen and Helgen named a new species of mouse after Laurie, Pseudohydromys eleanorae, recommending the common name of Laurie's moss mouse.^[1]

Notes and References

1. 10.1206/582-8.1. Chapter 8. Biodiversity and Biogeography of the Moss-mice of New Guinea: A Taxonomic Revision of Pseudohydromys (Muridae: Murinae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 331. 253. 2009. Helgen. Kristofer M.. Helgen. Lauren E.. 21646409. free.
2. 10.1038/171773a0. Prof. R. D. Laurie. Nature. 171. 4357. 773–774. 1953. Stephenson. T. A.. 1953Natur.171..773S. free.
3. 10.1111/j.1095-8312.1951.tb00602.x. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL MEETING ON 9 March 1950. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. 162. 2. 123–124. 1951.
4. 10.1111/j.1095-8312.1958.tb00806d.x. General Secretary's Report. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. 169. 1–2. 22. 1958.
5. Laurie. E. M.. Shaw-Mayer. F.. 1952. Mammals Collected by Mr. Shaw Mayer in New Guinea, 1932-1949. The British Museum (Natural History). 278–279.
6. 10.5962/bhl.part.21634. Mammals collected by Mr. Shaw Mayer in New Guinea, 1932-1949. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). 1. 269–318. 1952. Laurie. Eleanor M O.. free.
7. Book: Laurie. E. M.. Hill. J. E.. 1954. List of land mammals of New Guinea, Celebes and adjacent islands 1758-1952. Trustees of the British Museum. 60–61.
8. Chiozza. F.. Thong. V.D.. 2016. Miniopterus shortridgei. 2016. e.T136827A22044684. 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T136827A22044684.en.
9. Web site: St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1949-1950.
10. Book: Who was who: A Companion to Who's Who, Containing the Biographies of Those who Died. A. & C. Black. 1981. 8. 9780713633368. 386.