Kenneth Kermack Explained

Kenneth Alexander Kermack
Birth Date:	1919
Death Date:	2000 (aged 80-81)
Nationality:	British
Fields:	Vertebrate palaeontology
Work Institutions:	University College London
Occupation:	palaeontologist
Doctoral Students:	Colin Patterson, Susan E. Evans

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]

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]

Notes and References

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