Warner, Charles H. (Chuck) (Author)
Every day, in natural history museums all across the country, colonies of dermestid beetles diligently devour the decaying flesh off of animal skeletons that are destined for the museum's specimen collection. That time-saving process was developed and perfected at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum by Charles D. Bunker, a lowly assistant taxidermist who would rise to become the curator of recent vertebrates and who made an indelible mark on his field. That innovative breakthrough serves as a testament to the tenacity of a quietly determined naturalist. Bunker was part of the small team of men who constructed and installed the famous Panorama of North American Mammals, the centerpiece exhibit of the KU Natural History Museum located in Dyche Hall. That iconic building on the KU campus was expressly built to house the collection of mounted animals that impressed the world a decade earlier at the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition and World's Fair. Once the panorama was completed, Bunker turned his attention to field collecting. Bunker's field notes provide an accurate, authentic account of several expeditions to collect such specimens as well as a rare view of the extreme hardships of fieldwork in those early days. Perhaps most notable is "Bunk's" 1911 expedition to western Kansas, where he discovered the fossil remains of a forty-five-foot-long sea serpent--later identified as Tylosaurus proriger, an aquatic reptile from the mosasaur genus and the largest example of the species found in North America. In 2014, Tylosaurus was named the marine fossil of the state of Kansas. Birds, Bones, and Beetles tells the story of a man whose passion for learning led to remarkable discoveries, extraordinary exhibits, and the prestigious careers of many students he mentored in the natural sciences.
...MoreReview Julie Courtwright (July 2020) Review of "Birds, bones, and beetles: The improbable career and remarkable legacy of University of Kansas naturalist Charles D. Bunker". Environmental History (pp. 567-569).
Book
Birkhead, T R;
Wimpenny, Jo;
Montgomerie, Robert D;
(2014)
Ten Thousand Birds: Ornithology since Darwin
(/isis/citation/CBB001421573/)
Book
Carlson, Douglas;
(2007)
Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography
(/isis/citation/CBB000830484/)
Book
Johnson, Kristin;
(2012)
Ordering Life: Karl Jordan and the Naturalist Tradition
(/isis/citation/CBB001210068/)
Thesis
Rieppel, Lukas Benjamin;
(2012)
Dinosaurs: Assembling an Icon of Science
(/isis/citation/CBB001567402/)
Book
Mazur, Allan;
(2004)
A Romance in Natural History: The Lives and Works of Amadeus Grabau and Mary Antin
(/isis/citation/CBB000550804/)
Article
Lipps, Jere H.;
(2004)
Success Story: The History and Development of the Museum of Paleontology at the University of California, Berkeley
(/isis/citation/CBB001036107/)
Thesis
Katherine Nicole Crosby;
(2015)
Forgotten Science of Bird Eggs: The Life Cycle of Oology at the Smithsonian Institution
(/isis/citation/CBB131957272/)
Book
Karl Schulze-Hagen;
Gabriele Kaiser;
(2020)
Die Vogel-WG: Die Heinroths, ihre 1000 Vögel und die Anfänge der Verhaltensforschung
(/isis/citation/CBB274277432/)
Book
Dingus, Lowell;
Norell, Mark A.;
(2010)
Barnum Brown: The Man Who Discovered Tyrannosaurus Rex
(/isis/citation/CBB001023269/)
Book
Morgan, Vincent L.;
Lucas, Spencer G.;
(2002)
Walter Granger, 1872-1941, Paleontologist
(/isis/citation/CBB000201898/)
Article
Bastos, Francisco Inácio;
Sá, Magali Romero;
(2011)
The Scientist as Historian: Paulo Vanzolini and the Origins of Zoology in Brazil
(/isis/citation/CBB001420547/)
Article
R.Paul Scofield;
(2005)
The Supposed Macquaire Island Parakeet in the Collection of Canterbury Museum
(/isis/citation/CBB764667446/)
Book
Brush, Douglas C.;
(2012)
Northern Kansas Division, Missouri Pacific Lines: Formerly the Central Branch, Union Pacific Railroad
(/isis/citation/CBB643951943/)
Article
Anderson, Lyall I.;
Lowe, Mathew;
(2010)
Charles W. Peach and Darwin's Barnacles
(/isis/citation/CBB001231387/)
Article
Creaney, Conor;
(2011)
Paralytic Animation: The Anthropomorphic Taxidermy of Walter Potter
(/isis/citation/CBB001035037/)
Article
Arnold, Lois B.;
(2010)
The Education and Career of Carlotta J. Maury: Part 2
(/isis/citation/CBB001031247/)
Chapter
Mauro Mandrioli;
Andrea Gambarelli;
(2022)
La collezione aracnologica di Giovanni Canestrini presso il Museo di Zoologia e Anatomia Comparata dell'Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
(/isis/citation/CBB961234620/)
Book
Burtt, Edward H., Jr.;
Davis, William E., Jr.;
(2013)
Alexander Wilson: The Scot Who Founded American Ornithology
(/isis/citation/CBB001252217/)
Article
Lawrence, Natalie;
(2014)
Plumed Wonders and Ornithological Passions
(/isis/citation/CBB001421082/)
Book
Markwell, Kevin;
Cushing, Nancy;
(2010)
Snake-Bitten: Eric Worrell and the Australian Reptile Park
(/isis/citation/CBB001033751/)
Be the first to comment!