Niles Eldredge

Niles Eldredge (born August 25, 1943 ) is an American paleontologist . Along with Stephen Jay Gould he introduced in 1972, the theory of punctuated equilibrium (English punctuated equilibrium ) for discussion, a variant of the theory of evolution , which assumes that the evolution of species does not run continuously but long in an alternating phases of stability with short rapid development thrusts .

Eldredge studied anthropology at Columbia University in New York, where he received his PhD in 1969. While still a student, Eldredge did research at the American Museum of Natural History , where he is now the curator of the invertebrate department . Eldredge is an Associate Professor of Paleontology in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department of the City University of New York . Eldredge's specialty is the evolution of the phacopids , an order of trilobites of the middle ages .

In 1979 he was awarded the Charles Schuchert Award from the Paleontological Society .

Literature (selection)

• The Allopatric Model and Phylogeny in Paleozoic Invertebrates. In: evolution. Volume 25, No. 1, 1971, pp. 156-167, doi: 10.2307 / 2406508
• with Stephen J. Gould: Punctuated equilibria: an alternative to phyletic gradualism. Chapter 5 in: Thomas JM Schopf (Ed.): Models in Paleobiology. Freeman Cooper, San Francisco 1972, pp. 82–115, full text (PDF)
• with Ian Tattersall : Evolutionary models, phylogenetic reconstruction, and another look at hominid phylogeny. In: Frederick S. Szalay (Ed.): Approaches to Primate Paleobiology. = Contributions to Primatology, Volume 5. Karger, Basel 1975, pp. 218-242
• with Ian Tattersall: Fact, theory and fantasy in human paleontology. In: Americal Scientist. Vol. 65, No. 2, 1977, pp. 204-211.
• Turning times of life. Catastrophes in Earth History and Evolution (= The Miner's Canary . Translated by Erich Lange), Spektrum, Heidelberg 1994; Insel-Taschenbuch , Volume 1935, Insel, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1997, ISBN 3-458-33635-4 .
• with Elisabeth Vrba (Ed.): Macroevolution: Diversity and Disparity. Dedicated Issue of Paleobiology in Honor of Stephen Jay Gould. Supplement to: Paleobiology. Volume 31, No. 2, 2005. ISBN 978-1-89127649-1 .
• Eternal ephemera. Adaptation and the Origin of Species from the Nineteenth Century Through Punctuated Equilibria and Beyond , Columbia University Press 2015

Web links

• nileseldredge.com Website with a short biography and numerous references
• research.amnh.org Niles Eldredges homepage at the American Museum of Natural History