Storrs Lovejoy Olson

Storrs Lovejoy Olson (born April 3, 1944 in Chicago , Illinois ) is an American paleontologist and ornithologist from the Smithsonian Institution . He is one of the leading paleornithologists .

A meeting with Alexander Wetmore in 1967 led Olson to his main area of research, paleornithology, and to his work on Ascension and St. Helena , where he made notable discoveries, including the first bone finds of St. Helen's hoopoe and St. Counting Helena Moorhen . In 1976 he met his future wife Helen Frances James , who is now one of the leading paleornithologists herself and specializes in the field of late Quaternary avifauna .

During their 23 years of work in Hawaii , Olson and James discovered and described the subfossil remains of over 50 species of birds that were previously unknown to science. These include the Nene-nui , the Moa-Nalos , the Maui-Nui- Ibises and the owl genus Grallistrix . In 1982, Olson discovered fossil bones of the long ignored Bracesemerald hummingbird ( Chlorostilbon bracei ) and thus provided evidence that this hummingbird is a valid species. In November 1999, Olson hit the headlines after attacking paleontologist Christopher P. Sloan in an open letter to the National Geographic Society over his theory of the evolution of dinosaurs into birds, which he had established from the fossil forgery Archaeoraptor . In 2000, with the help of DNA analyzes, he solved the mystery of Necropsar leguati from the World Museum Liverpool , which turned out to be an albino specimen of the gray trembling thrush ( Cinclocerthia gutturalis ).

Olson was a bird curator at the National Museum of Natural History until 2009 . Today he holds an emeritus position.

Several species of birds are named after Olson. To count here: Nycticorax olsoni , Himantopus olsoni , Puffinus olsoni , Eoeurypyga olsoni , Primobucco olsoni , Gallirallus storrsolsoni and Quercypodargus olsoni .

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personal data
SURNAME	Olson, Storrs Lovejoy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American paleontologist and ornithologist
DATE OF BIRTH	April 3, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chicago , Illinois