Eldredge, Niles

Biographical or Historical Note

Curator Emeritus

Niles Eldredge has been a paleontologist on the curatorial staff of the American Museum of Natural History since 1969. A specialist in mid-Paleozoic phacopid trilobites, Dr. Eldredge, along with Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard, formulated a theory challenging Darwin's premise that evolution occurs gradually. Their theory, known as Punctuated Equilibria, asserts that evolution occurs in dramatic spurts interspersed with long periods of stasis. Dr. Eldredge has also analyzed the relationship between global extinctions of the geologic past and the present-day biodiversity crisis, as well as the general relationship between extinction and evolution. Today, he continues to seek integration of repeated patterns in the history of life with evolutionary theory through scientific research. (source: AMNH website)

Worked at the American Museum of Natural History.

Sources

Library of Congress Name Authority File

---

Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

American Museum of Natural History
associated dates: 1969-

---