History of Study
Influential evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr came to New Guinea in 1928 to make collections for the American Museum of Natural History and banker and naturalist Walter Rothschild. Mayr collected several thousands bird skins (he named 26 new bird species during his lifetime) and, in the process also named 38 new orchid species. He determined that New Guinea's rarest birds of paradise were, in fact, hybrid species. During his stay in New Guinea, he was invited to accompany the Whitney South Seas Expedition to the Solomon Islands. Mayr's experience of the fauna of New Guinea informed many of his conclusions about evolution for the rest of his life.
Read more about this topic: Fauna Of New Guinea
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