Richard Laurence Zusi (1930-2024)[1] was an American ornithologist, known as a world-class expert on hummingbird anatomy[2] and the functional anatomy of birds, in particular "avian jaw mechanics and the evolution of structural complexes."[3]
Zusi was chiefly responsible for the modernization[2] of the Smithsonian Institution's avian skeleton collection (over 30,000 specimens) and avian fluid-preserved collection (over 10,000 specimens).[3][4] (The fluid used is commonly
ethanol or
isopropyl alcohol.)
His pioneering World Inventory of Avian Skeletal Specimens was one of the first and best efforts to inventory a particular biological resource in systematic collections.[3]
His research interests are the functional anatomy of birds with emphasis on feeding mechanisms, and avian systematics and evolution.[5]
Zusi has collected avian specimens not only in the United States and Canada, but also in South America (Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela), the Caribbean (
Dominica), and Iceland. He was the principal curator of the Roger Tory Peterson Exhibition,[3] which was displayed from April to September in 1984.[6] He retired in 1994[2] with the title "curator emeritus".
Watson, George E.; Zusi, R. L.;
Storer, Robert W. (1963). Preliminary Field Guide to the Birds of the Indian Ocean. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution; x+214 pages{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (
link)
Zusi, R. L. (1987). "A Feeding Adaptation of the Jaw Articulation in New World Jays (Corvidae)". The Auk. 104 (4): 665–680.
doi:
10.1093/auk/104.4.665.
JSTOR4087278.
Zusi, R. L. (1989). "A Modified Jaw Muscle in the Maui Parrotbill (Pseudonestor: Drepanididae)". The Condor. 91 (3): 716–720.
doi:
10.2307/1368125.
JSTOR1368125.
Zusi, R. L. (2013). "Introduction to the Skeleton of Hummingbirds (Aves: Apodiformes, Trochilidae) in Functional and Phylogenetic Contexts". Ornithological Monographs. 77: 1–94.
doi:
10.1525/om.2013.77.1.1.