Edward Royal Warren (1860–1942) and the Development of Coloradan Mammalogy

Abstract

SYNOPSIS. NO individual has been identified more strongly with the development of Coloradan mammalogy than Edward Royal Warren. Warren's two books on Coloradan mammals represent landmark summaries of our evolving knowledge of the rich mammalian fauna of the state. This paper reviews briefly the history of mammalogical research in Colorado and attempts to place Warren in context in that history. The paper relies almost exclusively on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of Warren's published work, which comprises some 96 papers and books, mostly on the Coloradan fauna. He contributed a number of new records to the state's faunal list, but made little contribution to taxonomy. His nomenclature was uncritical and he made no significant contribution to biological theory. His natural history observations are largely anecdotal (although his papers on beavers in Colorado and Wyoming are of enduring importance). Despite its magnitude, Warren's published contribution has not stood the test of time particularly well. A body of unpublished documentation, however, survives in addition to the published papers. That raw documentation may prove eventually to be Warren's most enduring contribution to science and to Coloradan natural history. Warren provided us, like few naturalists have done, a carefully documented description of biotic normality, a description of a Coloradan environment less disturbed than it is today.