Maurice Burton

Maurice Burton (28 March 1898 – 9 September 1992) was a British zoologist, museum curator, and popular science author. From 1926 to 1958, he was a staff member of the Natural History Museum, London. At the museum he was from 1927 to 1948 the Curator of Sponges and from 1949 to 1958 the Deputy Keeper of Zoology.

Quotes

There are certain very small flies, known as ichneumon flies. The females of this species carry a dagger at the end of the abdomen, a dual-purpose tubular dagger. This dagger is known as the ovipositor, or in more common terms, the organ for laying eggs. The female ichneumon stabs a green fly in the back and lays an egg in its body. The egg hatches, the grub emerges and feeds on the green fly.
- Curiosities of Animal Life. Sterling nature book (revised ed.). Sterling Publishing Company. 1959. p. 76. (128 pages; 1st edition 1952; 1st part of quote; last part of quote)

... every shark is a survivor of an extremely archaic race, older even than the Coelacanth, and there is no need to describe what everyone, and especially the ocean-going seamen, think of sharks.
- Margins of the Sea. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1954. p. 200. (212 pages)

... we have to remember that the description given us by Herodotus represents the entry of the phoenix into European literature. It is the starting-point of the phoenix myth as we know it today, the foundation of the story told by Métral, and the only solid evidence we have concerning the phoenix itself.
- Phoenix Re-born. London: Hutchinson & Company. 1959. p. 33. (224 pages)

Some territories are used for feeding alone and these are defended outside the breeding season. The European robin is a well-known example. During the breeding season a pair occupy one territory. In winter male and female occupy separate territories for feeding only.
- The Family of Animals. Arco Publishing Company. 1978. p. 92. ISBN 9780668046626. (120 pages)

External links

Encyclopedic article on Maurice Burton on Wikipedia
Data related to Maurice Burton on Wikispecies