Stephen David Durrant

Stephen David Durrant worked in mammalogy and helped document the geographic variation of western North American mammals. Three New Beavers from Utah appeared in 1948 as a University of Kansas Museum of Natural History paper coauthored with Harold S. Crane. The study examines specimens from Utah and distinguishes three proposed forms through measurements, skull characteristics, pelage, and comparisons with previously described populations. Project Gutenberg preserves the complete paper and its institutional publication details, while JSTOR independently indexes the article and its authorship. The concise report shows the taxonomic method of its period: carefully recorded collection localities and physical traits are used to argue that regional populations merit separate names. Durrant's role sits within museum-based zoology, where field specimens, comparative collections, and precise descriptions supported broader accounts of mammal distribution. The joint credit is essential context because Crane shares authorship throughout the original publication.