Ancient Insect-Eating Mammal Named After KU Prof

An ancient insect-eating mammal has been named after a University of Kansas professor.

The university says in a news release that researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Denver Museum of Nature & Science recently have published a description of a fossilized 50-million-year-old creature.

They named the shrew-sized mammal after Leonard Krishtalka, director of the Biodiversity Institute at the University of Kansas. Krishtalka also is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the university.

Krishtalka has written about 200 research articles, policy papers and pieces in scientific journals, books, newspapers and magazines. He also is the author of one book, “Dinosaur Plots & Other Intrigues in Natural History.”

Krishtalka says he’s honored and humbled by the recognition.