biology

Tom Rich

Tom Rich is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tom Rich rather than just read about it. In short: Thomas H. Rich (born May 30, 1941), generally known as Tom Rich, is an Australian palaeontologist.

Key takeaways

Tom Rich belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tom Rich to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tom Rich from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Thomas H. Rich (born May 30, 1941), generally known as Tom Rich, is an Australian palaeontologist. He and his wife, Patricia Arlene Vickers-Rich headed the dig at Dinosaur Cove. He is, as of 2025, Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at Museums Victoria.

Education and career He was a student of Professor Ruben Arthur Stirton. This pushed him to become aware of potential in Australia to make fundamental discoveries about mammalian evolution Received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1964 and his Masters in 1967 at the University of California, Berkeley He graduated in 1973 from Columbia University in New York City with a Ph.D. in Geology.

Career and professional positions Rich trained as a Vertebrate paleontologist at University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University. His research has revolved around finding and analyzing the Early Cretaceous Polar Dinosaurs, mammals and other tetrapods of southeastern Australia. His work is also known as the Ghastly Blank project, beginning in 1978 and the summaries of the field work and scientific results are recorded in the book Darkness and Dinosaurs, which he wrote with his wife.

The dig at Dinosaur Cove The dig at Dinosaur Cove took place on the Otway Coast of Victoria, Australia. Beginning in 1984, the project lasted nearly a decade, with the tunnels finally being boarded up in 1993. The dig was the culmination of the efforts of over 700 people, with a large contribution from volunteer work. This was his most important work, and it was start by both Rich and his wife and colleague, Patricia Vickers-Rich. The dig was featured on the BBC mini documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs in episode 5, Spirits of the Silent Forest, which aired in 1999.

Accomplishments Rich has collected more than 85 percent of all the known Mesozoic Mammal fossils in Australia He was the first to recognize the pseudotribosphenic condition and its significance in mammals. He found and described the only multituberculates and tribosphenic Masozoic mammals known from Australia. He excavated the first two tunnels to be cut for the sole purpose of recovering fossils. He recognized the first features of a non-avian dinosaur, adapted specifically for a polar environment.

Publications Three decades, 37 bones: the long hunt for Victorian Dinosaurs. Thomas H. Rich and Roger Benson Dinosaurs of Darkness. Thomas H. Rich and Patricia Arlene Vickers-Rich Dinosaurs of Darkness: In search of the Lost Polar World. Thomas H. Rich and Patricia Arlene Vickers-Rich The Artist and the Scientists: Bringing Prehistory to Life. Peter Trusler, Thomas H. Rich and Patricia Arlene Vickers-Rich

Personal life Thomas H. Rich was born on May 30, 1941, in the United States. Rich is married to palaeontologist Patricia Arlene Vickers-Rich. Together the couple described the dinosaur genera Leaellynasaura and Timimus, naming them after their daughter and son, Leaellyn and Tim Rich, respectively. In 2012, Thomas Rich was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, an eye disease that causes loss of vision. In an effort to treat his condition, he became the first Australian to use IrisVision. Thomas Rich is also honored in the epithet of the ancient thylacinid species Nimbacinus richi.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tom Rich

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tom Rich claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tom Rich before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tom Rich ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tom Rich

In research: Tom Rich appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tom Rich in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tom Rich is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American emigrants to Australia, Australian biologist stubs, Australian paleontologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tom Rich outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tom Rich in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tom Rich means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tom Rich out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tom Rich in simple terms?

Thomas H. Rich (born May 30, 1941), generally known as Tom Rich, is an Australian palaeontologist.

Why does Tom Rich matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tom Rich?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tom Rich.