James W. Valentine

James William Valentine (November 10, 1926 – April 7, 2023) was an American evolutionary biologist, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and curator at the University of California Museum of Paleontology.

Valentine was born in Los Angeles, California on November 10, 1926. He was educated at Phillips University, (B.A., 1951) and the University of California, Los Angeles (M.A., 1954, Ph.D., 1958). Valentine married Diane Mondragon in 1987 and had 3 children. He died in Walnut Creek, California, on April 7, 2023, at the age of 96.

Books Valentine published widely, and in addition to peer-reviewed publications wrote several books:

Evolutionary Paleoecology of the Marine Biosphere 1973 Evolution 1977 with Theodosius Dobzhansky, G. Ledyard Stebbins and Ayala Evolving : The Theory And Processes Of Organic Evolution 1979 , with Francisco J. Ayala Phanerozoic Diversity Patterns : Profiles In Macroevolution 1985 , editor On the Origin of Phyla 2004 The Cambrian Explosion: The Construction of Animal Biodiversity, 2013 , with Douglas Erwin