Theodore Christian Schneirla (July 23, 1902, Bay City, Michigan — Aug. 20, 1968, New York, N.Y.) was an American animal psychologist who performed some of the first studies on the behavior patterns of army ants. In 1943 Schneirla became associate curator of the Department of Animal Behavior at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. After his return from a study of army ants in southern Mexico, he became the full curator of the museum in 1947.