Seth Eugene Meek

Seth Eugene Meek ( born April 1, 1859 in Hicksville, Ohio; † July 6, 1914 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American ichthyologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. He was considered one of the leading experts of the ichthyosaurs and herpetofauna in North America of his time.

Life and work

Meek was of Welsh descent and grew up on a farm. After high school graduation, he spent four semesters at Valparaiso University, Indiana. 1884 Meek graduated from Indiana University for a Bachelor of Science. In 1886 he received his master's degree in 1891 and his Ph.D. at the same institution. From 1885 to 1886 Meek received a scholarship to Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Since his graduation Meek worked temporarily as assistant to the United States Fish Commission and led expeditions to Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas and the Indian Territory. In December 1886, he married Ella Tourner. From January 1887 to January 1988 Meek taught at Eureka College, and from January 1888 to February 1892 at Coe College. In 1892 he was appointed as an assistant professor and curator in the Department of Biology and Geology of the Arkansas Industrial University (now University of Arkansas) in Fayetteville. In 1897 he was a curator at the Field Museum of Natural History, where he remained until his death.

Meek was a student of David Starr Jordan and he frequently worked with Charles Henry Gilbert. During a field trip to the Ozark Mountains in 1884 they discovered the new species Etheostoma nianguae, which is endemic in the catchment area of the Osage River.

Meek has written numerous scientific articles on reptiles and fish, including the first detailed work on the freshwater fish fauna of Mexico and Panama. The latter was created in collaboration with his assistant Samuel Frederick Hildebrand ( 1883-1949 ).

Dedikationsnamen

After Meek several Fischtaxa are named, including the fire mouth cichlid ( Thorichthys meeki ) Allotoca meeki, Ariosoma meeki, Atherinella meeki, Brycon meeki, Cyprinodon meeki, Macrhybopsis meeki, Hyporhamphus meeki, Priacanthus meeki and Pimelodella meeki.

Works (selection)

  • The fishes of the Cayuga Lake basin, 1888
  • A catalog of the fishes of Arkansas, 1894
  • Report of investigations respecting the fishes of Arkansas, falling on Conducted in 1891, 1892 and 1893 with a synopsis of previous explorations in the same state, 1895
  • The Fresh -Water Fishes of Mexico North of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 1904
  • Notes on batrachians and reptiles from the islands north of Venezuela, 1910
  • An Annotated list of fishes known to Occur in the fresh waters of Costa Rica, 1914
  • The Fishes of the Fresh Waters of Panama, 1916 ( posthumously with Samuel Frederick Hildebrand )
  • The marine fishes of Panama, 1923 ( posthumously with Samuel Frederick Hildebrand )
Welsh people Fayetteville (Arkansas) Ozarks Integrated Authority File
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