Eugenie Clark was a pioneer in shark biology, known around the world for her illuminating research on shark behavior. But she was a pioneer in another critical way, as one of the first women of prominence in the male-dominated field of marine biology.
Eugenie Clark was a pioneer in shark biology, known around the world for her illuminating research on shark behavior. But she was a pioneer in another critical way, as one of the first women of prominence in the male-dominated field of marine biology.
Fondly labeled the “Shark Lady,” Clark, who founded Mote Marine Laboratory and continued studying fishes until she passed away in 2015 at age 92, will now be recognized with another distinction: namesake of a newly discovered species of dogfish shark.
The species, named Squalus clarkae, also known as Genie’s Dogfish, was identified from the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic Ocean. The confirmation of this new species was reported this month in the journal Zootaxa. The article can be found here.
Florida Institute of Technology assistant professor and shark biologist Toby Daly-Engel was among the paper’s four author’s, along with marine scientists Mariah Pfleger of Oceana, the lead author and Daly-Engel’s former graduate student, and Florida State University’s Dean Grubbs and Chip Cotton.
Read more at Florida Institute of Technology
Image: Eugenie Clark takes measurements of a shark on the dock at Cape Haze Marine Lab in this undated photo. (Credit: Mote Marine Laboratory)
