Seth Eugene Meek (April 1, 1859, Hicksville, Ohio – July 6, 1914,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

) was an American

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish ( Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish ( Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of O ...

at the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

in Chicago. He was the first compiler of a book on

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

freshwater fishes. Together with his assistant, Samuel F. Hildebrand, he produced the first book on the freshwater fishes of

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. He often collaborated with Charles H. Gilbert, and in 1884 on a collecting trip through the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

, they discovered a new species, '' Etheostoma nianguae'', which only lives in the Osage River basin. Also with them on that excursion was

David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...

, considered the father of modern ichthyology. After the Ozarks trip, Meek accepted the post of professor of biology and geology at Arkansas Industrial University (now the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkans ...

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The

American halfbeak The American halfbeak (''Hyporhamphus meeki''), also known as Meek's halfbeak, is a halfbeak from the family Hemiramphidae. Its specific name is in honor of American ichthyologist Seth Eugene Meek Seth Eugene Meek (April 1, 1859, Hicksville, O ...

was named in his honor ''Hyporhamphus meeki''. As is the

Mezquital pupfish The Mezquital pupfish (''Cyprinodon meeki'') is a species of pupfish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is endemic to Durango in Mexico. This species was described by Robert Rush Miller in 1976 from a pond which was fed by hot springs within the ...

(''Cyprinodon meeki'').

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References

Further reading