Helen K. Larson is an

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, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

who specialises in the fishes of the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

. In the 1960s and 1970s, she attended the

University of Guam University of Guam () (U.O.G.) is a public university, public land-grant university in Mangilao, Guam. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and offers thirty-four degree programs at the undergraduate level and ele ...

to study for her Bachelor's and master's degrees and while there she also worked in the local Marine Laboratory. While there she collected and described a new species of the dwarf goby from the genus '' Eviota'', '' Eviota pellucida'', the description being published in 1976 in the journal ''

Copeia ''Ichthyology & Herpetology'' (formerly ''Copeia'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in ichthyology and herpetology that was originally named after Edward Drinker Cope, a prominent American researcher in these fi ...

''. This was her first description of a new species. Her Masters was called ''Notes on the biology and comparative behaviour of ''Eviota zonura'' and ''Eviota smaragdus'' (Pisces:Gobiidae)''. She gained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

from the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

and her thesis was ''A revision of the gobiid fish genus ''Mugilogobius'' (Teleostei: Gobioidei), and its systematic placement''. She moved from Guam in 1974 to work with Douglass F. Hoese at the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

as a Technical Officer and in 1981 she took a position as Curator of Fishes at the Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory in Darwin. She held this position until she retired in 2009. Her main interests were in the fishes of the Indo-Pacific, especially the

Gobiiformes Gobiiformes (meaning "goby-like") is an order of percomorph fish containing three suborders: Apogonoidei, Trichonotoidei, and Gobioidei. The order was formerly defined as containing only the gobies (now placed within the Gobioidei). However, ...

and she is the author or co-author of over 120 papers. Over the course of her career she has described 72 new species and name 7 new genera. She is on the editorial board of the academic journals ''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters'' and ''aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology''. She also reviews papers for a number of other journals. As well as gobies Larson's interests include river sharks, freshwater hardyheads, freshwater grunters, damsel fishes and mackerel emperors, and birdwatching.

Taxon described by her

*See :Taxa named by Helen K. Larson

Taxon named in her honor

*The

goby The Gobioidei are a suborder of percomorph fish. Many of these fishes are called gobies. It is by far the largest and most diverse order within the order Gobiiformes, and one of the most diverse groups of ray-finned fish in general. The subord ...

genus '' Larsonella'' was named in her honour while among the species named after her are *pygmy pipehorse '' Idiotropiscis larsonae'' and the * triplefin blenny '' Enneapterygius larsonae''. *The goby '' Stiphodon larson'' R. E. Watson, 1996 is named after her. *The Goby '' Sueviota larsonae'' Winterbottom, R. and D.F. Hoese, 1998. A new genus and four new species of fishes from the Indo-West Pacific (Pisces; Perciformes; Gobiidae), with comments on relationships. R. Ont. Mus. Life Sci. Occas. Pap. (37):1-17. is named for her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Helen K. University of Queensland alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian women scientists Australian women curators Women ichthyologists Australian ichthyologists