Joan Robb ( – 19 October 2017) was a New Zealand herpetologist working in the Zoology Department at the University of Auckland as an associate professor. After retirement, she was a wildlife tour guide in New Zealand and the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Australia.

Academic career

Robb grew up in Gisborne, and was educated at home through the

Correspondence School Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

. After a Diploma in Agriculture from Massey Agricultural College, she studied at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, graduating with an MSc in zoology in 1956. Robb then worked in the Department of Zoology at the University of Auckland, becoming an associate professor in 1967. She taught vertebrate form and function. She retired in 1978, after which she became a tour guide for wildlife tours to Malaysia, Nepal, China, Australia, and Africa. Robb held positions on the Fauna Protection Advisory Council (an advisory group to the

Department of Internal Affairs The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling laws; registering births, ...

, who were then responsible for conservation) and the Council of the

Auckland Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

. Robb's research focused on herpetology, particularly New Zealand lizards, and she named five new taxa of skink and gecko. Her 1980 book describing New Zealand amphibians and reptiles was considered to be "academic in quality, but popular in tone". In 2017, Robb was named as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's

150 women in 150 words The "150 women in 150 words" project was undertaken by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and published during their 150th anniversary celebrations in 2017. The aim of the project was "celebrating women's contributions to expanding knowledge in New Z ...

. Robb died in Auckland on 19 October 2017.

Taxa named by Robb

* Gold-striped gecko *

Macgregor's skink McGregor's skink (''Oligosoma macgregori'') is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand. Etymology The specific name, ''macgregori'', is in honor of New Zealand zoologist William Roy McGregor. Geogr ...

* Oligosoma pachysomaticum * Robust skink * Stephen's Island gecko

Selected works

* * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robb, Joan Academic staff of the University of Auckland New Zealand women academics New Zealand academics New Zealand herpetologists 2017 deaths 1921 births Women herpetologists