Joseph (Joe) Schieser Nelson (April 12, 1937 – August 9, 2011) was a Canadian

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 ...

. He is best known for the book ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' (1st edition 1976, 4th edition 2006), which is the standard reference in fish systematics and evolution. Nelson obtained his PhD from

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 1965. He retired in 2002 from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

where he made most of his career; he continued to hold position as a Professor Emeritus and stayed scientifically active until his final years. Outside academia, Nelson was a black belt in

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

Legacy

Species described by Nelson: Species named after Nelson:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Joseph S. 1937 births 2011 deaths Canadian biologists University of British Columbia alumni Scientists from San Francisco Academic staff of the University of Alberta American ichthyologists Scientists from California Educators from California University of Alberta alumni