Mary Jane Rathbun (June 11, 1860 – April 4, 1943) was an American
zoologist
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
who specialized in
crustacean
Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...
s. She worked at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
from 1884 until her death.
She described more than a thousand
new species and subspecies and many higher
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
.
Biography
Mary Jane Rathbun was born on June 11, 1860, in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, the youngest of five children of Charles Rathbun and Jane Furey. Her mother died when she was only one year old, and Mary was therefore "thrown on her own resources."
She was educated in Buffalo, graduating in 1878, but never attended college.
Rathbun was tall, and was noted for having a
dry sense of humor.
Rathbun first saw the ocean in 1881 when she accompanied her brother,
Richard Rathbun, to
Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwestern corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 78 ...
.
He was employed as a scientific assistant to
Addison Emery Verrill
Addison Emery Verrill (February 9, 1839 – December 10, 1926) was an American invertebrate zoologist, museum curator and university professor.
Life
Verrill was born on February 9, 1839, in Greenwood, Maine, the son of George Washington Verril ...
, alongside Verrill's chief assistant, the
carcinologist
This is a list of notable carcinologists. A carcinologist is a scientist who studies crustaceans or is otherwise involved in carcinology (the science of crustaceans).
References
{{Reflist, 24em
Carcinologists, .
Lists of zoologists, Carcino ...
Sidney Irving Smith
Sidney Irving Smith (February 18, 1843, in Norway, Maine – May 6, 1926, in New Haven, Connecticut) was an American zoologist.
Private life
Sidney Smith was the son of Elliot Smith and Lavinia Barton. His brother in law was Addison Emery Verri ...
. Rathbun helped label, sort and record Smith's specimens, and worked on crustaceans ever since.
For three years, Rathbun worked on a voluntary basis for her brother, before being granted a clerkship by
Spencer Fullerton Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, Herpetology, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He ...
at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
.
After 28 years of working at the museum, Rathbun was promoted to assistant
curator
A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
in charge of the Division of Crustacea.
In 1915, after her retirement, the Smithsonian Institution designated Rathbun an "Honorary Research Associate," and in 1916 she was granted an
honorary master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
by the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
. She qualified for a
Ph.D. at
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
in 1917.
Rathbun was a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
, the
Washington Academy of Sciences, and the
Wild Flower Preservation Society.
Rathbun died in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, on April 4, 1943,
at the age of 82, from complications associated with a
broken hip.
Publications
Rathbun's first publication was co-written with
James Everard Benedict and concerned the genus ''
Panopeus''; it was published in 1891.
She officially retired on December 31, 1914, but did not stop working until her death.
Her largest work was ('Freshwater Crabs'), which was originally intended as a single publication, but was eventually published in three volumes between 1904 and 1906.
She wrote or cowrote 166 papers in total, including
descriptions of 1147 new species and subspecies, 63 new
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
, one subfamily, 3 families and a superfamily, as well as other
nomenclatural novelties.
The taxa first described by Rathbun include important commercial species such as the Atlantic blue crab ''
Callinectes sapidus
''Callinectes sapidus'' (from the Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek ,"beautiful" + , "swimmer", and Latin , "savory"), the blue crab, Atlantic blue crab, or, regionally, the Maryland blue crab, is a species of crab native to the waters of t ...
'', and the tanner crab, ''
Chionoecetes bairdi''.
Taxa
A number of taxa have been named in honor of Mary J. Rathbun:
*''
Hamatoscalpellum rathbunae''
(Pilsbry, 1907)
*''
Maera rathbunae''
Pearse, 1908
*''
Paromola rathbuni''
Porter Mosso, 1908
*''
Synalphaeus rathbunae''
Coutiere, 1909
*''
Candidiopotamon rathbunae''
De Man, 1914
*''
Pasiphaea rathbunae''
(Stebbing, 1914)
*''
Petrolisthes rathbunae''
Schmitt, 1916
*''
Periclimenes rathbunae''
Schmitt, 1924
*''
Alpheus rathbunae''
(Schmitt, 1924)
*''
Campylonotus rathbunae''
Schmitt, 1926
*''
Callinectes rathbunae''
Contreras, 1930
*''
Eriosachila rathbunae''
Maury, 1930
*''
Tritodynamia rathbunae''
Shen, 1932
*''
Sacculina rathbunae''
Boschma, 1933
*''
Pinnixa rathbunae''
Sakai, 1934
*''
Emerita rathbunae''
Schmitt, 1935
*''
Callianassa rathbunae''
Schmitt, 1935
*''
Solenocera rathbunae''
Ramadan, 1938
*''
Thunor rathbunae''
Armstrong, 1949
*''
Lysmata rathbunae''
Chace, 1970
*''
Xanthias rathbunae''
Takeda, 1976
*''
Cyphocarcinus rathbunae''
Griffin & Tranter, 1986
*''
Asterias rathbunae''
Britajev, 1989
*''
Lophaxius rathbunae''
Kensley, 1989
*''
Rhynchocinetes rathbunae''
Okuno, 1996
*''
Palaeopinnixa rathbunae''
Schweitzer & Feldmann, 2000
*''
Marratha''
Ng & Clark, 2003
See also
*
Timeline of women in science
This is a timeline of women in science, spanning from ancient history up to the 21st century. While the timeline primarily focuses on women involved with natural sciences such as astronomy, biology, chemistry and physics, it also includes women f ...
References
External links
Mary Jane Rathbun Papers, 1886-1938 and undatedfrom the
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an institutional archives and library system comprising 21 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. The Libraries and Archives serve Smithsonian Institution ...
*
Bionomia profile showing specimens collected and/or identified by Rathbone, and the science enabled
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathbun, Mary J.
1860 births
1943 deaths
American carcinologists
American women zoologists
Smithsonian Institution people
George Washington University alumni
Scientists from Buffalo, New York
19th-century American zoologists
20th-century American zoologists
19th-century American women scientists
20th-century American women scientists
19th-century American women writers
20th-century American women writers
19th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers