Maureen Elizabeth Downey (May 1, 1921 – May 14, 2000) 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 worked for three decades at the Smithsonian

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...

. Known as "The Starfish Lady," she was an authority on

sea stars A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

and other

echinoderm An echinoderm () is any animal of the phylum Echinodermata (), which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers, as well as the sessile sea lilies or "stone lilies". While bilaterally symmetrical as ...

s, co-founding the International Echinoderm Conference in 1972. Among her discoveries is ''Midgardia xandaros'', the world's largest starfish.

Early life and education

Maureen Downey was born 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 ...

, in 1921. She had an early fascination with animal biology, bringing insect specimens to be identified at the

. She studied 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 ...

, then

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

's Friday Harbor Laboratories.

Career

Downey was an international authority on echinoderms, particularly sea stars, earning her the nickname "The Starfish Lady." While she occasionally studied other groups, such as

brittle star Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...

s, her work primarily focused on sea stars. Her work with echinoderms began in the 1940s, when she worked briefly at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. She began her career in Washington, D.C., serving as a civil servant at the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

and later at the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

. In 1957, she joined the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History as a secretary. Over time, she transitioned to a museum technician role, focusing on echinoderms. Her dedication and expertise led to a promotion to museum specialist, where she conducted research on starfish and improved the accessibility of the museum's echinoderm collection. She also authored two comprehensive catalogs, covering

echinoids Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

and ophiuroids found in major collections throughout North America, during her 30-year tenure at the museum. In 1967, she co-founded the ''Echinoderm Newsletter'', and in 1972 she co-organized the first International Echinoderm Conference at the National Museum of Natural History. Downey discovered several new species of sea stars, notably the deep-water ', which was confirmed as the world's biggest starfish. In 1992, she published the book ''Starfishes of the Atlantic''. Co-written with Ailsa McGown Clark, it became a classic of the field. She retired in 1987 to San Juan Island, where she lived until her death in 2000 at age 79.

Publications

* 1967 - ''Astronebris tatafilius'' (Euryalae: Asteronychidae), a new genus and species of Ophiuroid from the Aleutians, with a revised key to the family Asteronychidae. ''Proceedings of The Biological Society of Washington'' 80: 41–45
BHL
* 1968 - A note on the Atlantic species of the starfish genus ''Linckia''. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 81: 41–44
BHL
* 1968 - Catalog of recent Echinoid type specimens in the U.S. National Museum Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University. ''Bulletin of the United States National Museum'' 264: 1-99
BHL
* 1969 - Catalog of recent Ophiuroid type specimens in major collections in the United States. ''Bulletin of the United States National Museum'' 293: 1–239
BHL
* 1970 - Zorocallida, New Order, and ''Doraster constellatus'', New Genus and Species, with Notes on the Zoroasteridae (Echinodermata; Asteroidea). ''Smithsonian contributions to Zoology'' 64: 1–18
SI-repository
* 1970 - ''Drachmaster bullisi'' new genus and species of Ophidiasteridae (Echinodermata, Asteroidea), with a key to the Caribbean species of the family. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 83(6): 77–82
BHL
* 1970 - ''Marsipaster acicula'', new species (Asteroidea: Echinodermata), from the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 83(28): 309–312
BHL
* 1971 - A new species of the genus ''Solaster'' (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 84(4): 39–42
BHL
* 1971 - Two new species of the genus ''Tamaria'' (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the Tropical Western Atlantic. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 84(5): 43–50
BHL
* 1971 - ''Ampheraster alaminos'', a new species of the family Asteriidae (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the Gulf of Mexico. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 84(6): 51–54
BHL
* 1972 - ''Midgardia xandaros'' new genus, new species, a large brisingid starfish from the Gulf of Mexico. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 84(48): 421–426
BHL
* 1973 - Starfishes from the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. ''Smithsonian contributions to Zoology'' 126: 1–158
SI-repository
* 1975 - Asteroidea from Malpelo Island with a description of a new species of the genus ''Tamaria''. in: . The biological investigation of Malpelo Island, Colombia. ''Smithsonian contributions to Zoology'' 176: 86–90
SI-repository
* 1977 - with . On the genera ''Echinaster'' Mueller and Troschel, and ''Othilia'' Gray, and the validity of ''Verrillaster'' Downey. (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 90(4): 829–830
BHL
* 1979 - ''Pythonaster pacificus'' n.sp. a new starfish of the family Myxasteridae (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 92(1): 70–74
BHL
* 1979 - ''Hymenaster kieri'', a new species of starfish of the family Pterasteridae (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 92(4): 801–803
BHL
* 1980 - ''Floriaster maya'', new genus and species of the family Goniasteridae. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 93(2): 346–349
BHL
* 1981 - A new goniasterid seastar, ''Evoplosoma scorpio'' (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), from the northeastern Atlantic. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 94(2): 561–563
BHL
* 1982 - ''Evoplosoma virgo'', a new goniasterid starfish (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the Gulf of Mexico. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 95(4): 772–773
BHL
* 1986 - Revision of the Atlantic Brisingida (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), with description of a new genus and family. ''Smithsonian contributions to Zoology'' 435: 1-57
SI-repository
* 1992 - with Ailsa McGown Clark. Starfishes of the Atlantic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Maureen 1921 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American zoologists American women zoologists 20th-century American women scientists American marine biologists Smithsonian Institution people George Washington University alumni Scientists from Washington, D.C. Duke University alumni University of Washington alumni