Samuel Frederick Hildebrand (August 15, 1883 – March 16, 1949) was an American

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 ...

Life and work

Hildebrand was the son of German-born parents who immigrated to the United States in 1864. From 1908 to 1910 he worked as an assistant to

Seth Eugene Meek Seth Eugene Meek (April 1, 1859, Hicksville, Ohio – July 6, 1914, Chicago) was an American ichthyologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. He was the first compiler of a book on Mexican freshwater fishes. Together with his ass ...

at the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

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. In 1910 he received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from Indiana State Normal School and became a research associate at the

United States Bureau of Fisheries United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

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, where he remained until 1914. From 1910 to 1912 he undertook, with Meek, two collecting expeditions to Panama from which he published ''The Fishes of the Fresh Waters of Panama'' (1916) and ''The Marine Fishes of Panama'' (1923). From 1914 to 1918 he was head of the U.S. Fisheries Biological Station at

Beaufort, North Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, South Carolina) is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina ( ...

. In 1918 he studied

mosquito control Mosquito control manages the population of mosquitoes to reduce their damage to human health, economies, and enjoyment. Control strategies range from habitat modification and chemical insecticides to biological agents and mechanical traps. Clim ...

by small fish in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

. From 1918 to 1919 he was director of the U.S. Fisheries Biological Station in

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

. From 1919 to 1925 he worked as an ichthyologist at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries in Washington, D.C. From 1920 to 1924 he was a consultant and investigator with the

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...

. In 1924 he went with the fish farmer Fred J. Foster on an expedition to Central America. From 1925 to 1931 he was again director of the U.S. Fisheries Biological Station, Beaufort, North Carolina. From 1931 to 1949 he worked as a senior ichthyologist at the Bureau of Fisheries. In 1935 and 1937 he made two further collecting expeditions to Panama. In 1949 the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

posthumously honored him with its Distinguished Service Award. Hildebrand's research focused on the life of turtles, mosquito control and the life of

fish larvae Ichthyoplankton (from Greek: wikt:ἰχθύς, ἰχθύς, , "fish"; and πλαγκτός, , "drifter") are the Fish eggs, eggs and larvae of fish. They are mostly found in the sunlit zone of the water column, less than 200 metres deep, which ...

, the early development of North American fish, studies on the Central American ichthyofauna, marine fishes in eastern North America, Panama and Peru, and revisions within the herring family. Furthermore, Hildebrand was involved in the standard work ''Fishes of the Western North Atlantic''.

Works (selection)

*''The Fishes of the Fresh Waters of Panama'', 1916 (with Seth Eugene Meek) *''The Marine Fishes of Panama'', 1923 (with Seth Eugene Meek) *''Fishes of Chesapeake Bay'', 1928 (with William Charles Schroeder) *''Cold-blooded Vertebrates: Part I. Fishes'', 1930 (with Charles Whitney Gilmore &

Doris Mable Cochran Doris Mable Cochran (May 18, 1898 – May 22, 1968) was an American herpetologist and custodian of the American Natural Collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for many years. Life Born in North Girard, Pennsylvania, she g ...

) * Document no. 1093. (with Louella E. Cable) * *''A Descriptive Catalog of the Shore Fishes of Peru'', 1946

Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by Samuel Frederick Hildebrand

Taxon named in his honor

*The dwarf pipefish '' Cosmocampus hildebrandi'' (

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

, 1965) was named for him.

References

*Elmer Higgins
''Samuel Frederick Hildebrand as a Government Scientist''
in ''

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 ...

'' Vol 1950, No. 1 (Mar. 30, 1950), pp. 8–11 *Leonard P. Schultz
''Samuel Frederick Hildebrand''
in ''Copeia'' Vol 1950, No. 1 (Mar. 30, 1950), pp. 2–7

External links

* Charles H. Smith

Department of Library Public Services, Western Kentucky University {{DEFAULTSORT:Hildebrand, Samuel Frederick 1883 births 1949 deaths People from Pike County, Indiana Indiana State University alumni American ichthyologists United States Fish and Wildlife Service personnel 20th-century American zoologists