Victor Gruschka Springer (June 2, 1928 – September 18, 2022) was an American biologist who was a Senior Scientist emeritus, Division of Fishes 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 ...

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 ...

. He was a specialist in the anatomy, classification, and distribution of fishes, with a special interest in tropical marine shorefishes. He published numerous scientific studies on these subjects; also, a popular book called "Sharks in Question, the Smithsonian Answer Book" 1989.

Education

Springer gained his first degree, B.A. in biology at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in 1948. His M.S. in botany at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

in 1954 was followed by his Ph.D. in zoology at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

in 1957.

Research interests

Springer's research interests included the classification, evolution, and biogeography of fishes, especially marine fishes and notably Blennioid fishes. He was also interested in late 19th and 20th Century scientific illustrators of fishes such as Charles Bradford Hudson

Death

Springer died on September 18, 2022, at the age of 94.

Selected publications

Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by Victor G. Springer

Taxon named in his honor

*'' Biwia springeri'' ( Bănărescu & Nalbant 1973) was named in honor of Springer who collected the type specimen. *The Springer's dragonet, '' Synchiropus springeri'' R. Fricke, 1983 was named after him as it was he who collected the type specimens during his Fiji Islands Expedition in 1982 and loaned them and many other specimens to describer Fricke for examination. *The Springer's barbelgoby, '' Gobiopsis springeri'', is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

goby The Gobioidei are a suborder of percomorph fish. Many of these fishes are called gobies. It is by far the largest and most diverse order within the order Gobiiformes, and one of the most diverse groups of ray-finned fish in general. The subord ...

found in the Western Central

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Springer, Victor G. 1928 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American biologists Scientists from Jacksonville, Florida