Person

Clark, John (1885 - 1956)

Born
21 March 1885
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Died
1 June 1956
Mooroolbark, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Entomologist

Summary

John Clark was an entomologist who for many years was one of Australia's few authorities on ants, but whose research was hampered by a lack of formal education. His research centred on the Dorylinae, Myrmeciinae and Dolichoderini. He is noted for having described the world's most primitive living ant, Nothomyrmecia. For some years he worked as Entomologist with the National Museum of Victoria which in1933 purchased his collection of over 8,000 ant specimens. Clark's The Formicidae of Australia, volume 1 (1951), produced with CSIRO funding and after an unfortunate editorial process, was not well received because of difficulties with the key and synonymy. His later collection of ants was deposited after his death with the Australian National Insect Collection where it formed the nucleus of the Formicid collection. Several species of ants have been named in his honour.

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Details

Chronology

1905
Life event - Migrated to Queensland
1920 - 1926
Career position - Assistant Entomologist, Western Australian Department of Agriculture
1926 - 1944
Career position - Entomologist, National Museum of Victoria

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Clark, J. S., The Formicidae of Australia (volume 1): subfamily Myrmeciinae (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1951), 230 pp. Details

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Brown, W. L., 'John Clark', Entomological News, 67 (8) (1956), 197-9. Details
  • Clark, J,, 'Australian Formicidae: notes and new species', Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, 12 (1941), 71-94. Details
  • Clark, J., 'Ants from the Otway Ranges', Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, 8 (1934), 48-73. Details
  • Clark, J., 'A revision of the genus Promyrmecia Emery (Formicidae)', Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, 13 (1943), 83-149. Details
  • Greaves, T., 'Obituary: John Clark', Australian Journal of Science, 19 (1) (1956), 23. Details

Resources

See also

  • Upton, M. S., A Rich and Diverse Fauna: the history of the Australian National Insect Collection 1926 - 1991 (Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, 1997), 386 pp. Details

Helen Cohn

Created: 28 November 2017, Last modified: 3 July 2018

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