Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 27, 2026

Ellen Clark

Ellen Clark (1915–1988) was an Australian carcinologist and naturalist, whose work focused on crustaceans and ants Clark studied, named, described and published many of the Australian freshwater crayfish species such as Cherax Destructor. By 1939, she was reported to have identified more than half the known species of Australian crayfish. She conducted research about blood groups in crustaceans and made a significant contribution to the study of crayfish genera. She was the first woman to publish in the Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria.

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Ellen Clark
Ellen Clark, c.1939 source ↗

Ellen Clark (1915–1988) was an Australian carcinologist and naturalist, whose work focused on crustaceans and ants123 Clark studied, named, described and published many of the Australian freshwater crayfish species such as Cherax Destructor.45 By 1939, she was reported to have identified more than half the known species of Australian crayfish.6789 She conducted research about blood groups in crustaceans and made a significant contribution to the study of crayfish genera.101112 She was the first woman to publish in the Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria.4

Ellen Clark's crayfish, Euastacus clarkae, was named after Clark in recognition of her pioneering parastacid studies.13 Clark's work has had a lasting legacy and is still being debated in scientific papers.14

References

References

  1. "Ants Bigger Menace Than Rabbits to Aust.?". Midlands Advocate. Vol. 31, no. 1631. Western Australia. 22 August 1947. p. 1 (Modern Weekly News Magazine). Retrieved 8 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Todayt: Science". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. VIII, no. 38. New South Wales, Australia. 3 August 1947. p. 34. Retrieved 8 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Clark, Ellen (1915-1988)", Trove, 2009, retrieved 8 March 2021
  4. Carey, Jane. "Clark, Ellen (1915-1988)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  5. "Ballarat Anglers in New Role". Weekly Times. No. 3767. Victoria, Australia. 30 August 1941. p. 39. Retrieved 8 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "What Women are Doing". The Australian Women's Weekly. 17 June 1939. p. 46. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  7. "Teach a lesson in geography". The Herald. 17 May 1941.
  8. "Some Curious Yabbies —"Crabs and Potholes"". The Australasian. Vol. CXLV, no. 4, 686. Victoria, Australia. 29 October 1938. p. 47. Retrieved 8 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Crayfish Cause Irrigation Channel Havoc". The Riverine Herald. No. 21, 355. New South Wales, Australia. 20 June 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 8 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Blood- Grouping Ants and Crayfish". Advocate. 26 January 1949. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  11. Clark, Ellen (1938), Tasmanian Parastacidae, retrieved 8 March 2021
  12. Clark, Ellen (1936). "The freshwater and land crayfishes of Australia". Memoirs of the National Museum, Melbourne. 10.
  13. "Euastacus clarkae: McCormack, R.B." IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015. doi:10.2305/iucn.uk.2015-4.rlts.t153666a79360699.en.
  14. Hamr, P (1992), A revision of the Tasmanian freshwater crayfish genus Astacopsis Huxley (Decapoda: Parastacidae), retrieved 8 March 2021