Robert Henry Pulleine (7 June 1869 – 13 June 1935) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and naturalist, who was known internationally for his studies of Australian trapdoor spiders. Pulleine was born in

Picton, New Zealand Picton ( mi, Waitohi) is a town in the Marlborough Region of New Zealand's South Island. The town is located near the head of the Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui, north of Blenheim and west of Wellington. Waikawa lies just north-east o ...

and spent much of his childhood in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. In 1881 his family moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. He studied medicine in Adelaide, Sydney and, later, in Germany and Britain, eventually becoming an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist, setting up as a consultant in Adelaide. He married Ethel Constance Louise Cunningham Williams in 1899, with whom he had a son and four daughters. Pulleine had a deep interest in natural history as well as in anthropology. He belonged to 18 learned societies and published numerous articles and scientific papers on medical, zoological, botanical and other topics. With

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of sp ...

William Joseph Rainbow William Joseph Rainbow (1856–1919) was an entomologist and arachnologist whose work includes the first catalogue of Australian spiders. Life Rainbow was born in 1856 in Yorkshire, England. His father was a Warrant Officer in the Royal Marines, ...

, he described several species of trapdoor spiders.

References

1869 births 1935 deaths People from Picton, New Zealand People from Adelaide Australian medical doctors Australian arachnologists Australian naturalists {{Australia-scientist-stub