Robert Rush Miller (April 23, 1916 – February 10, 2003) "was an important figure in American
ichthyology
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, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octob ...
and
conservation from 1940 to the 1990s."
He was born in
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, earned his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
at
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 1938, a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1943, and a
Ph.D. at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1944. He received tenure at the University of Michigan in 1954.
Together with
W. L. Minckley
Wendell Lee Minckley (November 13, 1935 – June 22, 2001) was a college professor and leading expert on fish. He spent most of his career at Arizona State University. In 1963, he with Robert Rush Miller discovered and named the northern platy ...
, he discovered a new species of platyfish, ''
Xiphophorus gordoni
The northern platyfish (''Xiphophorus gordoni'') is a small, endangered species of fish in the family Poeciliidae. It is endemic to the vicinity of Cuatro Ciénegas in the Mexican state of Coahuila. It is restricted to hot-spring heated dit ...
'', that they named in honor of Dr
Myron Gordon. He served as the ichthyological editor of ''
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 fie ...
'' from 1950 to 1955.
Fish described
* ''
Chortiheros wesseli
''Chortiheros wesseli'', is a species of cichlid found in Middle America. It is endemic to fast-flowing waters of the RÃo Papaloteca, RÃo Cangrejal and RÃo Danto in the northern Caribbean coast of Honduras. This species is the only known m ...
'' R. R. Miller 1996 - Cichlid
* ''
Cualac tessellatus'' R. R. Miller 1956 - (Checkered Pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon albivelis
''Cyprinodon'' is a genus of pupfishes found in waters that range from fresh to hypersaline. The genus is primarily found in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and southern United States (Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and ...
''
W. L. Minckley
Wendell Lee Minckley (November 13, 1935 – June 22, 2001) was a college professor and leading expert on fish. He spent most of his career at Arizona State University. In 1963, he with Robert Rush Miller discovered and named the northern platy ...
& R. R. Miller, 2002 (Whitefin pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon alvarezi
Potosi pupfish (''Cyprinodon alvarezi'') is a species of fish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico, but is now extinct in the wild, only surviving in captivity.
Distribution
The Potosi pupfish is endemic to an isolated spri ...
'' R. R. Miller, 1976 (Potosi pupfish)
* ''
†Cyprinodon arcuatus''
W. L. Minckley
Wendell Lee Minckley (November 13, 1935 – June 22, 2001) was a college professor and leading expert on fish. He spent most of his career at Arizona State University. In 1963, he with Robert Rush Miller discovered and named the northern platy ...
& R. R. Miller, 2002 (Santa Cruz pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon atrorus
Bolson pupfish (''Cyprinodon atrorus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinodontidae.
It is endemic to northeastern Mexico, in the RÃo Salado and Cuatro Ciénegas river systems.
See also
*Pupfish
Pupfish are a group of s ...
'' R. R. Miller, 1968 (Bolson pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon bifasciatus
Cuatro Cienegas pupfish (''Cyprinodon bifasciatus'') is a species of fish in the Cyprinodon genus of the family Cyprinodontidae.
It is endemic to the Cuatro Cienegas springs in Coahuila state, northeastern Mexico.
See also
*Pupfish
Pupfi ...
'' R. R. Miller, 1968 (Cuatro Cienegas pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon eremus'' R. R. Miller & Fuiman, 1987 (Sonoyta pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon fontinalis'' M. L. Smith & R. R. Miller, 1980 (Carbonera pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon labiosus'' Humphries & R. R. Miller, 1981 (Thicklip pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon laciniatus'' C. L. Hubbs & R. R. Miller, 1942 (Bahama pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon macrolepis'' R. R. Miller, 1976 (Largescale pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon maya'' Humphries & R. R. Miller, 1981 (Maya pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon meeki'' R. R. Miller, 1976 (Mezquital pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon nazas'' R. R. Miller, 1976 (Nazas pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon nevadensis amargosae'' R. R. Miller, 1948 (Amargosa River pupfish)
* ''
†Cyprinodon nevadensis calidae'' R. R. Miller, 1948 (Tecopa pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon nevadensis mionectes'' R. R. Miller, 1948 (Ash Meadows pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon nevadensis pectoralis
''Cyprinodon'' is a genus of pupfishes found in waters that range from fresh to hypersaline. The genus is primarily found in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and southern United States ( Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklah ...
'' R. R. Miller, 1948 (Warm Springs pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon nevadensis shoshone
The Shoshone pupfish (''Cyprinodon nevadensis shoshone'') is a subspecies of ''Cyprinodon nevadensis'' from California in the United States. It is characterized by large scales and a "slab-sided," narrow, slender body, with the arch of the ventr ...
'' R. R. Miller, 1948 (Shoshone pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon pisteri'' R. R. Miller &
W. L. Minckley
Wendell Lee Minckley (November 13, 1935 – June 22, 2001) was a college professor and leading expert on fish. He spent most of his career at Arizona State University. In 1963, he with Robert Rush Miller discovered and named the northern platy ...
, 2002 (Palomas pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon radiosus'' R. R. Miller, 1948 (Owens pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon salinus
The Death Valley pupfish (''Cyprinodon salinus''), also known as Salt Creek pupfish, is a small species of fish in the family Cyprinodontidae found only in Death Valley National Park, California, United States. There are two recognized subspecie ...
'' R. R. Miller, 1943
* ''
Cyprinodon salinus salinus
''Cyprinodon'' is a genus of pupfishes found in waters that range from fresh to hypersaline. The genus is primarily found in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and southern United States (Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma an ...
'' R. R. Miller, 1943 (Death Valley pupfish, Salt Creek pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon simus
The boxer pupfish (''Cyprinodon simus'') is a small species of pupfish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is endemic to Lake Chichancanab in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
In almost all places, different ''Cyprinodon'' species do not overlap in their ran ...
'' Humphries & R. R. Miller, 1981 (Boxer pupfish)
* ''
Cyprinodon tularosa
The White Sands pupfish (''Cyprinodon tularosa'') is a species of pupfish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is endemic to the Tularosa Basin in southern New Mexico, in the Western United States. They are only found in two springs and two ...
'' R. R. Miller & A. A. Echelle, 1975 (White Sands pupfish)
* ''Xiphophorus gordoni'' Miller and
W. L. Minckley
Wendell Lee Minckley (November 13, 1935 – June 22, 2001) was a college professor and leading expert on fish. He spent most of his career at Arizona State University. In 1963, he with Robert Rush Miller discovered and named the northern platy ...
1963
See also
*
:Taxa named by Robert Rush Miller
Selected publications
*Miller, Robert R. and Minckley, W. L. (1963) "''Xiphophorus gordoni'', A New Species of Platyfish from Coahuila, Mexico" ''Copeia'' 1963(3): pp. 538–546
*Lagler, Karl Frank; Bardach, John E. and Miller, Robert Rush (1962) ''Ichthyology'' University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
OCLC 61070182(textbook)
*Miller, Robert Rush, Wendell L. Minckley, and Steven Mark Norris. Freshwater fishes of Mexico. University of Chicago Press, 2005.
*Hubbs, C. L., and R. R. Miller. 1948. The Great Basin with emphasis on glacial and postglacial times. II. The zoological evidence. Univ. Utah Bull. 38:17-166
*Miller, Robert Rush. Man and the changing fish fauna of the American Southwest. Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters, 1961.
*Miller, R.R. 1972. Threatened Freshwater Fishes of the United States. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 101, 239–252.
References
*Frances M. Cashner, Gerald R. Smith, and Robert C. Cashner (2003) Robert Rush Miller and Frances Hubbs Miller, 2003 Copeia Vol. 2003, pp. 910–916.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Robert Rush
1916 births
American ichthyologists
University of California, Berkeley alumni
University of Michigan alumni
University of Michigan faculty
2003 deaths
Writers from Colorado Springs, Colorado
20th-century American zoologists