I was sad to learn that we have lost one of the titans, a true pioneer and who ushered in the golden age of ichthyology, Dr. John “Jack” Randall. His accomplishments are so many but to summarize, he single handedly described close to a thousand species of reef fish and have many fish named after him in his honor.
Look at this image below:
From Yi-Kai Tea’s facebook page, these are some of the fish that he took pictures of that were named after Dr Randall. Plectranthias randalli, Assessor randalli, Johnrandallia nigrirostris, Hoplolatilus randalli, Cirrhilabrus randalli, Pseudanthias randalli, and Amblyeleotris randalli.
His passion for and contributions to how we understand reef fish in a scientific way will always be remembered, appreciated, and cherished. But to me, perhaps his greatest achievement was how he has inspired generations of young ichthyologists around the world to follow in his footsteps.
Dr Randall was also honored by MASNA in 2018 with a MASNA Pioneer Award at MACNA 2018.
You can see on his remembrance page what kind of impact he had in our field, our community, and on those near him. If you knew him and have a story to share, please do share with his friends and family as we celebrate and honor his life and his accomplishments.
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