Edgar Frederick Riek
Edgar Frederick Riek (born May 1, 1920 in New Zealand , † February 9, 2016 in Canberra ) was an Australian zoologist and paleontologist .
Riek grew up on a farm in Queensland (in Caboolture ) and attended school in Brisbane . He studied geology and zoology at the University of Queensland in evening classes while he was also a laboratory assistant there. He received his bachelor's degree in 1944 and his master's degree in 1946, specializing in freshwater crabs. He was a zoology demonstrator at the university and went to Canberra in late 1945 to work as an entomologist for the Australian research organization CSIRO, which he did until 1978.
He dealt specifically with decapods, stone flies, and mayflies, and described numerous new species of freshwater crabs.
In 1953 he first described the fossil insect Choristotanyderus nanus from the Permian of New South Wales , a transitional form between Mecoptera (beaked flies ) and Diptera (two-winged flies ) and belonging to the extinct order Protodiptera . The species still had four wings, but the rear ones were receded.
In 1971 he received an honorary doctorate (D.Sc.) for his work on fossil insects. In 1996 he received an Order of Australia Medal.
Fonts (selection)
- Further Triassic insects from Brookvale, New South Wales (orders Orthoptera Saltatoria, Protorthoptera, Perlaria). Records of the Australian Museum, Vol. 23, No. 4, 1954, pp. 161-168
- Merostomoidea (Arthropoda, Trilobitomorpha) from the Australian Middle Triassic. Records of the Australian Museum, Volume 26, No. 13, 1964, pp. 327-332
- Four-winged Diptera from the Upper Permian of Australia, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, Volume 101, 1976, pp. 250-255.
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Riek, Edgar Frederick |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian zoologist and paleontologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Zealand |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 9, 2016 |
| Place of death | Canberra |