C. Richard Robins

Charles Richard Robins (November 25, 1928 – November 12, 2020) was an American academic, environmentalist and ichthyologist.

Early life and university Robins was born on November 25, 1928, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Helen Ayers Robins and Claude Revere Robins, a jewellery wholesaler (and eventual Mayor of Harrisburg), As a child Robins developed an interest in natural history, particularly birds. This early ornithological interest was apparently encouraged by George M. Sutton, the Pennsylvania State Ornithologist. Robins enjoyed the writings of the celebrated ornithologist Arthur Augustus Allen of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Robins wanted to study under Allen, so he went to Cornell in 1946, However, by that time the biology department had begun to move from concentrating on ornithology to ichthyology led by Edward C. Raney. Nevertheless, Robins finished his Ph.D. thesis in 1955, revising the eastern North American sculpins which were classified in the two species groups around Cottus bairdii and C. carolinae. However, he remained interested in birds for the rest of his life. living on 25 acres of land near Lawrence, Kansas, keeping a variety of pets and livestock. Robins was able to continue to work for several years as Professor Emeritus in ichthyology at the University of Kansas.

Legacy 10 species of fishes are named in honor of Robins, including a shark, a moray eel, a grenadier, a cusk eel, a cardinalfish, a basslet, a jawfish, a goby, a flounder, and a sea robin. As well as these, five species have been given the specific name “robinsorum” to honor both Robins and his wife at the same time. He was also honored in the names of the goby genus Robinsichthys and Robinsia, a monotypic genus of false morays, the only species, R. catherineae, was named for Catherine.

Following Robins retirement from the University of Miami Marine Laboratory, the support of the collection of 33,000 fish specimens he created ceased. The Florida Museum of Natural History realised the importance of this collection and consented to take over its upkeep. Dick Robins's son, Rob, also an ichthyologist, curates the collection at the museum.

Family Robins and Catherine had been married for 55 years. They had three children: Catherine Elaine, an author of fantasy and science fiction under the pen name Elaine Lane; Robert Hale, ichthyology collection manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History; and Colin Richard, a professor of soil science at Claremont McKenna College in California. Robins died of natural causes on November 12, 2020.