Biography.guide
Home › People › Zoologist › John Ernest Randall
Portrait of John Ernest Randall

John Ernest Randall

1924 – 2020

American ichthyologist

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About John Ernest Randall

Lived 1924 – 2020 (aged 95). John Ernest Randall was an American zoologist, ichthyologist, biologist, curator, university teacher and scientific collector.

John Ernest "Jack" Randall (May 22, 1924 – April 26, 2020) was an American ichthyologist and a leading authority on coral reef fishes. Randall described over 800 species and authored 11 books and over 900 scientific papers and popular articles. He spent most of his career working in Hawaii. He died in April 2020 at the age of 95.

Career John Ernest Randall was born in Los Angeles, California in May 1924, to John and Mildred (McKibben) Randall. received his BA degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1950. In 1955 he earned his Ph.D in ichthyology from the University of Hawaii. alongside C. Richard Robins who remained there for his career. From 1961 to 1965 he worked as Professor of Zoology and also, from 1962 to 1965, as the director of the Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Puerto Rico. From 1965 to 1966 he served as the director of the Pacific Foundation of Marine Research's Oceanic Institute, Makapuu Point, Hawaii. From 1966 to 1984 he worked as an ichthyologist at the Bishop Museum, becoming chairman of the museum's zoology department in 1975 He concurrently served as a marine biologist at the Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii.

In 2005 he was awarded the first Bleeker Award in Systematic Ichthyology at the Seventh Indo-Pacific Fish Conference in Taipei, Taiwan.

Works Fishes of the Gilbert Islands, Atoll Res. Bull. 1955, No. 47 (xi - 243 pp.), Pac. Sci, Bd., Nat. Acad. Sci., Wash D. C. A Contribution to the Biology of the Acanthuridae (Surgeon Fishes) (1955, in Issue 10 of Theses for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Hawaii (Honolulu)) A review of the labrid fish genus Labroides, with descriptions of two new species and notes on ecology. Pac. Sci. Let a Sleeping Shark Lie, 1961 Three New Butterflyfishes (chaetodontidae) from Southeast Oceania, 1975 (with Henri Lavondès) Les noms de poissons marquisiens, 1978 (with Roger Lubbock) Three New Labrid Fishes of the Genus Cirrhilabrus from the Southwestern Pacific (in Volume 25, Issue 2 of Occasional papers of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Polynesian Ethnology and Natural History, Bishop Museum Press, 1982) Caribbean Reef Fishes, 1983 Pomacanthus Rhomboides (Gilchrist and Thompson), the Valid Name for the South African Angelfish Previously Known as Pomacanthus Striatus (J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, 1988, ) Coastal Fishes of Oman (1995; ) Shore Fishes of Hawaii (1996; ) Annoted Checklist of the Inshore Fishes of the Ogasawara Islands (in Volume 11 of National Science Museum monographs, National Science Museum, 1997) (with Phillip C. Heemstra) Review of the Indo-Pacific Fish Genus Odontanthias (Serranidae: Anthiinae), with Descriptions of Two New Species and a Related New Genus in Volume 38 of Indo-Pacific fishes, Bishop Museum, 2006 (with Jeffrey W. Johnson) Revision of the soleid fish genus Pardachirus, in Indo-Pacific fishes, Bishop Museum, 2007 (with William N Eschmeyer) Revision of the Indo-Pacific Scorpionfish Genus Scorpaenopsis: With Descriptions of Eight New Species in Indo-Pacific fishes Revision of the Goatfish Genus Parupeneus (Perciformes: Mullidae) with Descriptions of Two New Species in Indo-Pacific fishes (with Phillip C. Heemstra) Review of the Indo-Pacific Fishes of the Genus Odontanthias (Serranidae: Anthiinae), with Descriptions of Two New Species and a Related New Genus in Indo-Pacific fishes (with Margaret M. Smith) A review of the Labrid fishes of the Genus Halichoeres of the Western Indian Ocean, with descriptions of six new species in Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology; No. 45. J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University. (1982; ) (with David W. Greenfield) A preliminary review of the Indo-Pacific Gobiid fishes of the genus Gnatholepis in Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology; No. 69. J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University. (2001; ) Parenti, P. and J.E. Randall, 2000. An annotated checklist of the species of the labroid fish families Labridae and Scaridae. Ichthyol. Bull. J.L.B. Smith Inst. Ichthyol. (68):1-97.

Taxon described by him See :Category:Taxa named by John Ernest Randall

Taxa named in his honor Randall has had over 60 taxa named in his honor, among them are: Assessor randalli Allen & Kuiter, 1976, Randall's assessor or Randall's devilfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Plesiopidae, the longfins or roundheads. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean. Diplogrammus randalli R. Fricke, 1983 (Randall's fold dragonet). Randall's snapper, Randallichthys filamentosus (Fourmanoir, 1970) is a species of ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region. Acanthopagrus randalli, Middle East Black Seabream, Iwatsuki & Carpenter, 2009 Gymnothorax randalli, Randall's moray D. G. Smith & E. B. Böhlke, 1997 Plectranthias randalli Fourmanoir & Rivaton, 1980 is a species of fish in the family Serranidae occurring in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
University of Hawaiʻi System, University of California, Los Angeles
Employers
University of Puerto Rico, University of Miami
Awards
Bleeker award; Darwin Medal
Also known as
John E. Randall, Jack Randall, John E Randall, J E Randall, John Ernest Dr. Randall

People in John Ernest Randall's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped John Ernest Randall's

Frequently asked questions

Who was John Ernest Randall?

American ichthyologist (1924–2020)

When was John Ernest Randall born?

John Ernest Randall was born on 22 May 1924 in Los Angeles.

When did John Ernest Randall die?

John Ernest Randall died on 26 April 2020 in Kaneohe.

What was John Ernest Randall's occupation?

John Ernest Randall was a zoologist, ichthyologist, biologist, curator, university teacher and scientific collector.

What nationality was John Ernest Randall?

John Ernest Randall was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: John Ernest Randall

· Wikidata: Q3181442

· DBpedia: John Ernest Randall

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). John Ernest Randall. https://biography.guide/john-ernest-randall/

MLA: "John Ernest Randall." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/john-ernest-randall/.

Chicago: "John Ernest Randall." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/john-ernest-randall/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:13 UTC