John S. Clark

John S. Clark (21 March 1885 – 1 June 1956) was a Scottish-born Australian entomologist and myrmecologist known for his study of Australian ants. Born in Glasgow, he developed an interest in entomology at a young age. Clark first arrived in Australia in 1905 and originally worked for the state railways in Queensland. He developed an interest in ants shortly afterwards, collecting his first specimens in North Queensland. He married his first wife, Maggie Forbes in 1908, who bore four children, and died in 1935. He married his second wife, Phyllis Marjorie Claringbulls in 1939 and had two daughters with her. On her suicide in 1943, Clark sent his daughters to an orphanage.

In 1919, Clark worked as the assistant to the entomologist on probation in the Western Australian Department of Agriculture, but in 1920, he took on this position full-time. He started to publish his first articles about pest insects and ants from 1921; in 1926 he became an entomologist at the National Museum in Melbourne, remaining there for 20 years. Clark continued to publish more articles until he resigned from the National Museum of Victoria in 1944. Living in poverty, Clark lived a reclusive life, publishing his last book in 1951. He died on 1 June 1956 at the age of 71. One of Clark's most notable achievements was describing Nothomyrmecia macrops, the most primitive living ant. Several ants have been named after him in recognition of his contributions.

Early life

John S. Clark was born on 21 March 1885 in Glasgow, Scotland, to parents James Souttar Clark, a coach-painter, and Maggie Clark (née Scott). At an early age, Clark had an interest in entomology throughout his years in Glasgow and adult life in Australia. The first collection of Nothomyrmecia was made in December 1931 by Amy Crocker who collected specimens of two worker ants, reportedly near the Russell Range from Israelite Bay in Western Australia. Crocker sent the two specimens to Clark at the museum for study; in 1934, Clark published a formal description of Nothomyrmecia as a completely new genus of the Myrmeciinae. He did so because the two specimens (which then became the syntypes) bore no resemblance to any ant species he knew of, although they did share similar morphological characteristics with the extinct genus Prionomyrmex. After 46 years of searching for it, entomologists have dubbed the ant the "Holy Grail" of myrmecology. Such discovery of Nothomyrmecia and its general nature marks it as one of Clark's most notable achievements. Leptogenys clarki is another ant named after Clark for his contributions towards Australian ants, being described by American entomologist William Morton Wheeler in 1933. Ants he collected that bear his name include Dolichoderus clarki, Plagiolepis clarki and Stigmacros clarki.

Published works Over the course of his career, Clark published over 35 entomological papers. The following publications are found at the Hymenoptera Online Database:

Books

Journals