Nicolas Pike

Nicolas Pike (January 26, 1818 – April 11, 1905) was an American consul and a naturalist.

Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, he studied at Latin High School. He was named after his uncle; Nicholas Pike, a mathematician. He moved to New York in 1839 and worked as a paper hanger.

He served as consul in Oporto, Portugal. Edward Newton was the British official on the island and a bird enthusiast.

He painted fish and collected specimens that are now part of collections at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, the Mauritius Herbarium, and the American Museum of Natural History. He documented fish species in the Western Indian Ocean habitat around Mauritius and neighboring islands.

He imported English sparrows and introduced them in New York.

Pomacentrus pikei, a damselfish, is named for him.