Women of Cryptozoology: Eugenie Clark
Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 10th, 2007
Eugenie Clark (1922 - ) served on the board of directors of the now-defunct International Society of Cryptozoology (ISC), and continues to maintain an interest in ichthyological cryptids and mysteries.
A well-known diver and scientist, Clark has explored the underwater world of many seas. She became famous through a popular series of Scholastic paperback books, Shark Lady: True Story of Eugenie Clark, Lady with a Spear, Further Adventures of Shark Lady Eugenie Clark , and The Desert Beneath the Sea, often done by or with her frequent diving companion Ann McGovern.
Among many biographies published about Eugenie Clark today, an early critic’s favorite for youth was Eugenie Clark and the Sleeping Sharks.
Clark’s many adventures include diving into caves in Mexico to study “sleeping” sharks, discovering a Red Sea fish that keeps large sharks away, and proving that sharks have intelligence and good memory.
Intriguingly, Clark’s interest in the oceans did not come from living seaside. She was born and raised in New York City. Her interest in fish began when she was nine years old and visited the aquarium.
Clark’s involvement with cryptozoology goes back decades. She maintains a passionate interest in discoveries of new species of fish.
The following fishes have been named after Clark:
1978 Callogobius clarki (Goren) - Family Gobiidae
1980 Sticharium clarkae (George and Springer) - Family Clinidae
1982 Enneapterygius clarkae (Holleman) - Family Tripterygiidae
1987 Atrobucca geniae (Ben-Tuvia and Trewavas) - Family Scienidae,
Today, Clark is a professor emerita and senior research scientist in the Department of Zoology at the University of Maryland. A world-famous ichthyologist who began her studies on the behavior and reproductive isolating mechanisms of fresh-water aquarium fishes, Clark later combined her love for diving with the study of marine fishes: first hard-hat diving and snorkeling, then using scuba and submersibles, including ROVs. Clark studied shark behavior in the deep sea from submersibles at depths of 1,000 to 12,000 feet, conducting 71 dives off Grand Cayman, Bermuda, the Bahamas, California, and Japan to study the behavior, movements, and population density of large deep sea fishes.
Noncryptozoological, mainstream descriptions of Eugenie Clark’s life is found here and here.
Eugenie Clark is so well-known, she has had a building named after her in 1988, the Eugenie Clark Home Room building at the Pine View Elementary School, Sarasota, Florida.
Nevertheless, one does not have to dive too deeply to discover cryptozoology surfaced during her university days. During her active teaching at the University of Maryland College Park, she taught Zoology 299A, “Sea Monsters and Deep Sea Sharks,” seven semesters from 1991-1999 to between 111 to 191 students, as well as Honors 128, “Sea Monsters and Deep Sea Sharks,” 1991-96, to 25 to 59 students and Honors 228, “Sea Monsters and Deep Sea Sharks,” 1991-1999, to 20 students.
Clark’s scientific writings began in 1947, with, “Notes on the inflating mechanism of the swell shark, Cephaloscyllium uter,” in Copeia, No. 4: 278-280. Besides Clark’s involvement with the ISC’s publication Cryptozoology, she also is listed as one of the coauthors (Pierce, S.K., Smith, G.N., Clark, E. and Maugel, T.) in 1994, for the article, “On the giant octopus (Octopus giganteus) and the Bermuda blob: homage to A.E. Verrill,” in Biological Bulletin, 188: 219-230.
Her extensive resume (current to 1999) is visible online here.
Clark has four children, named Hera, Aya, Tak and Niki Konstantinou.
Her daughter Hera Konstantinou continues the family’s diving tradition and watery links. Hera Konstantinou is a member of the faculty at the Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, and openly maintains an interest in Mermaids.
- Similar Phenomena:
She’s always been a favourite of mine, although I never read any of those children’s books as a kid. I can only assume that they came out after I had grown up, as I was a voracious reader on all things shark, dinosaur, or cryptozoological (Not that I knew of the term back then) when I was in grade school.
It doesn’t surprise me at all that she has CZ interests, as she always struck me as being a very open-minded scientist. Indeed, I think that’s one of the main things that makes her such a good scientist in the first place.
Along with Valerie Taylor, Eugenie Clark is my favourite female diver. What a great lady. It’s wonderful that she has a big interest in cryptzoology as well.
I remember her working with the late great Jacques Cousteau in the study of sharks and their behavior in National Geographic and on his tv series. Truly a remarkable woman and exemplary marine scientist. Thanks for the great bio.
Fabulous lady. I met her during the work being done with the female Tektite team. Those were the days of really pushing the exploration envelope. Only one thing she did that I didn’t care for and that was the stunt with the Jim suit for TV. Of course she probably had nothing to do with the outcome of that.