Charles Edwin Clarke (1885 – 17 September 1952) was a New Zealand dentist and amateur entomologist, who specialised in collecting lepidoptera and coleoptera.

Biography

Clarke was born in 1885. ^[1] in Dunedin. ^[2] Clarke worked as a dentist as a profession, and collected specimens as a hobby. Most of Clarke's specimens were collected between the 1910s and 1940s, ^[3] and Clarke published findings in the Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand between 1920 and 1934. ^[4]

In 1915, a moth specimen collected by Clarke from Flagstaff Hill, Dunedin was used by George Howes to describe the moth species Hydriomena clarkei, which Howes named after Clarke. ^[5]

Clarke discovered and identified numerous moth species between 1920 and 1936, including Ericodesma cuneata, Heterocrossa sanctimonea and Asterivora urbana. ^[3] Clarke's specimens were also used by New Zealand entomologists to describe new species, including Edward Meyrick in 1924 describing Atomotricha prospiciens, ^[6] George Hudson to describe Asaphodes glaciata in 1925, ^{[7] [8]} and by entomologist Alfred Philpott, who described Proteodes clarkei in 1926, naming the species after Clarke. ^[9]

In 1929, Clarke donated much of his insect collection to Auckland War Memorial Museum. ^[3] Using Clarke's collections, Philpott described numerous moth species, ^[3] including Archyala culta, Orocrambus clarkei, Paramorpha marginata and Zapyrastra stellata. ^{[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]}

Clarke died on 17 September 1952. ^[1] After his death, Clarke's collection of beetles was acquired by Auckland War Memorial Museum and the British Museum. ^[3]

Over 5,500 specimens by Clarke are found in the collections of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ^[3] In addition to these, Clarke's specimens are found in the Otago Museum, ^[4] Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa ^[15] and the British Museum.

Personal life

Clarke was a close friend of New Zealand coleopterist Ernest Richard Fairburn. ^[4]

Taxa named by Clarke

• Asaphodes citroena (1934)
• Asaphodes ida (1926)
• Asterivora chatuidea (1926)
• Asterivora urbana (1926)
• Ericodesma cuneata (1926)
• Glyphipterix scintilla (1926)
• Heterocrossa sanctimonea (1926)
• Kiwaia calaspidea (1934)
• Mallobathra abyssina (1934)
• Mallobathra cataclysma (1934)
• Mallobathra memotuina (1934)
• Rhathamictis nocturna (1926)
• Sabatinca lucilia (1920)
• Scoparia sylvestris (1926)
• Scoparia tuicana (1926)
• Tatosoma monoviridisata (1920)
• Tinea aetherea (1926)

Bibliography

• Clarke, Charles E. (9 August 1920). "Lepidoptera of Auckland and the King-country". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 52: 36–41. ISSN  1176-6158. Wikidata  Q110226875.
• Charles Edwin Clarke (12 July 1926). "New species of Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 56: 417–421. ISSN  1176-6158. Wikidata  Q63101109.
• Clarke, Charles E. (February 1933). "The Lepidoptera of the Te Anau-Manapouri Lakes Districts". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 63 (2): 112–132. ISSN  1176-6158. Wikidata  Q62934927.
• Clarke, Charles E. (May 1934). "Notes and Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 64: 11–16. ISSN  1176-6166. Wikidata  Q110090429.
• Clarke, Charles E. (1935). "Nymphalidae" (PDF). Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 64: 11–16. ISSN  1176-6166. Wikidata  Q89182281.

References