Jeffrey Williams, PhD
Scientific Diver / Fish Taxonomist
Bio
Jeffrey T. Williams, Ichthyologist and Collections Manager of Fishes at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), manages the largest fish collection in the world and has spent the past 35 years researching the systematics, taxonomy and biogeography of marine fishes, and the interrelationship between the tectonic history of the Indo-Pacific and the geographic distribution of fishes. He received his B.S. from the Florida State University, M.S. from the University of South Alabama and Ph.D. from the University of Florida. He has collected and studied marine fishes around the world and is an authority on the cryptic (hidden) marine fishes, particularly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. He has led/participated on fish collecting expeditions to the Gulf of Mexico, western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Hawaiian Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Philippine Islands, Seychelles, Fiji Islands, Tonga Islands, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Australia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Wallis & Futuna, French Polynesia (Mururoa, Moorea, Rapa, Gambier Archipelago, Marquesas) and Palau. He has been with the NMNH since 1983, where he continues to focus his research on tropical marine fishes from remote and poorly surveyed areas around the world.
