Clark Hubbs (March 15, 1921 – February 3, 2008) was an American ichthyologist who was professor of zoology at the University of Texas from 1963 until he accepted emeritus status in 1991.
The Hubbs family undertook trips to Arkansas, Florida, and the Great Basin where they collected zoological specimens.
His brother, Earl, became a biology teacher and his sister, Frances, married the ichthyologist Robert Rush Miller.
[2] Their father set up a system of "allowances" for each of the children based on their success at collecting specimens; 5 cents for each species with an additional $1 if it was thought to be a taxon new to science, and $5 if it proved to be a new genus, with the last new genera being found in Nevada in 1934 and 1938.
He also trained over 40 masters and doctorate students in his time at the University of Texas, including Victor G. Springer and Kirk Winemiller.
[1] He was an environmentalist and fought to protect freshwater ecosystems, appearing as a witness in court cases affecting water supply, canals and dams, for example he was an expert witness in the lawsuit over the Edwards Aquifer which saw the establishment of the Edwards Aquifer Authority to ensure that the spring flows were enough to conserve the habitat of the endangered fishes, the San Marcos gambusia and the fountain darter.
He also worked on the Texas Utilities Environmental Steering Committee, Rio Grande Fishes Recovery Team, Hubbs Sea World Research Institute, the University of Texas Marine Sciences Institute, and the southwestern division of the Environmental Defense Fund.
However, they realized that an electronic format would reach more people and so The Fishes of Texas Online project began.