Gary Allan Polis (1946 – March 27, 2000) was an arachnologist and the world's leading expert on scorpions.

"[2] Polis was the subject of the book Scorpion Man by Laurence Pringle.

In 1998, Polis became Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis, a post he held until his death in 2000.

Polis died in a seastorm in the Sea of Cortez during an ecological expedition.

[4] On the expedition in the Sea Of Cortez were colleagues from Japan, one of whom also died in the accident.