Richard Willan

Our subject matter expert

Dr. Richard C. Willan has been studying nudibranchs for almost 40 years. He obtained his B.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Auckland studying the taxonomy and ecology of side-gilled sea slugs and sea hares. He then crossed the "ditch" as the Tasman Sea is popularly called to join the staff of the Zoology Department at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. After 12 years there, he moved into the tropics to take up the Curatorship in Molluscs at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin. He is a keen and still active diver. His research deals with the names (nomenclature), relationships (taxonomy) and evolutionary lineages (phylogeny) of nudibranchs (and other opisthobranchs - like bubble snails, sea hares, sap suckers and side-gilled sea slugs). He has published four books and numerous scientific papers on nudibranchs. Most recently he wrote the book "Undersea Jewels: A Colour Guide to Nudibranchs" with Gary Cobb. He has prepared several applications on the names of nudibranchs to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. He has supervised several postgraduate students working on research projects associated with nudibranchs.
 
Richard Willan has authored or assisted in naming the following species:
And also described:

Suprafamilial-level:
Cladobranchia Willan & Morton, 1984
Dexiarchia Schrödl, Wägele & Willan, 2001
Nudipleura Wägele & Willan, 2001

Genus level:
Anidolyta Willan, 1987 (Tylodinidae)
Bathyberthella Willan, 1983 (Pleurobranchidae)
Following species are named after Richard Willan:
Richard Willan has helped Nudi Pixel verifying identification of 7413 specimens
Contributes 1 photo to Nudi Pixel.