Ray Schmidt

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ay is broadly interested in patterns of evolution and diversity of African freshwater fishes and is an authority on several groups of African fishes. In discovering new species and identifying biodiversity hotspots this research is helping to conserve these threatened freshwater ecosystems. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University (2005) and Master’s in Biology from Texas A&M – Corpus Christi (2008). His PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Tulane University (2014) investigated the historical biogeography of fishes from the upper Guinean forest and surrounding areas in West Africa. In addition to his doctoral research, he surveyed fishes in Guinea, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, and Kenya. He has studied Kenyan fishes since 2010, resulting in discovery and description of many new species in Kenya and across Africa. His postdoctoral research was based in Kenya as a Smithsonian Mpala Postdoctoral Fellow, focusing his research on fish community structure and the effects of ongoing development projects in the Northern Ewaso Ng’iro basin. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Biology at Randolph-Macon College. He is also a research associate in the Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian Institution, a research affiliate at the National Museums of Kenya, and an honorary research associate at the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity.