Thora Whitehead
Thora Patricia Whitehead was an Australian scientific collector and malacologist. She collected more than 200,000 shell specimens which are now held in the Queensland Museum.
Life and work
With Kevin Lamprell, Whitehead co-wrote the two-volume Bivalves of Australia. She also edited Lamprell's book, Spondylus: Spiny oyster shells of the world, in 1986.Whitehead spent over 50 years collecting shells, particularly along the coast of Queensland. She found specimens in mangrove forests and on beaches, rocky outcrops and coral reefs.
In the process of photographing the specimens prior to acquisition of Whitehead's extensive shell collection by the Queensland Museum, its curator John Healy discovered a new species. He named it Amoria thorae in her honour.