This Day In History: 1994-01-12
John West Wells died this day. A US zoologist and palaeontologist, who studied scleractinia and was considered to be a leading authority on modern and fossil corals. He is honoured in the name of a genus of scleractinian coral, Wellsophyllia, and at least 7 further species as wellsi.
Scleractinia, derived from the Greek, Scler-, sklhros, hard; -actin-, genus Actinia; aktin, aktis, ray, beam; -ia, suffix. Loosely speaking – hard coral.