Thora Whitehead

Thora Patricia Whitehead (27 January 1936 – 30 September 2021) was an Australian scientific collector and malacologist. She collected more than 200,000 shell specimens which are now held in the Queensland Museum.

With Kevin Lamprell, Whitehead co-wrote the two-volume Bivalves of Australia.^[1] She also edited Lamprell's book, Spondylus: Spiny oyster shells of the world, in 1986.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[4][5]

Born in Chile in 1936,^[6] Whitehead died in Brisbane in 2021 aged 85. She was survived by John, her husband of 56 years, and three children.^[7]

A number of species were named in her honour, including Amoria thorae, Callocardia thorae, Conus whiteheadae, Morula whiteheadae, Nassarius whiteheadae and Terebra whiteheadae.^[8]