Mr Longman’s hunter and collector: J. Edgar Young and the Queensland Museum

J. Edgar Young (1871–1956) was a Queensland field naturalist who was well known in his day. He assisted Hubert Wilkins on his Australian collecting expedition for the British Museum in 1923, and then became an honorary collector for the Queensland Museum. This was at a time when the museum did not have the staff or resources for collecting specimens, relying on public assistance. Young ranged widely throughout Queensland for some 20 years collecting fauna and flora, taking part in official expeditions to the Low Isles on the Great Barrier Reef and the Carnarvon Ranges. Most significantly, he discovered the most complete specimen of a Cretaceous ichthyosaur (Platypterygius australis) near Hughenden. Young was a prolific contributor to natural history activities in Queensland, and his fossil discovery has greatly assisted palaeontological understanding of the Australian Ichthyosauria. This paper traces Young’s life and career, his travels, contributions and achievements.