Neville Coleman Explained

Neville Coleman OAM (1938 - 4 May 2012) was an Australian naturalist, underwater nature photographer, writer, publisher and educator.

Coleman started scuba diving in 1963, exploring Sydney Harbour. Later he joined a scientific study group and, in 1969, commenced a project aiming to document the entire marine life of Australia, using underwater photography.

His first book, Australian marine fishes in colour, was published in 1974 and he subsequently authored more than 50 books. His books included various texts for scuba divers, shell collectors, amateur naturalists and children, and typically took the forms of field guides, encyclopedias and dive guides. Departures included a collaboration with a poet and CD-ROM companions to printed publications, which included video clips of marine species. His photographs often appeared in publications by other authors on marine subjects.

In 2007 Coleman was inducted to the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame and, in 2011, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for "service to conservation and the environment through the photographic documentation of Australian marine species".^{[1] [2]} Coleman died of natural causes at 4:55am on 4 May 2012, in his sleep.^[2]

Taxon named in his honor

Coleman discovered many marine creatures new to science. Several species of fish, nudibranchs and other invertebrates have been named after him, including:

• The mantis shrimp Lysiosquilla colemani
• The nudibranch Chromodoris colemani
• The pygmy seahorse Hippocampus colemani
• Coleman's melibe or ghost melibe Melibe colemani
• The Sand perch Parapercis colemani^[3]

Legacy

Neville Coleman Memorial Dives are held annually,^[4] with special events including a sea slug photo competition and public art exhibition held in South Australia.

Bibliography

Selected works!Title!Co-author!Year!Publisher!Location!ISBN!Reference

Australian marine fishes in colour		1974	Reed	Sydney
Shell collecting in Australia		1976	Reed	Sydney		^[5]
A field guide to Australian marine life		1977	Rigby	Adelaide		^[6]
A look at the wildlife of the Great Barrier Reef		1978	Bay Books	Rushcutters Bay, NSW		^[7]
Scuba divers introduction to marine biology		1978	Australasian Marine Photographic Index			^[8]
The Australian beachcomber		1979	Collins
Australian sea fishes south of 30s		1980	Doubleday	Sydney
Australian sea fishes north of 30 S		1981	Doubleday	Sydney
Fishes of Victoria		1981	Doubleday	Sydney
The young observer's book of Australian seashells		1982	Methuen Australia	Sydney		^[9]
Harmful fishes of Australia		1982	Doubleday	Sydney
Nudibranchs of Australasia	Richard C. Willan	1984	Australasian Marine Photographic Index	NSW		^[10]
Poetry in pictures: The Great Barrier Reef	Mark O'Connor	1985	Hale & Iremonger	Sydney		^[11]
The underwater Australia dive guide		1987	Nelson	Melbourne		^[12]
Australia's Great Barrier Reef		1990	Child & Associates	NSW		^[13]
Encyclopedia of marine animals		1991	Blandford	London
Australia's sharks & rays		1992	Weldon Publishing	Sydney
Discover underwater Australia		1994	National Book Distributors and Publishers	NSW		^[14]
Sea stars of Australasia and their relatives		1994	Neville Coleman's Underwater Geographic	Springwood, Queensland		^[15]
The dive sites of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Comprehensive coverage of diving and snorkelling		1996	New Holland (Publishers) Ltd.	London, Cape Town, Sydney, Singapore
Marine life of the Maldives		2000	Atoll	Apollo Bay, Victoria
Underwater naturalist		2004	Neville Coleman's Underwater Geographic	Springwood, Queensland		^[16]
Fiji Islands: wildlife guide		2005	Neville Coleman's Underwater Geographic	Springwood, Queensland
Nudibranchs encyclopedia		2008	Neville Coleman's Underwater Geographic	Springwood, Queensland
Nudibranchs encyclopedia - 2nd edition		2015	underwater.com.au and Masalai Press	Australia, USA

External links

• Neville Coleman's website - no longer exists
• Books by Neville Coleman
• National Library of Australia
• Scuba Hall of Fame
• CSIRO Taxon Report
• Australian Museum

Notes and References

1. Web site: Coleman, Neville Albert. Awards and Culture Branch Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, The Australian Government. 18 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120403043751/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1143599&search_type=quick&showInd=true. 3 April 2012. live.
2. Web site: Neville Coleman OAM Peacefully Passes Away -Underwater Photography Loses A Legend . Divephotoguide.com . 2012-05-04 . 2012-10-10.
3. Web site: Order Uranoscopiformes: Pinguipedidae, Cheimarrichthyidae, Ammodytidae and Uranoscopidae . 6 March 2022 . Christopher Scharpf . Kenneth J. Lazara . amp . The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database . Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara . 22 September 2018.
4. Baker. Janine. The Neville Coleman Memorial Nudibranch Dive. Summary of Results from Community Dive Events in South Australia in 2015 and 2016. en.
5. Book: Coleman, Neville. Shell collecting in Australia. 1976. Terry Hills, N.S.W. : Reed. 978-0-589-07195-0. en.
6. Book: Coleman, Neville. A field guide to Australian marine life. Programs. United States Office of Pesticide. 1977. Adelaide : Rigby. 978-0-7270-0520-5. en.
7. Book: Coleman, Neville. A look at wildlife of the Great Barrier Reef. 1978. Rushcutters Bay, N.S.W. : Bay Books. 978-0-85835-201-8. en.
8. Book: Coleman, Neville. Scuba divers introduction to marine biology. 1978. [Caringbah, N.S.W. : Australasian Marine Photographic Index|language=en].
9. Book: Coleman, Neville. The young observer's book of Australian seashells. Coleman. Neville. 1982. Sydney : Methuen Australia. 978-0-454-00299-7. en.
10. Book: Willan, R. C.. Nudibranchs of Australasia. Coleman. Neville. Index. Australian Marine Photographic. 1984. Caringbah, N.S.W. : N. Coleman. 978-0-949373-00-7. en.
11. Book: O'Connor, Mark. Poetry in pictures : the Great Barrier Reef. Coleman. photographer.), Neville. 1985. Sydney : Hale & Iremonger. 978-0-86806-207-5. en.
12. Book: Coleman, Neville. The underwater Australia dive guide. 1987. Melbourne : Nelson. 978-0-17-006919-9. en.
13. Book: Coleman, Neville. Australia's Great Barrier Reef. 1990. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W. : Child & Associates. 978-0-86777-367-5. 1st. en.
14. Book: Coleman, Neville. Discover underwater Australia. 1994. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W. : National Book Distributors and Publishers. 978-1-86436-007-3. 1st. en.
15. Book: Coleman, Neville. Sea stars of Australasia & their relatives. Coleman. Neville. 1994. Springwood, Qld. : Neville Coleman's Underwater Geographic. 978-0-947325-21-3. en.
16. Book: Coleman, Neville. Underwater naturalist. 2004. Springwood, Qld. : Neville Coleman's Underwater Geographic Pty Ltd. 978-0-947325-29-9. New. en.