David Meagher (1956–2023)

Described by a leading Australian botanist as ‘Australia’s most competent bryologist’, David Meagher’s broad knowledge of Australian bryophytes was extraordinary. He was well-respected by bryologists around the world for his MSc research on the leafy liverwort genus Bazzania, and his PhD thesis on the bryophytes of Lord Howe Island. In the last twenty years, David published over 60 papers, most with him as the single author but several in collaboration with other Australian bryologists. He described twelve new species of Bazzania, including nine in Australia, two in Papua New Guinea and one in New Zealand. With colleagues he named two new moss species and reported several range extensions and new records in the Australian Wet Tropics. David’s fieldwork on flora and fauna extended to Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Lord Howe Island, the Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific, and the mid-west of the USA.