John Nathan Cobb the preeminent fishery scientist of the Pacific Northwest for nearly 40 years. Thompson had offices in the College of Fisheries where, since 1925, he was Director of the International Fisheries Commission (now International Pacific Halibut Commission) charged with the management of, and research on, the Pacific halibut, "Hippoglossus stenolepis", fishery. A Ph.D. from Stanford University, Thompson was appointed Research Professor and Director of the new department on a part-time basis, as he remained Director of the International Fisheries Commission. He remained Director of the School until 1947 when he resigned to establish and head the UW's new Fisheries Research Institute.
Jellynose fish Jellynose fish The jellynose fishes or tadpole fishes are the small order Ateleopodiformes. This group of ray-finned fish is monotypic, containing a single family Ateleopodidae. It has about a dozen species in four genera, but these enigmatic fishes are in need of taxonomic revision. The scientific name means ""Ateleopus"-shaped", from "Ateleopus" (the type genus) + the standard fish order suffix "-formes". It ultimately derives from Ancient Greek "atelís" (ἆτελής, "imperfect") + "pús" (πούς, "foot") + Latin "forma" ("external form"), the Greek part in reference to the reduced pectoral and ventral fins of the jellynoses. Jellynoses are deep-water, bottom-dwelling, marine fishes.