Richard Ellis (April 2, 1938 – May 21, 2024) was an American marine biologist, author, and illustrator. He was a research associate in the American Museum of Natural History's division of paleontology, special adviser to the American Cetacean Society, and a member of the Explorers Club. He was a U.S. delegate to the International Whaling Commission from 1980 to 1990. Despite no formal training in marine biology, painting or writing, his paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, and his murals can be seen in the Denver Museum of Natural History, the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts, and Whaleworld, a museum in Albany, Western Australia. He authored and illustrated more than two dozen books on marine life. Source: Wikipedia (en)