author

Frank B. (Frank Bernard) Cross

1925–2001

A leading expert on freshwater fishes of the Great Plains, he helped shape how generations of readers, students, and scientists understood Kansas fish life. His long career at the University of Kansas left a lasting mark on both research and the museum collections he cared for.

2 Audiobooks

Five Natural Hybrid Combinations in Minnows (Cyprinidae)

Five Natural Hybrid Combinations in Minnows (Cyprinidae)

by Frank B. (Frank Bernard) Cross, W. L. Minckley

Geographic Variation in the North American Cyprinid Fish, Hybopsis gracilis

Geographic Variation in the North American Cyprinid Fish, Hybopsis gracilis

by Frank B. (Frank Bernard) Cross, Leonard J. Olund

About the author

Frank Bernard Cross was an American ichthyologist best known for his work on the fishes of Kansas and nearby states. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 17, 1925, and died in Lawrence, Kansas, on July 19, 2001.

Cross joined the University of Kansas in 1951 as a fisheries biologist through the Kansas Biological Survey, while also caring for the university's fish collection. Over roughly four decades at KU, he rebuilt and modernized the collection, introduced a new cataloging system, expanded preservation practices, carried out extensive field collecting, and mentored graduate students.

He is especially remembered for major reference works including The Handbook of Fishes in Kansas (1967) and Fishes in Kansas (with Joseph T. Collins, 1975; 2nd edition, 1995). Those books helped make regional fish science more accessible, combining careful scholarship with a practical guide for identifying and understanding freshwater species.