Valentina Karatajūtė-Talimaa (1930-2022) a distinguished paleoichthyologist from Vilnius (Lithuania)

Abstract

Valentina Karatajūtė-Talimaa (1930-2022) was a distinguished paleoichthyologist from Vilnius (Lithuania), renowned for her significant contributions in the field of vertebrate paleontology. She firmly believed that theoretical knowledge without fieldwork holds limited value in the scientific discipline of paleontology. This philosophy is evidenced by her extensive collection of fossils, which includes thousands of microscopic specimens (and a few macroscopic) featuring fossilized fish remains. Her fieldwork spaned across numerous geographical locations, including the Ukraine, Podolia in Ukraine, Northern Kazakhstan, the northern Urals, the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, southeastern Siberia (Tuva), Mongolia, Spitsbergen, Australia, as well as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Based on her personal archives and field notebooks this article briefly presents an insight into her early family life, education and academic career as well as her research initiatives and fieldwork in various parts of the world.