James Hamilton McLean is an American malacologist, a biologist

Biologist

A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...

 who studies mollusks. He specializes in marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 gastropods. He has studied many families of Eastern Pacific gastropods including the Fissurellidae, Trochidae

Trochidae

The Trochidae, common name top snails, are a taxonomic family of very small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Vetigastropoda ....

, Turbinidae

Turbinidae

Turbinidae, the turban snails, are a family of small to large marine gastropods. Turbinidae have a strong, thick calcareous operculum readily distinguishing them from the somewhat similar Trochidae or top snails, which have a corneous operculum...

 and Liotiidae

Liotiidae

Liotiidae is a family of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Vetigastropoda .- 2005 taxonomy :...

, and also has investigated deep sea gastropods from hydrothermal vent

Hydrothermal vent

A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots. Hydrothermal vents exist because the earth is both...

s.

McLean worked as a curator of Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA in 1913 as the Museum of History, Science, and Art. The moving force behind it was a museum association founded in 1910. Its distinctive main building, with fitted marble walls and domed and...

 from 1964 to 2001 and currently (2010) he is a Curator Emeritus there.

Molluscs described

McLean has described about 400 new species.

He has named numerous taxa of marine gastropods including:

• Clypeosectidae McLean, 1989, a family of hydrothermal vent
  Hydrothermal vent
  A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots. Hydrothermal vents exist because the earth is both...
  
  limpets

Further reading

• DuShane H. (1967). "Biographical sketch. James H. McLean". News of the Western Association of Shell Clubs 8(5): C15.
• McLean J. H. (1998). "Up close and personal with AMU’s presidents". American Malacological Union News 27(2): 4.
• Groves L. (2001). "Jim McLean retires". Unitas Malacologica Newsletter 17: 4.