Background
Stokell was born at Prebbleton, near Christchurch, New Zealand, on 20 June 1890 to Edmund Stokell and Jane (Née Pasche).
Stokell was born at Prebbleton, near Christchurch, New Zealand, on 20 June 1890 to Edmund Stokell and Jane (Née Pasche).
He attended Broadfields Primary School, and was a keen trout angler.
He lived there for his whole life. A keen angler, Stokell wrote a series of studies on trout in Lake Ellismere. Through this interest in angling, he also came across native fish species, but was unable to identify them due to a lack of published information.
From 1938 onwards he began publishing papers on them, describing species and detangling the many names that had accrued.
He described 10 species that are still accepted, although others turned out to be junior synonyms. Galaxias paucispondylus (1938) alpine galaxias
Gobiomorphus breviceps (1939) upland bully
Galaxias prognathus (1940) longjaw galaxias
Neochanna diversus (1949) Black mudfish
Galaxias vulgaris (1949) Canterbury galaxias
Galaxias anomalus (1959) Central Otago roundhead galaxias
Gobiomorphus hubbsi (1959) bluegill bully
Galaxias divergens (1959) dwarf galaxias
Gobiomorphus alpinus (1962) Tarndale bully
In 1941 Stokell"s smelt, Stokellia anisodon, was named after him.
Council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society
Staff of the Canterbury Museum
Secretary of the Canterbury branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand
A direct man with forceful opinions, he left the Acclimatisation Society, stating:
Their sole qualification for safe-guarding the welfare of wild creatures the possession of a desire to kill them. Stokell died 10 July 1972 in Christchurch.
Council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society
Staff of the Canterbury Museum
Secretary of the Canterbury branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand
A direct man with forceful opinions, he left the Acclimatisation Society, stating:
Their sole qualification for safe-guarding the welfare of wild creatures the possession of a desire to kill them.