Dwight Willard Taylor (1932–2006) was a malacologist and paleontologist whose research on the systematics and biogeography of freshwater gastropods, particularly the Hydrobiidae and Physidae, resulted in numerous taxonomic innovations and led to extensive research by others. His biogeographical analyses of the distribution of freshwater mollusks, particularly from western North America, were provocative and stimulating. His research on endangered or threatened species was influential in the conservation of those species and their habitats. He published 65 papers and 9 abstracts, and authored numerous internal reports to federal and state agencies, primarily for the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He described 132 taxa, comprising 12 family-level taxa, 31 genus-level taxa, and 89 species; most of his taxa were in the Hydrobiidae (54) and Physidae (39), and he was involved in the founding and early development of Malacologia.