Robert Walter Campbell Shelford
Encyclopedia
Robert Walter Campbell Shelford (3 August 1872 – 22 June 1912), was a British entomologist and museum administrator and naturalist
, with a special interest in entomology
and insect mimicry; he specialised in cockroaches and also did some significant work on stick insects.
, the son of a prominent British merchant. As a child, after an accident at the age of three, he developed a tubercular hip joint that incapacitated him for several years as a child. He became more mobile after an operation but was never able to participate in active sports as a child, although as an adult he enjoyed playing golf. The tuberculosis
recurred in later life, and was the eventual cause of his death at an early age.
Shelford studied at King's College, London, and then at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
. After graduating from Cambridge in 1895 he went to Yorkshire College in Leeds as a demonstrator in Biology. In 1897 he went to Sarawak
as the Curator
of the Sarawak Museum in Kuching
, a post he held for seven years. While he was at the Sarawak Museum quite a lot of specimens were sent to his old university at Cambridge.
In 1905 he left Sarawak Museum and returned to England. He went to Oxford
and became an Assistant Curator of the Hope Department of Zoology at the University Museum
. On his way back to England he collected many specimens which he gave to the Hope Collection in Oxford, in addition to "the vast collection of Bornean insects which he had presented [to the Hope Collection] during 1899-1901 while Curator of the Sarawak Museum" (Smith, 1986: 58).
Most of his work at Oxford was on cockroaches
, but he also worked on the other insects he had brought back from Borneo, and assisted in the library. It was at Oxford that he did most of his published research on phasmid
s.
Shelford married Audrey Gurney from Bath on 25 June 1908. In April 1909 he slipped and the tubercular disease flared up and severely limited his work throughout the final three years of his life. Robert Shelford died in Margate
at the age of 39 on 22 June 1912.
insects named after him. These include one Bornean mantis
: Deroplatys shelfordi Kirby, 1903, one Bornean phasmid
: Baculofractum shelfordi Bragg, 2005, two genera of cockroach
es: Shelfordella Adelung, 1910 and Shelfordina Hebard, 1929, and 17 species of cockroaches.
Plants named after him include Dischidia
shelfordii Pears.
: Gryllacris vicinissima nigratae Shelford, 1902.
specimens in the Sarawak Museum in Kuching were collected during Shelford's time as curator, this is probably also the case for the majority of insect groups in the collection. Many of the Bornean
| specimens in both Oxford University and Cambridge University collections are also specimens collected during Shelford's time in Sarawak.
In 1901, Shelford briefly described the eggs of some phasmids that he referred to as "Necroscia, Marmessoidea and Agondasoidea". He also commented that "Phasmidae, notwithstanding their wonderful protective resemblance to sticks and leaves, are the staple form of diet of Trogons" [A family of birds].
In 1908 Shelford produced a catalogue of Central American phasmid species. This was based on Brunner (1907) & Redtenbacher's
(1906 & 1908) publications, but includes some species that they omitted from their work.
Shelford only described five new species of Phasmida, based on work he did in Oxford. All were from South America and the descriptions were published in 1913, shortly after his death. These species are listed below.
Autolyca affinis Shelford, 1913: 61, pl. 3.7 & 3.8.
Autolyca riveti Shelford, 1913: 60, pl. 3.6.
Libethra intermedia Shelford, 1913: 61.
Ocnophila nana Shelford, 1913: 61.
Ocnophila riveti Shelford, 1913: 62.
In his book, A Naturalist in Borneo, Shelford includes several references to phasmids (pages 147-155, 215, & 315). Shelford's observations of Bornean insects are based on both observation in the wild, and in captivity. He comments on the nocturnal habits of many phasmids, and refers to his observations on "some that I have kept in captivity". He then goes on to say that "Most of the winged species of Phasmidae, especially some with brightly coloured wings, are diurnal feeders, or at any rate feed as readily during the day when in captivity as during the night". He makes several observations about eggs of phasmids in Borneo
, and also reveals that he was keeping in England "a small colony of an "Indian Stick-Insect that has bred parthenogenetically for several generations" at the time he was writing his book.
The only published biography of Shelford looks specifically at his work on phasmid
s (stick insects).
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, with a special interest in entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
and insect mimicry; he specialised in cockroaches and also did some significant work on stick insects.
Biography
Robert Walter Campbell Shelford was born 3 August 1872 in SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, the son of a prominent British merchant. As a child, after an accident at the age of three, he developed a tubercular hip joint that incapacitated him for several years as a child. He became more mobile after an operation but was never able to participate in active sports as a child, although as an adult he enjoyed playing golf. The tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
recurred in later life, and was the eventual cause of his death at an early age.
Shelford studied at King's College, London, and then at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
. After graduating from Cambridge in 1895 he went to Yorkshire College in Leeds as a demonstrator in Biology. In 1897 he went to Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
as the Curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
of the Sarawak Museum in Kuching
Kuching
Kuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....
, a post he held for seven years. While he was at the Sarawak Museum quite a lot of specimens were sent to his old university at Cambridge.
In 1905 he left Sarawak Museum and returned to England. He went to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and became an Assistant Curator of the Hope Department of Zoology at the University Museum
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It also contains a lecture theatre which is used by the...
. On his way back to England he collected many specimens which he gave to the Hope Collection in Oxford, in addition to "the vast collection of Bornean insects which he had presented [to the Hope Collection] during 1899-1901 while Curator of the Sarawak Museum" (Smith, 1986: 58).
Most of his work at Oxford was on cockroaches
Cockroaches
A cockroach is an insect of the order Blattaria. "Cockroach" may also refer to:*Cockroach , a 2001 album by Danger Danger*Cockroach , a 2008 novel by Rawi Hage...
, but he also worked on the other insects he had brought back from Borneo, and assisted in the library. It was at Oxford that he did most of his published research on phasmid
Phasmid
Phasmid may refer to:* Phasmid , a sensory structure in nematodes* Phasmatodea, the insect group which contains stick insects and walking-sticks* Phagemid, a vector used in gene cloning...
s.
Shelford married Audrey Gurney from Bath on 25 June 1908. In April 1909 he slipped and the tubercular disease flared up and severely limited his work throughout the final three years of his life. Robert Shelford died in Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
at the age of 39 on 22 June 1912.
Species named after Shelford
Shelford has had several orthopteroidOrthopteroid
The term orthopteroid is used to denote insects which historically would have been included in the order Orthoptera. When Carl Linnaeus started applying binomial names to animals in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758, there were few animals included in the scheme, and consequently few...
insects named after him. These include one Bornean mantis
Mantis
Mantis is the common name of any insect in the order Mantodea, also commonly known as praying mantises. The word itself means "prophet" in Latin and Greek...
: Deroplatys shelfordi Kirby, 1903, one Bornean phasmid
Phasmid
Phasmid may refer to:* Phasmid , a sensory structure in nematodes* Phasmatodea, the insect group which contains stick insects and walking-sticks* Phagemid, a vector used in gene cloning...
: Baculofractum shelfordi Bragg, 2005, two genera of cockroach
Cockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
es: Shelfordella Adelung, 1910 and Shelfordina Hebard, 1929, and 17 species of cockroaches.
Plants named after him include Dischidia
Dischidia
Dischidia is a genus of plants in the Milkweed family, Asclepiadaceae. It comprises about 80 known species which all grow as epiphytes and are native to tropical areas of China, India and most areas of Indo-China. Dischidia are closely aligned with the sister genus Hoya...
shelfordii Pears.
Shelford's Orthoptera
Shelford only described one subspecies of OrthopteraOrthoptera
Orthoptera is an order of insects with paurometabolous or incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets and locusts.Many insects in this order produce sound by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps...
: Gryllacris vicinissima nigratae Shelford, 1902.
Shelford's Phasmids
The vast majority of phasmidPhasmid
Phasmid may refer to:* Phasmid , a sensory structure in nematodes* Phasmatodea, the insect group which contains stick insects and walking-sticks* Phagemid, a vector used in gene cloning...
specimens in the Sarawak Museum in Kuching were collected during Shelford's time as curator, this is probably also the case for the majority of insect groups in the collection. Many of the Bornean
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
| specimens in both Oxford University and Cambridge University collections are also specimens collected during Shelford's time in Sarawak.
In 1901, Shelford briefly described the eggs of some phasmids that he referred to as "Necroscia, Marmessoidea and Agondasoidea". He also commented that "Phasmidae, notwithstanding their wonderful protective resemblance to sticks and leaves, are the staple form of diet of Trogons" [A family of birds].
In 1908 Shelford produced a catalogue of Central American phasmid species. This was based on Brunner (1907) & Redtenbacher's
Josef Redtenbacher
Josef Redtenbacher was an Austrian chemist born in Kirchdorf an der Krems, Upper Austria. He was a brother to entomologist Ludwig Redtenbacher ....
(1906 & 1908) publications, but includes some species that they omitted from their work.
Autolyca affinis Shelford, 1913: 61, pl. 3.7 & 3.8.
Autolyca riveti Shelford, 1913: 60, pl. 3.6.
Libethra intermedia Shelford, 1913: 61.
Ocnophila nana Shelford, 1913: 61.
Ocnophila riveti Shelford, 1913: 62.
In his book, A Naturalist in Borneo, Shelford includes several references to phasmids (pages 147-155, 215, & 315). Shelford's observations of Bornean insects are based on both observation in the wild, and in captivity. He comments on the nocturnal habits of many phasmids, and refers to his observations on "some that I have kept in captivity". He then goes on to say that "Most of the winged species of Phasmidae, especially some with brightly coloured wings, are diurnal feeders, or at any rate feed as readily during the day when in captivity as during the night". He makes several observations about eggs of phasmids in Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, and also reveals that he was keeping in England "a small colony of an "Indian Stick-Insect that has bred parthenogenetically for several generations" at the time he was writing his book.
Publications
Shelford's best-known publication, his book A Naturalist in Borneo, was published in 1916, several years after his death, having been completed by his Oxford colleague, Edward Poulton. The book was popular when originally published, and was reprinted in paperback by Oxford University Press in 1985.The only published biography of Shelford looks specifically at his work on phasmid
Phasmid
Phasmid may refer to:* Phasmid , a sensory structure in nematodes* Phasmatodea, the insect group which contains stick insects and walking-sticks* Phagemid, a vector used in gene cloning...
s (stick insects).
External links
- Robert W.C. Shelford (1916, Reprint 1999) A Naturalist in Borneo