The Anthony J. Whitten (1953–2017) Memorial Issue
“In the last 10 days I’ve been told that two beetles have been named after me, something I find very flattering. … One is a blind, long-legged cave-restricted beetle, and the other is a dung beetle. But before you scoff too loudly, remember that in Ancient Egypt the dung beetles or scarabs were objects of worship, capable of rolling the sun across the sky the same way they roll balls of dung for their larvae to eat.” [1] So quipped renowned and greatly beloved conservationist, Dr Anthony John Whitten, seven years before he was taken too soon by a cycling accident in November 2017.
Dr Tony Whitten (1953–2017) was a British conservationist who championed biodiversity across Asia and beyond. He is remembered for his warmth, irrepressible optimism, ability to connect with people from all walks of life, and tremendous contributions to global conservation.
Over the course of his remarkable career, of which a decade was spent in Indonesia, he authored numerous ground-breaking books on the ecology of the region; was Senior Biodiversity Specialist for East Asia and the Pacific Region at the World Bank; and initiated the Bank’s programme to produce more than 100 local-language field guides on mammals, birds, trees, and freshwater fish. He also served as Senior Advisor and Regional Director for Asia-Pacific at Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Cambridge, and was instrumental in efforts toward the first religious fatwa issued by Indonesia’s top Islamic clerical body against the illegal wildlife and forestry trade.
He was particularly enthusiastic about karst (limestone cave) ecosystems as well as the world’s least-known and most uncharismatic little creatures, such as snails, beetles, and mites, and established a specialist group on cave invertebrates within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
His influence as a mentor and explorer has been such that no fewer than 31 new genera and species have been named in his honour.
While working on Asia and its ecology, Dr Whitten forged close scientific relationships and friendships with conservationists and scientists in the region, amongst whom are Dr Maurice Kottelat, Dr Louis Deharveng, and Professor Peter Ng.
In tribute, they have co-edited a supplement issue of the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, which the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum is honoured to have published.
Lasting legacy
Prof Ng, co-editor of the issue and Head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, explains that this memorial issue was conceptualised so those who Dr Whitten had worked with over the years could say something in the systematic realm which he so loved.
“Not much—or rather too much,” Prof Ng laments, when asked if he could share something about Dr Whitten that is not already in the supplement. “He helped us on so many fronts, started us on so many things and got us to finish so many things it was impossible to keep track.”
“The one common denominator in all our pieces on him is that he was an eternal optimist. He believed the world can be saved. Deserved to be saved. And he was willing to try regardless—even when it was tough or seemed impossible. He never believed in the impossible. He was very often up against bureaucrats, politicians, pragmatists, and cranky scientists. But because he was THAT transparent and such an honest broker, we helped and went along. How the devil do you say no to such an old school gentleman? I could not.”
The supplement brings together 17 papers on the obscure, easy-to-overlook landscapes and animals of which Dr Whitten was most fond—new species and genera of land snails and cave, subterranean, and karst fauna, including a motley of some of the 31 new taxa mentioned above. These papers are authored by scientists who took part in projects put together by Dr Whitten, or are based on material obtained during these projects. Below is a sample of some of these.
Giuseppe Messana describes the Catailana whitteni, a new genus and species of blind and colourless isopod. It was found in the subterranean waters of a karst in Guangxi, China, far away from its seemingly closest relatives. This has raised interesting questions about its origin and evolutionary history. The author posits that its present location may have resulted from the colonisation, between the late Jurassic to early Cretaceous Periods, of continental groundwaters by its ancient marine ancestors.
Jantarit and Sangsiri introduce the Alloscopus whitteni, an eyeless, antennaed springtail found in a cave in Phang Nga Province, southern Thailand. Unlike a previously named relative, the isopod above, and many other pale cave dwellers, this springtail is distinguished basically by a red eye patch and orange colouration.
Potamiscus whitteni, a new freshwater crab from Myanmar
Potamiscus whitteni (top) is a new species of possibly terrestrial or semi-terrestrial freshwater crab from Myanmar, where freshwater crabs remain poorly known. Amynthas whitteni (bottom), also found in Myanmar, is a pretty, two-toned, black and pale pink earthworm.
And, in honour of Dr Whitten’s love for snails, the Rahula tonywhitteni is a land snail found in limestone hill leaf litter in Perak, Malaysia. The discovery of this and another species, described in a paper by Foon and Marzuki, marks a new genus record for Rahula in Peninsula Malaysia.
An inspiration
On his World Bank blog, Dr Whitten related once breaking a finger while climbing a limestone hill in Laos to see a “beautiful green snail”. [2] He also blogged about cave adventures with typical Whitten humour: “Cave biodiversity gets appallingly little attention relative to its significance. It is surely the most unknown of the terrestrial ecosystems, and it makes me drool to be close to places for which so little biological information is available”. [3]
“When we reached the floor of the cave we got to work, trying to see what there was to see by the light of our helmet lamps. To start, there seemed to be nothing at all, but slowly we keyed our eyes to notice the small animals scuttling between the rocks and jumping between stalactites. There were cries of ‘look at this,’ ‘no, there, THERE,’ and the like. … At the end of 90 minutes in the cave we had found about 15 such cave-restricted species and there are probably at least two new species among them—including China’s first blind leech and seemingly blind spiders. We thought we had also discovered China’s first blind cricket but [Louis Deharveng] has looked at it under a microscope and can see tiny eyes reminiscent (to a Frenchman) of ‘croissants’.” [3]
It is with this infectious curiosity and enthusiasm that he personally drove or inspired so many conservation and biodiversity projects. The editors hope that, likewise, this memorial issue will help to galvanise future explorers, taxonomists, and conservation biologists.
At the time of his passing, Dr Whitten had stepped back from full-time work to devote his energy to promoting conservation of karst systems and to spend more time with family. He wrote of a “deep-rooted hope for the future” of conservation [4], and, although the following is from a goodbye post to his colleagues at the World Bank, it remains strikingly apt here:
“So, farewell until we cross paths again, hopefully in the field where our best work is done.” [2]
References
[1] https://blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/new-species-what-s-in-a-name
[2] https://blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/farewell
[3] https://blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/discovering-two-new-cave-dwelling-species-before-lunch
Read more about Dr Tony Whitten
Tony Whitten obituary (The Guardian)
A Tribute to Tony Whitten (ICUN)