In memoriam: Dr Ng Ngan Kee

Written by Dr Tan Swee Hee, Associate Director

Dr Ng Ngan Kee (middle) with Prof Peter Ng (right) and Dr Ravichandran (left), visiting researcher, in 2018.

One of the most unusual crabs in Asia is Xenograpsus testudinatus, an enigmatic graspid crab found in the hydrothermal vents systems off the north-eastern coast of Taiwan. It was described by our late Research Affiliate, Dr Ng Ngan Kee, and her collaborators. Found in both marine and freshwaters, this group of boxy-looking crabs are terrestrial and semi-terrestrial in habit. None of the crabs she had ever studied was found in such an extreme environment like in hydrothermal vents. Her research into the crab eventually led her to co-author a paper that was published in ‘Nature’, explaining how this crab survived by feeding on zooplankton while living under extreme thermal, pH, hypoxic and toxic conditions. She also contributed substantially to the taxonomy of the Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sp.) (her paper revising the genus is one of the most often cited in the domain), their husbandry in a local context, and their larval development. Most people may not know that she originally started her career in biology by working on the reproductive biology of tropical freshwater fishes!

A specimen of Xenograpsus testudinatus in the Zoological Reference Collection of LKCNHM.

In addition to her many contributions to carcinology, Dr Ng remained very passionate and highly committed to the education of the university’s students. Even while she was still receiving treatment, she would arrange for her students to visit the museum as part of a module she taught. Her dedication to her teaching is selfless and beyond reproach.

We thank Dr Ng for her staunch support of the museum and her contributions. She will be sorely missed. Rest in peace.