Guy Coburn Robson (1888–1945) was a British

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

, specializing in

Mollusca Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

, who first named and described '' Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'', the colossal squid. Robson studied at the marine biological station in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, and joined the staff of the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

in 1911, becoming Deputy Keeper of the Zoology Department from 1931 to 1936.

Evolution

Robson is best known for his major book ''The Variations of Animals in Nature'' (co-authored with O. W. Richards, 1936) which argued that although the fact of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

is well established, the mechanisms are largely hypothetical and undemonstrated.Allee, W. C. (1937)
''The Variation of Animals in Nature: A Critical Summary and Judgment of Evolutionary Theories by G. C. Robson, O. W. Richards''
''

American Journal of Sociology The ''American Journal of Sociology'' is a peer-reviewed bi-monthly academic journal that publishes original research and book reviews in the field of sociology and related social sciences. It was founded in 1895 as the first journal in its disci ...

'' 42 (4): 596–597. The book claims that most differences among animal populations and related species are non-adaptive. It was published before major developments in the

modern synthesis Modern synthesis or modern evolutionary synthesis refers to several perspectives on evolutionary biology, namely: * Modern synthesis (20th century), the term coined by Julian Huxley in 1942 to denote the synthesis between Mendelian genetics and s ...

and contains critical evaluation of

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

. It was positively reviewed in science journals in the 1930s. Zoologist

Mark Ridley Mark Ridley may refer to: * Mark Ridley (physician) (1560–1624), English physician and mathematician * Mark Ridley (zoologist) (born 1956), English zoologist See also * Mark Ridley-Thomas Mark Ridley-Thomas is an American politician. He prev ...

has noted that "Robson and Richards suggested that the differences between species are non-adaptive and have nothing to do with natural selection." Historian Will Provine has commented that the book "has been in disrepute since the late 1940s because of its antagonism to natural selection" but notes that it was the "best known general work on animal taxonomy" before the work of

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthesis. ...

and

Ernst Mayr Ernst Walter Mayr (; 5 July 1904 – 3 February 2005) was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, Philosophy of biology, philosopher o ...

. Huxley in '' Evolution: The Modern Synthesis'' (1942), described the book as "an undue belittling of the role of selection in evolution."Huxley, Julian. (1948 edition)
''Evolution: The Modern Synthesis''
George Allen & Unwin Ltd. p. 31

Publications

*''Guide to the Mollusca exhibited in the Zoological Department, British Museum'' (1923)
''The Species Problem''
(1926) *''A Monograph of the Recent Cephalopoda. Based on the collections in the British Museum, Natural History'' (two volumes, 1929–1932)
''The Variation of Animals in Nature''
(with O. W. Richards) (1936)

Quotes

References

*''The Natural History Museum'' – William T. Stearn 1888 births 1945 deaths 20th-century British zoologists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London British malacologists Non-Darwinian evolution Teuthologists {{UK-zoologist-stub