Herbert George Flaxman Spurrell M.A. M.B. B.Ch. F.Z.S. (20 June 1877 – 8 November 1918) was a British

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

whose work in South America and Africa led to the discovery of several new species.

Family and education

Spurrell was born in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, where is father, Herbert Spurrell, practised as an architect in partnership with

Robert Knott Blessley Robert Knott Blessley (1833–1923) was a British architect based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. He was born in Highgate, London to Robert and Mary Blessley. After training as an architect he set up an office in Furnival's Inn, London before moving ...

. He was descended from the Spurrell family of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and was a nephew of the archaeologist Flaxman Charles John Spurrell. As a student at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

, Spurrell was a member of the Bodley Club. He completed his medical training at the London Hospital, qualifying in 1907, before studying under

Gustav Mann Gustav Mann (1836–1916) was a German botanist who led expeditions in West Africa and was also a gardener at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Born in Hanover in 1836, he was chosen by William Jackson Hooker, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, ...

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, where he was also assistant professor of physiology. In 1912 he was awarded a further degree by the London School of Tropical Medicine.

Career

Spurrell's zoological research led to the discovery and classification of fish, reptiles and frogs from South America and West Africa, particularly from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. He donated several specimens to

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

, and in recognition of his work was elected a Fellow of the Zoological Society. Among the species named after him are

Spurrell's free-tailed bat Spurrell's free-tailed bat (''Mops spurrelli'') is a species of bat in the family Molossidae named after Herbert George Flaxman Spurrell. It is found in Central and West Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subt ...

and

Spurrell's woolly bat Spurrell's woolly bat (''Kerivoula phalaena'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae named after Herbert George Flaxman Spurrell. It is found in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, a ...

. He is also commemorated in the scientific names of three species of reptiles ('' Amphisbaena spurrelli'', ''

Kinosternon spurrelli The white-lipped mud turtle (''Kinosternon leucostomum'') is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to Central America and northwestern South America. Geographic range ''Kinosternon leucostomum'' is found in ...

'', and ''

Micrurus spurrelli ''Micrurus spurrelli'', the butterfly-head coral snake, is a species of coral snake in the family Elapidae. Specimens have been identified mostly in Chocó Department.https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Micrurus&species=spurrelli& ...

'') and two amphibians (''

Atelopus spurrelli ''Atelopus spurrelli'' is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Colombia and occurs in the Pacific lowlands and foothills of the Cordillera Occidental. The specific name ''spurrelli'' honors Herbert George Flaxman Spurrel ...

'' and ''

Agalychnis spurrelli The gliding tree frog (''Agalychnis spurrelli'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama. Other common names are the gliding leaf frog, Spurrell's leaf frog, and pink-sided t ...

''). After a year serving as temporary medical officer at

Obuasi Obuasi is a Mining Community and town in the southern part of Obuasi Municipal of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Obuasi is the capital of the Obuasi Municipal which lies south of Ashanti capital city Kumasi 39 miles (59.4 kilometres) away south ...

on the Gold Coast, Spurrell joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

as a lieutenant (later captain) in 1917. He died of pneumonia at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, on 8 November 1918, and is buried at the Hadra War Memorial Cemetery. Spurrell also wrote a historical novel. ''At Sunrise: A story of the Beltane'' (1904) is set in

Iron Age Britain The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ir ...

at the time of the Roman Conquest. Baker, Ernest A., ''A Guide to Historical Fiction''. London : G. Routledge and Sons, 1914.(p. 402)

Works

Spurrell published a number of scientific papers and was also the author of several works of fiction and non-fiction: * ''The Commonwealth of Cells: Some popular essays on human physiology'', Bailliere, Tindall & Cox (1901) * ''Out of the Past'', Greening (1903) * ''At Sunrise: A story of the Beltane'', Greening (1904) * ''Patriotism: A biological study'', George Bell & Sons (1911) * ''Modern Man and his Forerunners: A short study of the human species living and extinct'', George Bell & Sons (1917)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spurrell, Herbert George Flaxman 1877 births 1918 deaths English zoologists Fellows of the Zoological Society of London British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Medical Corps officers Alumni of Merton College, Oxford 20th-century English novelists English historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Deaths from pneumonia in Egypt