Peter Grubb (1942 - 23 December 2006) was an English zoologist. He often collaborated with

Colin Groves Colin Peter Groves (24 June 1942 – 30 November 2017) was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist. Groves was Professor of Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Education Born in Englan ...

and described several new mammal taxa including '' Felis margarita harrisoni'' (a subspecies of the sand cat), the

Bornean yellow muntjac The Bornean yellow muntjac (''Muntiacus atherodes'') is a muntjac species endemic to the moist forests of Borneo. Taxonomy It lives alongside the common muntjac. It is similar to its much more common cousin and was only recognised as a separat ...

, the Nigerian white-throated guenon, '' Cephalophus nigrifrons hypoxanthus'', the white-legged duiker, ''

Cephalophus silvicultor The yellow-backed duiker (''Cephalophus silvicultor'') is a forest dwelling antelope in the order Artiodactyla from the family Bovidae. Yellow-backed duikers are the most widely distributed of all duikers. They are found mainly in Central and West ...

curticeps'', '' Cephalophus weynsi lestradei'', the Kashmir musk deer, and the Niger Delta red colobus. Grubb was born in Dumfries in Scotland, but moved to Ealing

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

when he was a small child. His father William Grubb was a research chemist at the

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at ...

and later worked as a science teacher in London. His mother Anne Sirutis was a school teacher from

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. His younger sister Katrina is an artist. After his BSc graduation in Zoology at the

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

Grubb was research assistant in the

Wellcome Institute The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine (1968–1999) was a London centre for the study and teaching of medical history. It consisted of the Wellcome Library and an Academic Unit. The former was and is a world-class library collection ...

of the Zoological Society of London. In the 1960s he went to St Kilda, Scotland for three years where he studied Soay sheep for his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

thesis. For this work he received a special mention as runner-up for the Thomas Henry Huxley Award of the Zoological Society of London in 1968. In the same year he took part in the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

expedition to

Aldabra Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 ...

where he worked particularly on the Aldabra giant tortoises. Subsequently, he lectured at the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

for twelve years. His main research field was the taxonomy and distribution of African mammals. In 1993 and 2005 he wrote the Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla sections for the publication '' Mammal Species of the World''. He also contributed to ''

Mammalian Species ''Mammalian Species'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Mammalogists. The journal publishes accounts of 12–35 mammal species yearly. The articles summarize the curr ...

'', the journal of the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists w ...

. He published checklists of West African mammals (for instance for Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Ghana) and wrote several revisions, including on warthogs, gerenuks and buffalo. In 1993 he co-edited the IUCN publication ''Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan''. In 1977 botanist

Francis Raymond Fosberg Francis Raymond Fosberg (20 May 1908 – 25 September 1993) was an American botanist. A prolific collector and author, he played a significant role in the development of coral reef and island studies. History Ray Fosberg was born in Spokane ...

named the '' Portulaca'' variety ''Portulaca mauritiensis var. grubbii'' from Cosmoledo after Grubb which is now included in ''Portulaca mauritiensis var. aldabrensis''. In June 2006 he was honored with the Stamford Raffles Award of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

.Zoological Society of London announces winners of its annual awards
After two surgeries Peter Grubb died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in December 2006. He was married and had two children.

Notes

References

Peter Grubb (1942–2006)
Collected Obituaries by John F. Oates, Colin Groves, Douglas Brandon Jones, Barry Hughes
Obituary at the Mammal Society
by Derek Yalden. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grubb, Peter 1942 births 2006 deaths 20th-century British zoologists Alumni of University College London