Colin Groves | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1942-06-24)24 June 1942 United Kingdom |
| Died | 30 November 2017(2017-11-30) (aged 75) |
| Alma mater | University College London (B.Sc.) Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine (Ph.D.) |
| Known for | Biological classification ofHomo ergaster |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biological anthropology Palaeoanthropology Biogeography Primatology Mammal classification |
| Institutions | Australian National University University of California, Berkeley Queen Elizabeth College University of Cambridge |
Colin Peter Groves (24 June 1942 – 30 November 2017) was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist. Groves was professor ofbiological anthropology at theAustralian National University inCanberra, Australia.[1]
Born in England, Groves completed aBachelor of Science atUniversity College London in 1963, and aDoctor of Philosophy at theRoyal Free Hospital School of Medicine in 1966. From 1966 to 1973, he was a postdoctoral researcher and teaching fellow at theUniversity of California, Berkeley,Queen Elizabeth College and theUniversity of Cambridge.
Groves emigrated to Australia in 1973 and joined theAustralian National University, where he was promoted to full professor in 2000[2] and remainedemeritus professor until his death.[3]
Along with the Czech biologist ProfessorVratislav Mazák, Groves was thedescriber ofHomo ergaster.[4] Groves also wrotePrimate Taxonomy published by theSmithsonian Institution Press in 2001, andUngulate Taxonomy, co-authored byPeter Grubb (2011, Johns Hopkins Press).
He was an active member of theAustralian Skeptics and had many published sceptical papers, as well as research papers covering his other research interests.[5] He also conducted regular debates withcreationists andanti-evolutionists.[5] Groves opposed the arguments ofcreationism, stating "It is a great mistake to ignore the threat: it will not just go away, it must be countered. ... Scientists, but most especially archaeologists, are in the front line; we, not the artists or the politicians, are the ones with ammunition to stem the tide of creationist rubbish, and relegate it to Monty Python's Flying Circus where it belongs."[6]
Groves' research interests includedhuman evolution,primates,mammalian taxonomy,skeletal analysis,biological anthropology,ethnobiology,cryptozoology, andbiogeography.[2] He conducted extensive fieldwork inKenya,Tanzania,Rwanda,India,Iran,China,Indonesia,Sri Lanka and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.[citation needed] He is credited with confirming the status of theHatinh langur as a separate species from theFrançois' langur in 2005.[7]
Groves died on 30 November 2017 at the age of 75.[3] In 2018, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award of theInternational Primatological Society in 2018 inNairobi, becoming the firstposthumous person to receive this award.[8]
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