Reptile & Amphibian Forums

CNAH ANNOUNCEMENT
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 9:56:49 AM
The Center for North American Herpetology
Lawrence, Kansas
http://www.cnah.org

Robert C. Stebbins, Professor Emeritus of Zoology and Curator Emeritus in Herpetology, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California at Berkeley, died peacefully at his home in Eugene, OR, on September 23, 2013, at the age of 98 years and 6 months.

Stebbins was the preeminent scholar studying amphibians and reptiles in North America, and was active professionally until his last year of life. From his first amphibian book in 1951 to his last book on Amphibians and Reptiles of California (2012, Univ. California Press) he was a productive and influential force.

He was also a superb artist, both of scientific illustrations and of portraits and landscapes. Throughout his career Bob Stebbins was a strong force in conservation biology and was very influential in the establishment of parks and reserves, particularly in the Mojave Desert.

He was an educator who contributed importantly to elementary and middle school science instruction, stressing involvement, and was an effective and influential university professor. It was his strong belief that the principal problem facing humans on this planet was over-population and all that flows from it.

Above all, Bob Stebbins was a wonderful human being, a true naturalist, and a compassionate and involved citizen. We celebrate the life of a very special friend and colleague.

Kindly provided by Dr. David B. Wake.

The Board of Directors of The Center for North American Herpetology extends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Bob Stebbins.

DAILY CALIFORNIAN (Berkeley, California) 26 September 13 Robert Stebbins, UC Berkeley professor emeritus, dies at 98 (Daniel Tutt)
Known for his love of nature and teaching, UC Berkeley professor emeritus Robert Stebbins died Monday surrounded by his family. He was 98.
During his time on campus, Stebbins became the first faculty member to teach herpetology, the study of amphibians and reptiles, and the first herpetologist curator at the UC Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.
“He always saw his role as education, trying to help people understand,” said David Wake, Stebbins’ colleague and a professor in the department of integrative biology. “Just a quiet, reserved, very sincere person (with a) deep love for animals, plants and nature.”
Stebbins’ passion for nature came from hikes through the Santa Monica hills and from his father, who took him birdwatching when he was a child, said Theodore Papenfuss, a research scientist at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.
One of his notable discoveries was a salamander ring species in California’s Central Valley. A ring species has a geographic distribution that forms a ring that overlaps at its ends. All species interbreed with their immediate neighbors except the “ends” where they overlap.
“If you’re thinking about how species form, how species come into being, then Stebbins’ work is absolutely fundamental,” Wake said. “It may be one of the most important pieces of work published in the 20th century.”
In 1966, Stebbins published “A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians,” a guide elementary and doctoral students alike use in their outdoor activities, according to Papenfuss.
“People who work with the guide don’t even say what it is,” Papenfuss said. “They just say, ‘It’s my Stebbins guide’, and everybody knows.”
Recently, California researchers discovered four legless lizard species and named one of them — Anniella stebbinsi — after Stebbins to honor his contribution to the field.
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