Boman Framji Chhapgar (1 January 1931 – 5 August 2018) was an Indian

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology clas ...

who specialized in

carcinology Carcinology is a branch of zoology that consists of the study of crustaceans. Crustaceans are a large class of arthropods classified by having a hard exoskeleton made of chitin or chitin and calcium, three body regions, and jointed, paired appendag ...

. The author of popular accounts on marine biology under the pen-name of "beefsea", several new species of crab,

mantis shrimp Mantis shrimp are carnivorous marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda (). Stomatopods branched off from other members of the class Malacostraca around 400 million years ago, with more than 520 extant species of mantis shrimp known. All li ...

and

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

es have been described by him.

Early life and education

Boman Framji Chhapgar was born on 1 January 1931 in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

parents Banoobai and Framji Chhapgar. After completing school at Bharda New High School in 1944, he studied microbiology and zoology at

St. Xavier's College A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

, graduating in 1948 with microbiology as his main subject. He also obtained a second

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(Honours) degree from the

Royal Institute of Science The Institute of Science (formerly known as the Royal Institute of Science (RIS)) is an institution of postgraduate education and research located in Mumbai, India. It is managed by the Government of Maharashtra and is clustered from 2019 batc ...

, Bombay with

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

. In 1951 he joined the Taraporewala Marine Biological Station (attached to the

Taraporewala Aquarium Taraporewala Aquarium or Taraporevala Aquarium is India's oldest aquarium and one of Mumbai's main attractions. It hosts marine and freshwater fish. The aquarium is located on Marine Drive, Mumbai, Marine Drive. The aquarium has a 12-foot long ...

), affiliated to the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

as its first MSc student. In 1954 he was awarded the Shri Vicaji D. B. Taraporevala Senior Research scholarship. He registered for a PhD in 1972 completing it in 1976. In 1957, he was selected for the

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Marine Biology Refresher Course, which he successfully completed the following year. He also trained as a

scuba diver Scuba, originally SCUBA, often expanded to scuba set, is any self contained underwater breathing apparatus, a source of breathing gas used for underwater diving which is carried by the diver. Scuba may also refer to: * Scuba diving Scuba ...

and took an interest in

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

and hiking.

Career

Dr Chhapgar joined the Department of Fisheries, Bombay State in 1955 as a junior research assistant. He moved on to become a senior research assistant, biologist, superintendent of fisheries and later an assistant director of fisheries, taking up postings at a various locations, including

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

Satara Satara may refer to: Places * Satara (city), Maharashtra, India * Satara district, Maharashtra, India * Satara Lok Sabha constituency * Satara Assembly constituency * Satara railway station * Satara State, a former princely state of British Ind ...

and

Sangli Sangli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Sāṁgalī''; ) is a metropolitan town and the headquarters of Sangli District in Maharashtra, in south-western India. It has earned the nickname "Turmeric City of India" for being the hub of the Asia's largest produ ...

Districts. From 1959 to 1965 he served as

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the

. He participated in the International Indian Ocean Expedition (1959–64) aboard the USS Anton Bruun (from Madras to Vishakhapatnam) and INS Kistna (Cochin to Port Blair to Madras, 1961–1965) and on the maiden cruise of the Indian oceanographic vessel

ORV Sagar Kanya ORV ''Sagar Kanya'' is a research vessel owned and operated by India's National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR). The ship has helped in India's studies of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

.Kamolika Roy Chowhury (2018). A star is gone
Spectrum science magazine
Issue 7, september 2018 In 1973 he joined the

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January 1954 ...

to study aquatic

radioactivity Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

and its impact on the marine environment. He retired in 1987.

Species described

Even as a research student, he described two new species of crabs and a new form of another. The crab species were described in the Records of the Indian Museum in 1956 (''Pinnotheres vicajii'', ''Pseudograpsus intermedius'', ''Leptodius euglyptus quadrispinosus''. The first two species of crabs were discovered in the sea off Bombay while the third was found in the Okha region of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. In 1966, he described two

s from Bombay in the genus ''Squilla'' (now '' Clorida''). After his retirement he described, along with S. R. Sane, a new species of fish '' Puntius setnai'' from Goa.

Achievements and honours

Chhapgar specialized in the Decapoda particularly the marine species in the infraorder Brachyura. He was elected a Life Fellow of the International Oceanographic Foundation, for his "contributions to the advancement and extension of knowledge and discovery in oceanography and the marine sciences". A portrait of him is included in the Gallery of Carcinologists in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He is also a Founding Fellow of the Indian Fisheries Association. From 1991 he guided MSc and PhD students and was a visiting faculty at the University of Mumbai. He served on the Board of Governors of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Nature Parks Association for three years and was on the executive committee of the

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publ ...

from 1988 to 2004. In 1994, he was awarded the Dharmakumarsinhji Trophy for his lifetime achievement in the field of

ornamental fish Lists of aquarium life include lists of fish, amphibians, invertebrates and plants in freshwater, brackish and marine aquariums. In fishkeeping, suitable species of aquarium fish, plants and other organisms vary with the size, water chemistry and ...

keeping. A

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of ''

Sida acuta ''Sida acuta'', the common wireweed, is a species of flowering plant in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. It is believed to have originated in Central America, but today has a pantropical distribution and is considered a weed in some areas. ...

'' Burm., a plant discovered at

Lakshadweep Lakshadweep () is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Amindivi Islands in the north, the Laccadive Islands (separated from Amindivi roughly by the 11th parallel north), and th ...

by Dr. M.R. Almeida was named after him as ''S. acuta var chhapgarii''. Sida albeida chhapgari:Javed Mohammed has named a new species of crab spider thomisus chhapgari after him.

Publications

Dr Chhapgar published numerous papers in scientific journals. He is a contributing editor to ''The Aquarium'' and Freshwater and Marine Aquarium. He also wrote several books and articles for a popular audience, some under the pen name of ''beefsea''. Some of his publications include: * ''Marine Crabs of Bombay State''. Published by the Taraporevala Marine Biological Station, Bombay (1957) * ''How to keep fish at home'' (in English, Hindi and Marathi). Taraporevala Aquarium Bombay. (sold over 10,000 copies in English)(1982). * ''Guide to keeping and breeding aquarium fish''. Bombay Aquarium Society (1983). * ''Common fishes of India''. Oxford University Press, India. (1987).
''Wonder world under water''

National Book Trust National Book Trust (NBT) is an Indian state-owned publishing house, headquartered in Delhi, India, founded in 1957 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. NBT publishes reading material in several Indi ...

, India. (1991).
''Seashore life of India''
Oxford University Press, India (1991).
''Man Inside the sea''
National Book Trust, India (1995). * ''Guide to Taraporevala Aquarium''. Taraporevala Aquarium,Mumbai (1995).
''Salim Ali’s India''
Bombay Natural History Society. (Edited jointly with Dr Ashok S. Kothari) (1996). *
Treasures of Indian Wildlife
'. Bombay Natural History Society. (Jointly edited wit

(2005).
''Marine life in India''
Oxford University Press, India. (2005–06).
''Living Jewels from the Indian Jungle''
Bombay Natural History Society.

(2009). * ''Understanding the sea''. Bombay Natural History Society. (2013). * ''Wildlife of the Himalayas and the Terai Region'', Bombay Natural History Society. (Edited jointly with Dr. Ashok S Kothari) (2012). * In press – ''Wonders of a coral reef''. National Book Trust, India. In the aftermath of heavy rains in Mumbai in August 2005, nearly 2,000 unsold copies of his book "The Marine Life in India" at the Oxford University Press warehouse were destroyed by flooding.The Times of India Mumbai; Date:4 August 2005; Section:Pg 04 – City; Page Number 4

References

External links

''Pinnotheres vicajii''

''Pseudograpsus intermedius''

''Leptodius euglyptus quadrispinosus''

''Clorida (=Squilla) denticauda''

''Clorida (=Squilla) bombayensis''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chhapgar, Boman Framji 1931 births Parsi people from Mumbai Indian marine biologists 2018 deaths Members of the Bombay Natural History Society