Donovan Reginald Rosevear (born in Chelsea and died https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/0572a37b-5d8f-4b31-bc83-cf2b348b4de0) was a British

forester A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Fores ...

and

mammalogist In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous systems. The archive of number of mammals on earth is constantly growin ...

Biography

After completing his education at

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

, Rosevear graduated in 1923 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree and a Diploma in

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

from Christ's College,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. In 1924 he moved to

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, where he joined the Colonial Forest Service. For the first 20 years of his career, Rosevear worked in the south-eastern provinces of Nigeria and the

British Cameroon British Cameroons or British Cameroon was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of Niger ...

s. In addition to his profession, Rosevear was a keen observer of nature, studying the

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

and

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. Rosevear was an active supporter of the Nigerian Field Society (NFS), founded in 1930 by Frank Bridges. He published numerous articles in '' The Nigerian Field'', the journal of the Nigerian Field Society, and served as vice-president of the society from 1947 to 1976. In 1944 Rosevear settled in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

and in 1951 he became Inspector-General of Forests in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. In 1954 he left active forest service and returned to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. In

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

he worked as an Honorary Associate at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

, where he worked for over 20 years with the support of the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

and the

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...

. From 1956 to 1960 he was a member of the committee of the

Fauna and Flora Preservation Society Fauna & Flora is an international nature conservation charity and non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom. Founded as the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire, the society created some of the first ga ...

. Rosevear assembled a large collection of small West African

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

and published a series of scientific works on mammals, including "Forest Conditions of the Gambia" (1937), "Hoofed Mammals of Nigeria" (1939), ''A Checklist and Atlas of Nigerian Mammals'' (1953), ''The Bats of West Africa'' (1965), ''The Rodents of West Africa'' (1969), and ''The Carnivores of West Africa'' (1974).

Honors

In 1954, Rosevear was appointed

Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE). In 1971, he received the

Stamford Raffles Award The Stamford Raffles Award is an award of the Zoological Society of London. It is "For distinguished contributions to zoology by amateur zoologists or professional zoologists in recognition of contributions which are outside the scope of their profe ...

from the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

. In 1978, he was awarded the H. H. Bloomer Award from the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...

. In 1980, the

Rosevear's striped grass mouse Rosevear's lemniscomys or Rosevear's striped grass mouse (''Lemniscomys roseveari'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Zambia and possibly Angola, where its natural habitat is cryptosephalum dry forest. The species is t ...

''(Lemniscomys roseveari)'', native to

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, in 1997, the Rosevear's brush-furred mouse ''(Lophuromys roseveari)'', native to

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, and in 2013, Rosevear's serotine (''Neoromicia roseveari)'', native to

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

and

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, were named in Donovan Rosevear's honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosevear, Donovan Reginald 1900 births 1986 deaths British foresters British mammalogists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge