Five years without Terry Erwin - founding Editor-in-Chief of ZooKeys
Sunday, 11th May 2025 marked five years since we lost a great man, beloved friend and brilliant entomologist admired for his expertise, as well as passion for the natural world. For twelve years, from 2008 until his sad demise, Dr Terry Erwin was a driving force behind ZooKeys in his capacity of a founding Editor-in-Chief.
At the time of his death, Erwin was also serving as the curator of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History’s Coleoptera beetle collection. He had also worked at the museum’s entomology department since 1970.
“Another day of sadly remembered loss. My long-time friend, Terry Erwin, passed on this day in 2020. Ours was a nearly 50-year friendship that dated back to 1972, and which I remember as having been instrumental to many good things that unfolded during my career,” wrote fellow ecologist and biologist Dr John R Spence (University of Alberta, Canada) on his Facebook page.
Following the death of his friend and colleague, John took the role of the lead editor of a large special memorial volume meant to commemorate Terry’s love and devotion for the study of the world's biodiversity. Titled “Systematic Zoology and Biodiversity Science: A tribute to Terry Erwin (1940-2020)”, the volume was published in ZooKeys on the first anniversary of Terry’s demise.
Counting a total of 1042 pages, the memorial ZooKeys issue comprises a total of 32 articles that “reflect the breadth of influence Terry had on fellow biodiversity scientists, and a series of personal memories offered by people who worked and interacted with Terry,” John explains in the preface of the volume.
“The volume begins with a short biography of Dr. Erwin, emphasizing his connections to the New World tropics and the genesis of his work on the beetles that live there, followed by a general summary of his scientific accomplishments and the legacy that he leaves behind to support and encourage work in the areas that he touched,” reads the publication.
“The work closes with a view of his most central work as a taxonomist by listing the genera and species that he described, and the taxa named in his honour by others in recognition of his influence on the field.”
Terry will be remembered by all who knew him for his radiant spirit, charming enthusiasm for carabid beetles and never-ceasing exploration of the world of biodiversity.
Image caption: John R Spence (left) and Terry Erwin (right) at the end of a beetle-collecting trip in California (USA) in 1981. Photo by David Maddison, courtesy of John R Spence.
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