Alexander Charles Stephen (1893–1966): contributions on Scottish benthic ecology, systematics and biological recording

Abstract

Alexander Charles Stephen (1893–1966) was a Scottish zoologist who, during a long career at the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh, had interests in many fields: benthic marine ecology, systematics of Sipunculida and Echiura, natural history of cephalopods, cetaceans, fishes, turtles, birds and amphipods. He helped set up the Fair Isle Bird Observatory, eventually becoming one of its trustees, and served as President of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh. He had an amateur interest in astronomy. He co-edited the Scottish Naturalist and, in 1935, became Keeper of Natural History at the Royal Scottish Museum, yet little has been published about him and his contributions except for brief obituaries. His biography is here expanded, his scientific contributions assessed and a bibliography of his publications presented.