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Stephen E. Thorpe

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Stephen E. Thorpe
Thorpe at the University of Auckland in 2012
Born(1970-01-27)27 January 1970
England
Died24 August 2024(2024-08-24) (aged 54)
Blockhouse Bay, Auckland, New Zealand
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsEntomology
Institutions

Stephen Ernest Thorpe (27 January 1970 – 24 August 2024) was an English-born entomologist in New Zealand. He contributed vast amounts of data and analysis in many contexts, particularly to iNaturalist.

Early life and education

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Stephen Ernest Thorpe was born in England on 27 January 1970.[1] He held a degree in chemistry and an MA in philosophy from the University of Auckland.[2][1][3]

Career

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Thorpe became an independent entomologist from the late 1990s.[2] He worked as a Research Associate at the University of Auckland from 2008 to 2011[1] and did contract work for Landcare Research and other organisations.[3] In his latter years he was based at the Whau River Catchment Trust offices at the Blockhouse Bay Tennis Club in Auckland,[1] and had told acquaintances that he thought he was on the autism spectrum.[3]

Thorpe contributed 12,000 specimens to Auckland War Memorial Museum.[2] He was a part of the research group who described the beetle genus Neodoxa in 2003.[4] A new species of New Zealand beetle, Cyparium thorpei, was named after him in 2004.[5] In 2011, Thorpe was instrumental in describing the New Zealand marsh beetle species Stenocyphon neozealandicus, having recognised the species among unsorted insect specimens at Auckland War Memorial Museum as a volunteer.[6] He contributed to biosecurity in New Zealand by reporting 39 species not previously found in the country to the Ministry for Primary Industries.[7] He was a contributor to a number of taxonomic projects, including iNaturalist, Taxacom, Wikispecies, and ZooBank.[1]

Death

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On 24 August 2024, Thorpe was murdered by an apparent intruder, at the Blockhouse Bay tennis club and recreation area, where he used an office for his work. He was 54.[1][8] His only known family was his elderly father.[3] A 26-year-old man was arrested on 28 August 2024 and charged with the murder.[9]

Eponymy

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Thorpe had thirteen species named in his honour.[7]

Selected bibliography

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Scholia has an author profile for Stephen E. Thorpe.
  • Klimaszewski, J.; Marris, J. W. M.; Thorpe, S. E. (January 2003). "The aleocharine rove beetle fauna of the Three Kings Islands, New Zealand (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), with descriptions of two new species". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 30 (2): 115–126. doi:10.1080/03014223.2003.9518330. ISSN 0301-4223. Wikidata Q54555452.
  • Leschen, R.A.B.; Lawrence, J.F.; Kuschel, G.; Thorpe, S.; Wang, Q. (December 2003). "Coleoptera genera of New Zealand". New Zealand Entomologist. 26 (1): 15–28. doi:10.1080/00779962.2003.9722105. ISSN 0077-9962. Wikidata Q54588073.
  • Ewers, Robert M.; Thorpe, Stephen; Didham, Raphael K. (1 January 2007). "Synergistic interactions between edge and area effects in a heavily fragmented landscape". Ecology. 88 (1): 96–106. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2007)88[96:SIBEAA]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0012-9658. PMID 17489458. Wikidata Q33284109.
  • Ruta, Rafał; Thorpe, Stephen; Yoshitomi, Hiroyuki (29 November 2011). "Stenocyphon neozealandicus, a new species from New Zealand of a previously monotypic subfamily from Chile (Coleoptera: Scirtidae: Stenocyphoninae)". Zootaxa. 3113 (1): 65–68. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.3113.1.4. ISSN 1175-5334. Wikidata Q129806544.
  • Campbell, Rebecca E.; Harding, Jon S.; Ewers, Robert M.; Thorpe, Stephen; Didham, Raphael K. (December 2011). "Production land use alters edge response functions in remnant forest invertebrate communities". Ecological Applications. 21 (8): 3147–3161. doi:10.1890/10-2390.1. ISSN 1051-0761. Wikidata Q54588064.
  • Thorpe, Stephen E. (26 January 2017). "Is photography-based taxonomy really inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences? A reply to Ceríaco et al. (2016)". Zootaxa. 4226 (3): 449–450. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.4226.3.9. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 28187627. Wikidata Q28938028.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "In memory of Stephen Thorpe". iNaturalist NZ. 26 August 2024. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Morton, Jamie (29 August 2024). "Slain Blockhouse Bay scientist: Why would anyone have killed Stephen Thorpe?". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Davison, Isaac (25 August 2024). "Blockhouse Bay homicide: Victim was killed in attack on his daily walk to look for insects". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  4. ^ Klimaszewski, J.; Marris, J. W. M.; Thorpe, S. E. (January 2003). "The aleocharine rove beetle fauna of the Three Kings Islands, New Zealand (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), with descriptions of two new species". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 30 (2): 115–126. doi:10.1080/03014223.2003.9518330. ISSN 0301-4223. Wikidata Q54555452.
  5. ^ Collins, Simon (27 January 2004). "Hillary caught up in scientists' beetle mania". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  6. ^ Ruta, Rafał; Thorpe, Stephen; Yoshitomi, Hiroyuki (29 November 2011). "Stenocyphon neozealandicus, a new species from New Zealand of a previously monotypic subfamily from Chile (Coleoptera: Scirtidae: Stenocyphoninae)". Zootaxa. 3113 (1): 65–68. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.3113.1.4. ISSN 1175-5334. Wikidata Q129806544.
  7. ^ a b Oliver, Katie (28 August 2024). "Blockhouse Bay homicide: Victim Stephen Thorpe remembered by fellow entomologists as an inspiration with rare talent". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  8. ^ Davison, Isaac (25 August 2024). "Blockhouse Bay homicide: Victim was a 'beautiful soul', tennis club says". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  9. ^ Clark, Poppy (29 August 2024). "Man arrested over death of Auckland bug expert in Blockhouse Bay". Stuff. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  10. ^ Ferrer-Suay, Mar; Paretas-Martínez, Jordi; Selfa, Jesús; Pujade-Villar, Juli (22 February 2012). "Charipinae fauna from New Zealand with descriptions of two new species of Alloxysta Förster (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae: Charipinae)". Austral Entomology. 51 (4): 7–8. doi:10.1111/J.1440-6055.2012.00859.X. ISSN 1326-6756. Wikidata Q54630873.
  11. ^ Olmi, Massimo (2007). "New Zealand Dryinidae and Embolemidae (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea): New Records and Description of Bocchus thorpei New Species". Records of the Auckland Museum. 44: 5–16. ISSN 1174-9202. JSTOR 42905891. Wikidata Q58623356.
  12. ^ Berry, J. A. (7 September 2007). "Alysiinae (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Braconidae)" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 58. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.58. ISSN 0111-5383. OCLC 690463781. Wikidata Q44986211.
  13. ^ Shaw, Scott Richard; Berry, Jocelyn A. (2005). "Two new Cryptoxilos species (Hymenoptera : Braconidae : Euphorinae) from New Zealand and Fiji parasitising adult Scolytinae (Coleoptera)". Invertebrate Systematics. 19 (5): 371. doi:10.1071/IS05021. ISSN 1445-5226. Wikidata Q29031757.
  14. ^ Löbl, Ivan; Leschen, Richard A. B. (18 November 2003). "Scaphidiinae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 48. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research: 17–18. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.48. ISSN 0111-5383. OCLC 494194341. Wikidata Q45009830.
  15. ^ Winterton, Shaun L.; Irwin, Michael E. (30 May 2008). "Kaurimyia gen. nov.: discovery of Apsilocephalidae (Diptera: Therevoid clade) in New Zealand". Zootaxa. 1779 (1): 38. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.1779.1.3. ISSN 1175-5334. Wikidata Q97483398.
  16. ^ Park, J.-S.; Carlton, C. E. (December 2014). "A Revision of the New Zealand Species of the Genus Sagola Sharp (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae: Faronitae)". The Coleopterists Bulletin. 68 (mo4): 1–156. doi:10.1649/072.068.0MO4.1. ISSN 0010-065X. Wikidata Q54554278.
  17. ^ Masunaga, Kazuhiro (27 September 2017). "Saltmarsh flies of the genus Scorpiurus Parent from New Zealand (Insecta: Diptera: Dolichopodidae)". Zootaxa. 4324 (3): 581–591. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.4324.3.11. ISSN 1175-5334. Wikidata Q42294009.
  18. ^ Magnacca, K. (2 January 2019). "Two new species of Sierola Cameron (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) from New Zealand and Australia". New Zealand Entomologist. 42 (1): 13–20. doi:10.1080/00779962.2019.1602899. ISSN 0077-9962. Wikidata Q104453748.
  19. ^ Belokobylskij, Sergey A; Austin, Andrew D (29 August 2013). "New species of flightless doryctine parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae) from Australia and New Zealand". Austral Entomology. 52 (4): 338–355. doi:10.1111/AEN.12042. ISSN 1326-6756. Wikidata Q54623218.
  20. ^ Kontschán, Jenő (August 2012). "Three new Uropodina mites from New Zealand (Acari, Mesostigmata)" (PDF). Spixiana. 35 (1): 9–17. ISSN 0341-8391. Wikidata Q129809014.
  21. ^ Roháñek, Jindřich (5 September 2007). "Zealantha thorpei gen. et sp. nov. (Diptera: Anthomyzidae), first family representative from New Zealand". Zootaxa. 1576 (1): 1–13. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.1576.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334. Wikidata Q97481491.
  22. ^ Buhl, Peter N. (2017). "New species and a key to species of the New Zealand genus Zelostemma Masner & Huggert, 1989, (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae)". Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. 153 (1): 59–72. ISSN 0013-8908. Wikidata Q129861891.
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