Horton, T.; Błażewicz-Paszkowycz, M.; Staples, D. A.; Bird, G. J. (2015). Foreword [A collection of taxonomic studies commemorating Roger N. Bamber (1949–2015)]. Zootaxa. 3995(1): 5.
Begins: This special issue honours the life and work of Roger Bamber, who made an outstanding contribution to the field of marine biology and taxonomy. Roger died in February 2015 at the age of 65, from complications arising from severe motor neuron disease (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). This was a tragic loss for his former wife Jane, family and all who knew him. The editors chose Zootaxa for this special issue since Roger had considerable involvement with the journal over many years as subject editor for the Pycnogonida, Tanaidacea and Cumacea. We are grateful to Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Editor-in-Chief of Zootaxa, for making this possible. This issue, which attracted a total of 20 papers from 44 authors, is testimony to Roger’s influence and popularity both as a scientist and the personal friendships he made throughout his distinguished career. The contributing authors are based in Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, U.S.A and the UK; but include only a few of his many international colleagues and friends. Of the 29 new taxa described, 27 are named in honour of Roger (Table 1), 14 of which are eponymous, and two for Roni Robbins, his partner at ARTOO Marine Biology Consultants. These add to the eight other taxa named previously for Roger (Table 2).
