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Colin Redfern, 1938-2019



Colin Redfern, 1938-2019

It is with great sadness that I inform that great friend and collaborator Colin Redfern passed away this morning in a life-care facility in his hometown of Boca Raton, Florida. Born in Great Britain, Colin spent a big part of his life in Abaco, Bahamas. He was a classically trained professional pianist and productive citizen scientist who focused on collecting shells and mollusks in that Bahamian island, where he started to gather data and photographs for what eventually became the two editions of his well-respected “Bahamian Seashells” books. The first edition, from 2001, was subtitled “1000 species from Abaco, Bahamas,” and the second (2013) was an entirely new book, subtitled “1161 species from Abaco, Bahamas.” Colin’s books are, in my opinion, among the best regional molluscan biodiversity guides ever produced. Colin was a member and strong supporter of the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum, and, in 2014, completed the donation of his 10,000-lots collection of Bahamian seashells and preserved mollusks to the organization. As part of his outstanding contribution to the Museum, Colin volunteered to enter the data for the entire collection in the Museum catalog. Colin’s collection also includes literally thousands of specimens illustrated in his two magnificent reference works. He was a founding participant of Florida United Malacologists, and future FUM gatherings won’t be the same without him. In 2014, Colin received the prestigious Neptunea award from Conchologists of America for his many contributions to the science of Malacology and the scientific interests of COA. Colin is survived by his wife Janet (photo) of Boca Raton. (I will provide details as they become available.)


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